Michigan has made considerable improvements in its costs of incarceration in the past two years, mainly by dropping its prisoner count from more than 50,000 to 45,000.
Michigan’s incarceration rate of 46 inmates per 10,000 people ranks tied for 19th highest in the nation. But Michigan still is in a tie with Indiana for the highest incarceration rate among Great Lakes States. Others are Ohio (45 inmates per 10,000 people), Pennsylvania (41), Wisconsin (41), Illinois (35), and Minnesota (19).
In terms of costs, as of the end of 2008, Michigan spent 5.3 percent of its total budget resources on Corrections — a ratio 50 percent higher than the national average of 3.5 percent, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.
