New Report Finds Youth Incarceration Declined by 74%

[Washington, D.C.]– A new report from The Sentencing Project, Youth Justice by the Numbers, reveals that youth incarceration has dropped dramatically this century—falling 74%, from 120,200 youth in juvenile and adult facilities in 2000 to 31,800 in 2023. Despite this momentous progress, the report also finds that racial incarceration disparities remain stark.

Black youth face significantly harsher treatment in the juvenile justice system compared to their white peers. They are more likely to be arrested, detained, and incarcerated, while white youth are more often diverted from formal system involvement and given probation or informal sanctions if they are processed formally.

Key findings include:

• Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Alaska, Louisiana, and Nevada had the highest rates of youth incarceration in the country.
• Youth arrests have fallen more than 75% since peaking in 1995. The number of youth held in juvenile detention facilities on a typical day dropped from 108,800 in 2000 to 29,300 in 2023.
• In 2023, the white youth incarceration rate was 52 per 100,000 youth under age 18. Black youth are 5.6 times more likely than white youth to be incarcerated in juvenile facilities. Native youth face rates nearly 4 times higher, and Latino youth are 25% more likely to be incarcerated than their white peers.
• After 25 years of a steady decline, peaking in 1997, youth incarceration in adult facilities increased 50% between 2021 and 2022, with the trend continuing upward. In 2023, 2000 youth were held in adult jails, and 513 were serving sentences in adult prisons. Notably, 23 states reported no youth in adult prisons.

“This report dispels the myths dominating news coverage about young people. Youth arrests and incarceration remain well below pre-pandemic levels, underscoring that declines in youth incarceration did not lead to increased offending by youth,” said Josh Rovner, Senior Research Analyst with The Sentencing Project and author of the report. “We should acknowledge and celebrate this progress. Incarcerating teenagers is typically a counterproductive response. There are effective alternatives to incarceration that achieve lower recidivism and lead to better lifetime outcomes. However, we must address the racial and ethnic disparities that persist throughout the youth justice system.”

Decades of progress show that reducing youth incarceration improves community safety and protects young people’s futures. Yet racial and ethnic disparities remain entrenched at every stage of the juvenile justice process from arrest to sentencing. Policymakers must act now to expand diversion programs, limit confinement, and invest in proven alternatives that reduce recidivism while strengthening communities. The evidence is clear: a fairer, more effective youth justice system is both possible and urgently needed.

The full report is available here. Media interviews with The Sentencing Project are available upon request.