Map: 16 states have more people in prisons and jails than college housing

[KamaAina]

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/21/7865887/map-prison-college

In 16 states, there are more people in prisons and jails than college housing.

This map by MetricMaps shows which states (blue) have more people in college housing and which states (red) have more people in correctional facilities:

One possible takeaway is that states keeping more inmates in prisons and jails than people in college housing arguably have poor priorities. College is still a great investment, with multiple studies showing higher education significantly increases people's wages and economic output. Mass incarceration in the US long ago hit diminishing returns that make it an ineffective crime-fighting tool; an analysis by the Pew Public Safety Performance Project found that the 10 states that shrunk incarceration rates the most over the past five years saw bigger drops in crime than the 10 states where incarceration rates most grew....

So while criminal justice experts generally agree it's long past time to reduce the number of Americans in jails and prisons, the map isn't a perfect comparison. But it at least shows the US has a lot of jail and prison inmates.

Um, maybe California has a lot of commuter students?

[2naSalit]

1. I am not going to defend

Idaho for its horrible policies on corrections but I do know that there are far more students not in campus housing due to limited availability and far more living in the neighborhoods near campus. I an an alum from one of the state's universities and I never lived on campus... and part of that is also because campus housing is much more expensive.

I don't think this is a good comparison though I do agree that there are far too many people in prison.

[KamaAina]

2. From the article:

But the map doesn't show that there are fewer people in college than jail and prison. The entire US corrections population, which includes people in jail, prison, parole, and probation, totaled 6.9 million in 2013. In comparison, about 19.5 million people were enrolled for college that same year — but most students live off-campus.

[2naSalit]

5. Which backs up my point

and makes me wonder why they think this is a worty article when it really doesn't offer a viable comparison.

the article also claims:

College is still a great investment, with multiple studies showing higher education significantly increases people's wages and economic output..."

Which I question, albeit anecdotally, that this is contestable. I and several of my acquaintances who have both BA, BS and advanced degrees are making less than they were prior to gaining such degrees even though they had to have a degree to get what jobs we/they now have - that is IF they are actually employed. Was just taking to an alum this AM about that.

One of the links to the reason for their instance that college is a great investment claims that census data shows the median income for professional degree holders is on average:

Yes, it is. Period. Usually, this would be the part of the article where I note that there's disagreement and perhaps a slight weighting of evidence to one side or the other. I won't. Even McArdle and other college skeptics acknowledge that the average college graduate today will make far more over the course of his or her life than the average high-school graduate who doesn't attend college. And the bulk of the information indicates that college really is the cause. Going to college means you make more money than you otherwise would, and that benefit far, far outstrips its upfront price.

First, the raw numbers. According to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, in 2011 the median income of a high school grad who never went to college was $28,659; for those with some college but no degree, it was $32,036. By contrast, college graduates without advanced degrees had a median income of $49,648. Those with professional degrees had a median income of $87,356, more than three times that for high school grads.

I can honestly say that with my professional degree I should be making $87.4K annually but in reality, in the 15 years since my hood was wrapped around my neck I have yet to brink even $16K annually and that's about half of what I earned as a 9th grade drop out prior to my academic career.

Not a great comparison my any stretch, comparing apples and oranges, and then goes on to claim that anyone who is not feeling this revelry about their student loans and the value of a higher education aren't living in the world most of us inhabit.

Stats are an interesting creature, can be made to say whatever one wants them to say... sounds a lot like our do-nothing-heartless-know-nothing alleged representatives and their alleged "facts" (which are not normally put to use since anecdotals and made up BS will suffice in an argument with the intellectually challenged among them and their followers.

Don't think the article has much merit.

[Bandit]

3. With the exception of California and Idaho all are Southern States

You know, Republican Utopia states.. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

[KamaAina]

6. Or southwestern

Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada are all purplish. Arizona? Yup. Republican Utopia.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. I don't have figures

but I will note that the majority of college and university students in Alaska live off campus and not in student housing because the majority of students are locals. There are over 30,000 students in the University of Alaska system. I can't find a figure on number of inmates, but I doubt that it's this many.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. I'm not surprised Texas is on the list