Help End Prison Gerrymandering Prison gerrymandering funnels political power away from urban communities to legislators who have prisons in their (often white, rural) districts. More than two decades ago, the Prison Policy Initiative put numbers on the problem and sparked the movement to end prison gerrymandering.

Can you help us continue the fight? Thank you.

—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate

St. Francois County, Missouri

According to the 2000 Census, St. Francois County, Missouri has a population of 55,641 people. Of those, 53,494 (96%) are White, 1,126 (2%) are Black, and 447 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 2,712 (or 5% of the 55,641 people) are not residents by choice but are people in prison.

Even though prisoners cannot participate in the local community, the Census Bureau nevertheless counts them as residents of the county where they are incarcerated.

A more accurate description would not include the prisoners. This would give St. Francois County a population of 52,929 with a demographic that is 98% White, 1% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 55,641 2,712 52,929
White 53,494 1,674 51,820
Black 1,126 856 270
Latino 447 73 374


Notes:

[1]The numbers for Whites, Blacks and Latinos may not add up to the total number because we have not included racial groups other than Whites and Blacks and because the Census Bureau considers "Latino" to be an ethnicity, not a race. Most of the people reported as being Latino are also counted as being White or Black.



Stay Informed


Get the latest updates:



Share on 𝕏 Donate