Kentucky’s state inmate population consists of individuals convicted and sentenced for felonies who are under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC).
State inmates are housed in several types of facilities, including state-operated prisons, privately operated prisons, county jails and halfway houses. Housing placement depends on factors such as felony classification, custody level, sentence and DOC placement decisions.
Kentucky’s prison system
There are 14 prisons throughout Kentucky. Twelve are fully owned and operated by DOC, one (Southeast State) is privately owned but leased and operated by DOC, and one (Lee Adjustment Center) is privately owned and operated. Together, these prisons have an operational capacity of 13,278 inmates.
Prisons differ in the custody levels they can accommodate. Custody refers to the level of staff supervision required for an inmate, based on the inmate’s classification and institutional requirements. DOC assigns custody levels through a classification process that considers an inmate’s assessed risk.
Kentucky recognizes four types of custody levels: community, minimum, medium and maximum.
Note: No prison is designated exclusively for community custody. Most inmates classified at the community custody level are housed in county jails or halfway houses.
The state’s correctional facilities accommodate custody levels as follows:
- Minimum custody only (2): Bell County Forestry Camp and Blackburn Correctional Complex.
- Minimum and medium custody (3): Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, Green River Correctional Complex and Roederer Correctional Complex.
- Medium custody only (5): Kentucky State Reformatory, Lee Adjustment Center, Northpoint Training Center, Southeast State Correctional Complex and Western Kentucky Correctional Complex.
- Medium and maximum custody (2): Little Sandy Correctional Complex and Luther Luckett Correctional Complex.
- Maximum custody only (1): Kentucky State Penitentiary.
- Multiple custody levels (1): Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women.
Privately owned facilities
Kentucky law authorizes DOC to contract with private providers to establish, operate and manage adult correctional facilities under KRS 197.505.
The Lee Adjustment Center, owned and operated by CoreCivic, is the only fully privately owned and operated prison used by the state. The current contract includes renewal options that could extend the agreement through June 6, 2031. DOC employs a full-time, on-site inspector to monitor daily operations and ensure compliance with contract requirements. The medium-security facility has an operational capacity of 866 male inmates.
The Southeast State Correctional Complex is owned by CoreCivic and leased to DOC. CoreCivic owns and maintains the property, while DOC staffs the facility and manages daily operations. The medium-security facility has a capacity of 621 male inmates.
County jails
Kentucky law requires certain felony offenders to serve their sentences in county jails rather than state prisons. Under KRS 532.100, most Class D felony offenders and some Class C felony offenders serve their sentences in county jails.
Counties also house controlled intake inmates, who are state inmates awaiting classification and placement by DOC following sentencing. These inmates remain in county jails while DOC determines where they will serve their sentences.
Kentucky has 74 county jails that can house state inmates: 70 full-service jails and four regional jails.
For more information, read KACo’s data brief on state inmates in county jails.
Halfway houses
Halfway houses are privately owned facilities under contract with DOC to provide housing, supervision, care and programming. Most residents are parolees or probationers, but certain state inmates may also serve the remainder of their sentences in a halfway house.
State inmates may be considered for halfway-house placement if they meet DOC’s community custody requirements and are approaching their parole eligibility date
State inmate population breakdown
In FY2026, Kentucky’s state inmate population averaged 19,247 inmates per day. State-operated prisons housed the largest share (58.1%), followed by county jails (36.3%). The privately operated Lee Adjustment Center housed 4.4%, while halfway houses accounted for the remaining 1.2%.
County jails house more female state inmates than any other facility type. On average, county jails housed 1,347 female state inmates in FY2026, while state prisons housed 1,000.
Most female inmates in county jails are Class D felony inmates, making up 61% of the female state inmate population in jails. Class C felony inmates make up 25% of the female inmate population.
What the numbers mean for counties
County jails play a significant role in housing Kentucky’s state inmate population, holding more than one-third of state inmates on an average day in FY2026. This places substantial responsibility on county governments to provide housing, staff, medical care and other services for people serving state sentences or awaiting placement in state facilities.
This responsibility is particularly significant for female inmates, as county jails house more than half of the state’s female inmate population. Housing these inmates can create additional staffing and medical demands, adding to the operational responsibilities and costs counties face when housing state inmates.
