1% of U.S. adults are in prison.

“For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety.... [O]ver the same 20-year period... spending on corrections rose 127 percent while higher education expenditures rose just 21 percent.” From the full report: “While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine.... The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world, including the far more populous nation of China.”