Graph showing the cost of calling home from state prisons and local jails with 15 minute in-state and out-of-state calls from 2008 to 2018. The cost of calls have declined, but jails are much more expensive. In 2018, the average in-state call from a jail cost almost $6.00, whereas the same call from a state prison was about $1.73.

Data Source: Data is from 6 national surveys of out-of-state calls from state prisons, 7 surveys of in-state calls from state prisons, and 2 surveys of in-state calls from jails. For more information about these surveys, see methodology. (Graph: Peter Wagner, 2019)

This graph originally appeared in State of Phone Justice: Local jails, state prisons and private phone providers.



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