How much money is it to house an inmate?

The cost to incarcerate an inmate is an amount that is never covered by an inmate's housing charge. Most institutions are not charging inmates but the ones that do collect very small amounts compared to the actual cost the confine a prisoner. Your example is just silly, and if the inmate has money on their books, EVERY institution will take an agreed percentage specifically for restitution. Policies for charging inmates are popular with taxpayers, but collection is dubious as the inmates aren't making enough per day to pay the per-day cost. It's largely symbolic and a waste of time enforcing it. It is costing more to account for the inmate's debt that whey is ever collected. The only burden is to the families of the inmates. Here are some numbers: The average cost of housing an inmate in the U.S. was $33,786 per year. It costs an average of about $47,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California. Over two-thirds of these costs are for security and inmate health care. New York City paid $167,731 to feed, house and guard each inmate last year; New York state paid $60,076 per inmate per year. The most expensive prison to house an inmate is Guantanamo Bay where the average cost is $900,000 per year. Kentucky was the lowest at $14,603