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

Jefferson County, Texas

According to the 2000 Census, Jefferson County, Texas has a population of 252,051 people. Of those, 144,274 (57%) are White, 85,046 (34%) are Black, and 26,536 (11%) are Latino[1]. However, 12,221 (or 5% of the 252,051 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 Jefferson County a population of 239,830 with a demographic that is 58% White, 33% Black, and 10% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 252,051 12,221 239,830
White 144,274 6,063 138,211
Black 85,046 5,490 79,556
Latino 26,536 3,445 23,091


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