- As of mid-year in 2023, Wisconsin had more than 21,000 people incarcerated.
- At the same point in time, Minnesota had more than 8,000 people incarcerated.
- While the number of people incarcerated in Minnesota isn’t exactly one-third, it is about one-third.
The number of people incarcerated in Wisconsin is getting more and more attention, especially due to claims of overcrowding and understaffing for the number of people behind bars.
During an event hosted on Feb. 1, 2024 in Madison by advocates for incarcerated people in Wisconsin, state Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, compared Wisconsin to other nearby states that incarcerate fewer people.
In particular, she mentioned Minnesota, which “incarcerates about a third of the number of people Wisconsin does.”
Is that true?
Wisconsin does incarcerate far more people than Minnesota
Data from the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections show that, yes, Wisconsin does have far more people incarcerated than Minnesota, as of the end of June 2023.