If California ended up sold to the Kingdom of Denmark as proposed in a recent online petition, the remaining American West might breathe a collective sigh of relief, for in terms of dollars spent on incarceration, California has dragged down the entire region.
Data gathered by online finance company GOBankingRates and Yahoo! Finance provided a comprehensive overview of dollars spent on corrections. The San Quentin News rearranged the data to put in a geographical perspective of the state’s expenditures across America’s five major regions. With California governed by Copenhagen, the other 12 western states (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) would fall from having the highest carceral costs to having the second-lowest expenditures in the U.S right after the six New England states of the North.
Jails and prisons have never come cheaply.
According to the data, in 2024 corrections as a whole have cost American taxpayers almost $87 billion, of which the Golden State alone spent about one fifth. Regional comparisons propelled the American West into the top of expenditures of almost $29 billion. The South, including Texas, came next with total expenditures approaching $27 billion. Eastern states, including New York, spent about $14 billion, with mid-western states following closely with $13 billion.
“Make no mistake about it, the prison industry is just that — an industry. The criminal legal system relies on both federal and state prisons to hold incarcerated people and support public safety. Prisons and jails come with an immense financial burden,” wrote Gabrielle Olya of Yahoo! Finance.
The data revealed that without California, the rest of the west would have spent only $11 billion, ahead of New England, which spent only $3 billion.
The article’s explanation of the phenomenon took a simplistic approach, declaring, “States with a higher cost of living, such as New York and California, face higher expenses for staff salaries, health care, mental health programs and facility maintenance,” further stipulating that, “the high cost of prison systems poses significant challenges for state budgets, often requiring trade-offs with other critical services.”
The article continued its explanation by discussing human investments in incarceration. “States that prioritize rehabilitation and reentry programs tend to spend more per inmate but may benefit from lower rates of recidivism in the long run. Conversely, states with more punitive approaches may face lower short-term costs but higher long-term societal costs.”
The article also stated, “The aging prison population and the prevalence of chronic health issues among inmates significantly impact healthcare costs. States that provide comprehensive services such as medical, dental or mental illness incur higher expenses but may improve inmate health outcomes.”
Although the article did not discuss San Quentin, it pointed out that “Older facilities require more maintenance and upgrades, increasing operational costs. States with newer or better-maintained facilities can manage lower costs.”
The Yahoo! article warned that prisons “can turn a profit as private prisons can almost incentivize the criminal justice system.”
If King Frederick X indeed added California to his other holdings of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Shakespeare’s prophecy of something having turned “rotten in the state of Denmark” might well come true.
