What States Have the Most Prisoners? Illinois Way Up Near the Top

One of my favorite Elvis movies was "Jailhouse Rock". That was not shot in Illinois which is surprising considering that Illinois is near the top of the list for states with the most prisoners.

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There's an interesting angle to this new ranking by Homesnacks of the states with the most prisoners. It's not the raw number of jailbirds within the state, but one of those "per capita" things.

The helpful map that Nick Johnson of Homesnacks included shows how each state ranked. Generally speaking the bluer the state, the more prisoners per person that are held captive there. Illinois is a very pretty shade of blue. Again it says "most people behind bars per capita".

Did I mention that the Blues Brothers movie was filmed at the real prison in Joliet, Illinois?

So close to the top 10, Illinois, but just missed it barely. Darn. Why am I not surprised that Mississippi is #1 on that prisoner list. I've driven through the state of Mississippi several times in my life and while many were very kind, I think the prisoners outnumbered the free there.

Let's also turn our attention to Arkansas coming in at #3. My rivalry with Razorback people is legendary, but I think they proved with science (and that football game where Missouri trashed them) that most Arkansas people should be doing time now if they aren't already.

Check out Nick's complete Homesnacks article to find more states where you really should think twice before picking up hitchhikers.