Why a Child’s Chance of Being Locked Up in America Depends on the State They Live In

New federal juvenile justice data reveals a deeply uneven reality for young people across the United States: a child’s likelihood of being incarcerated doesn’t just depend on what they did — it largely depends on where they live.

A nationwide review of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) figures, analyzed by Suzuki Law Offices, shows dramatic state-by-state gaps in youth confinement, exposing a juvenile system shaped more by policy and philosophy than by crime alone.

In 2023, 29,314 juveniles were held in U.S. residential facilities. But how those numbers are distributed across states paints one of the clearest pictures yet of a fractured youth justice system.

Texas Tops the Nation in Youth Incarceration

Texas once again leads the nation in juvenile confinement, detaining 2,955 young people in 2023 — more than any other state and more than many states combined.

Other high-incarceration states include:

• California — 2,433

• Ohio — 1,824

• Florida — 1,749

• Pennsylvania — 1,122

• New York — 1,119

• Indiana — 894

• Virginia — 879

• Georgia — 858

• Louisiana — 771

Taken together, just ten states are responsible for over half of all incarcerated youth in the country.

Texas also detained 66 children aged 12 or younger, one of the highest totals in the nation — a figure that raises serious concern among juvenile justice advocates about how quickly very young children are being pushed into the system instead of being offered support.

Meanwhile, Some States Rarely Lock Kids Up at All

On the opposite end of the spectrum are states where youth incarceration is extremely rare. Vermont held just six juveniles last year. Hawaii and New Hampshire each reported 33, while Maine and North Dakota also recorded notably low totals.

The contrast is staggering.

A child in Texas is nearly 500 times more likely to be incarcerated than a child in Vermont.

Legal analysts say differences of that size cannot be explained simply by crime rates. Instead, they are largely the result of policy choices — decisions about whether states emphasize punishment or rehabilitation, confinement or community programs.

What’s Driving Youth Into Custody?

Suzuki Law Offices’ analysis found that serious offenses remain part of the picture nationwide. Leading reasons for juvenile confinement in 2023 included:

• Aggravated assault

• Weapons violations

• Robbery

However, the data also shows that confinement isn’t limited to violent offenses. In many high-incarceration states, detention is still frequently used during pre-adjudication, meaning youth are locked up while simply waiting for their case outcomes — often before guilt has even been determined.

In contrast, states with low incarceration rates tend to rely more heavily on:

• diversion programs

• counseling and behavioral support

• restorative justice strategies

• community supervision instead of confinement

These approaches maintain public safety while avoiding the long-term consequences of incarceration.

Youngest Children and Racial Disparities Remain Alarming

Perhaps the most troubling statistic in the report is the number of extremely young children being detained. Nationwide, more than 390 children aged 12 or younger were confined in 2023.

Suzuki’s analysis also highlights persistent racial inequality in juvenile justice outcomes. Nationally:

• Black youth represent nearly 40% of all incarcerated juveniles

• Males account for 83% of placements

• Seventeen-year-olds are the most likely to be confined

In states like Texas, Black youth are significantly overrepresented compared to their share of the population, underscoring deep inequities that reform advocates say have been ignored for far too long.

What Low-Incarceration States Prove

States with the smallest detention numbers demonstrate that incarceration is neither inevitable nor always necessary for public safety. They tend to invest in:

• mental health care

• intervention services

• early support for struggling families

• alternatives to detention for first-time or lower-level offenses

Not only do these states confine fewer children — they also report lower recidivism and better long-term youth outcomes.

By contrast, Suzuki Law Offices points out that Texas sees extremely high juvenile reoffending rates, with some studies showing up to 77% of youth released from state facilities reoffending — suggesting incarceration itself is contributing to ongoing cycles of justice involvement.

“This is Not Just Crime. It’s Policy.”

Suzuki Law Offices says the lesson from the data is unmistakable:

“When Texas incarcerates nearly 3,000 youth while Vermont confines only six, we are no longer talking just about crime — we are talking about policy. These differences represent real lives, real futures, and real consequences shaped largely by geography.”

For families, communities, educators, and lawmakers, the findings raise a critical question:

Will the U.S. continue relying on juvenile incarceration as default punishment, or move toward proven alternatives that prioritize rehabilitation, public safety, and second chances?

For now, the answer depends largely on where a child lives.