The number of people in New York state prisons has declined over the past two decades, resulting in a higher proportion of older individuals among the incarcerated population. A new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli examines these post-COVID trends and highlights the need for policy evaluation regarding sentencing, parole, healthcare costs, and reentry support for aging prisoners.
“The share of older people in New York’s prisons has grown over time,” DiNapoli said. “We need careful evaluation of policies related to sentencing, parole, compassionate release, geriatric and health costs, and reentry support for this older population to determine an approach that ensures public safety and protects taxpayers, while reducing incarceration where warranted.”
DiNapoli’s earlier 2022 report found that the percentage of incarcerated individuals aged 50 or older had been increasing. The decline in the overall prison population accelerated between March 2020 and March 2021 with a 26% drop (10,861 people), including a 17% decrease (1,603 people) among those aged 50 or above. In 2021, older adults made up a peak of 24.3% of the prison population.
Since 2008, the average age within state prisons has increased by four years to reach 40.2 years old. One reason is that more older inmates are serving until their conditional release date rather than being granted parole.
Although there was another slight decrease in prison numbers in 2022, data from 2023 to 2025 show an increase of nearly 2,000 individuals in state custody. Despite this rise, the number of incarcerated people aged 50 or above has remained relatively stable since 2022.
As younger populations have decreased faster than older ones, those aged 50 or above now represent a larger share: from just under one-eighth (12%) in 2008 to over one-fifth (21%) by 2019. After peaking at nearly one-quarter (24.3%) in 2021 during COVID-related declines, their share fell slightly but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels at about 22%.
Most of the decline since at least 2008 comes from those under age fifty—over three-quarters of total prisoners and more than ninety percent of reductions.
Within the older group itself, those aged fifty to fifty-nine grew by ten percent between 2008 and early pandemic years but then dropped sharply by thirty-two percent through mid-decade. In contrast, prisoners sixty or older have continued to grow both numerically and as a portion of all inmates; together they make up almost nine percent as of this year.
Release rates also reflect these shifts: Older inmates were released less frequently than average in recent years—23% compared with nearly twenty-nine percent overall in 2024.
Conditional releases have become more common for those over fifty—rising fourteen percentage points since before COVID to account for almost half such releases—while discretionary parole board decisions have declined from over fifty-seven percent to just under forty-nine percent during that period.
Data from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision indicate that recidivism rates are lower among released seniors: For releases between 2008 and late pandemic years, only about three percent aged sixty-to-sixty-nine returned on felony charges within three years; for those seventy-plus it was less than two percent.
Healthcare spending per inmate has risen significantly even as total prisoner numbers fell—from $5,850 per person in fiscal year (SFY) thirteen to $13,923 projected for SFY twenty-five—a jump of one hundred thirty-eight percent. Total annual healthcare spending reached $450 million this year—nearly $54 million above its previous high eight years ago—but detailed breakdowns by age group are not publicly available.
Recent criminal justice reforms—including Raise the Age legislation and limits on pre-trial detention—have mostly affected younger populations rather than seniors behind bars.
Medical Parole and Compassionate Release options exist for seriously ill prisoners who pose no reasonable threat; most applications come from those fifty or older according to DOCCS reports covering recent years. Legislative proposals under consideration would expand eligibility for parole review based on age or sentence length and broaden opportunities for early release.