ODOC Total Budget FY2024
91% taxpayer funded
Source: Oklahoma Senate Budget Review
Annual Cost Per Prisoner
$67.53 per day
Source: ODOC FY2024
Prison vs Community Cost
$24,648 vs $1,621 per year
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
The Math
Prison
$24,648
$68/day
15.2x
more expensive
Community Sentencing
$1,621
$4/day
Reform Budget Calculator
Slide to explore how shifting prisoners to community sentencing could redirect funds to Oklahoma K-12 education.
Prison cost saved
$144,807,000
5,875 prisoners x $24,648/yr
Community sentencing cost
$9,523,375
5,875 x $1,621/yr
Net annual savings
$135,283,625
K-12 Education Reinvestment
Per-student increase
+$193
New per-student spend
$11,504
Spending improvement
+1.7%
Cost Per Person: Prison vs Community
Prison is 15.2x more expensive
What Could $200M Buy?
The optimistic reform scenario frees up $200M annually. Here is what that investment could mean for Oklahoma.
20,000
teacher salary increases of $10,000 each
40,000
full college scholarships at $5,000/yr
100
new school buildings at $2M each
2 years
of Medicaid expansion gap coverage
The Projection
Without meaningful reform, Oklahoma’s prison population is projected to grow 32% by 2028.
Current (2025)
23,498
prisoners · $579,178,704/yr
Projected 2028 (No Reform)
31,000
prisoners · $764,088,000/yr
Without reform, Oklahoma will need $764,088,000/yr by 2028
That is an increase of $184,909,296 annually compared to current costs — money that could fund schools, healthcare, and communities instead.