The price to house a prisoner varies depending on the country, region and type of prisoner. In the United States, it costs about $13,000 US Dollars (USD) to $50,000 USD annually per prisoner in a state facility and about $25,000 USD annually per federal prisoner. In Canada, it costs about $144,000 USD to $240,000 USD a year per prisoner to house female prisoners and about $84,000 USD for male prisoners. In the United Kingdom, it costs about $62,000 USD a year per prisoner.
More facts about prisons and prisoners:
It costs about $800,000 USD per prisoner to house an inmate at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for a year. Part of that is the cost of food — about $40 USD a day per prisoner.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, followed by Rwanda and the Russian Federation. About one out of every 100 U.S. adults is in jail.
Housing an inmate on death row in the U.S. is much more expensive than housing a regular inmate. Death row inmates cost about $95,000 USD per person per year.