A report from the State Auditor shows it cost, on average, just over $81 per day to house a prison inmate in Iowa last year. The average daily cost per inmate of $81.17 for the 2011 fiscal year is about 7.5% higher than the average daily cost per inmate of $75.46 in 2007.
The audit shows the average annual cost per inmate at the state’s nine prison institutions ranged from $19,901 at the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City to $49,615 at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale.
General Fund expenditures for the nine institutions totaled roughly $261 million. That marked an increase of less than half-a-percent over 2010. The auditor’s office including some recommendation in the report for each of the institution’s to improve their bookkeeping and oversight procedures.
Iowa Department of Corrections spokesperson Lettie Prell says there were no surprises. “The department is pleased that the report findings for our institutions are minimal and are easily resolved,” Prell said.
The average number of inmates in Iowa’s prisons last year was 8,816. That compares to 8,763 five years ago.
See the full audit report here: Corrections audit PDF