The Commonwealth Foundation has created a chart showing the amount Pennsylvania’s prison population and correctional spending has grown since 1980 rising from under $200 million to over $1.6 billion in spending and from under 10,000 to over 50,000 in population.
The rates are well above inflation and the state’s population growth.
According to the Department of Corrections the inmate population — which does not include county prisons — is over 51,000.
If the prison system was a city it would make it the state’s 9th largest ahead of Harrisburg.
One should note that there are townships such as Upper Darby (81,821) and Lower Merion (59,420) that have larger populations that several of the cities on that list.