More than 10 million people are imprisoned around the world and roughly 2.2 million of them reside behind bars in the United States.
Texas spends $22,012 a year per inmate, which is the 33rd highest in the nation, but still below the national average of $33,849.
By comparison, Texas spends less than one-third than the amount expended in New York, which shells out more than $69,000 per inmate each year.
The statistics come from backgroundchecks.org.
Here are the top 10 states in terms of per-inmate spending:
New York, $69,3552.
California, $64,6423.
Connecticut, $62,1594.
New Jersey, $61,6035.
Rhode Island, $58,5646.
Vermont, $57,6157.
Massachusetts, $55,1708.
Alaska, $52,6339.
Maryland, $44,60110.
Oregon, $44,021.