The State of Pay-to-StayWhat is Pay-to-Stay?About the LabResearch & ResourcesContact
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The State of Pay-to-StayWhat is Pay-to-Stay?About the LabResearch & ResourcesContact

Pay-to-stay laws imprison people beyond their sentence

Pay-to-stay refers to the practice of states and local governments charging fees for the day-to-day cost of incarceration.

Pay to state receipts and paperwork

Pay-to-Stay Mapped

The State of Pay-to-Stay

Use our national map to track pay-to-stay statutes and policies across states and decades.

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Research and Media

Explore research, media, and advocacy tools which reveal how pay-to-stay operates and affects lives.

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Exploitation Nation

Exploitation Nation is research-based storytelling and analysis for anyone who wants to understand why so many people feel squeezed to their last breath and who is benefiting from controlling the pressure.

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Latest Podcast

“What We’re Reading: The Coroner’s Silence by Terence Keel”

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It’s the season finale of Exploitation Nation! To end season one, we have one more installment of our “What We’re Reading” series. What does it mean to die in police custody, and how are coroners implicated in shaping accountability and...

Research

Civil Lawfare

Published 2026

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In the Media

The hidden bill of incarceration: How Black women bear the brunt of 'pay-to-stay' policies (The Grio)

Published Jul 29, 2025

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Research

Economies of Violence: Pay-to-Stay and the Value of Incarcerated Bodies

Published 2025

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What is pay-to-stay?

Forcing people to pay for their incarceration is common...

In many U.S. jurisdictions, incarcerated people are charged for the cost of their detention. This often adds thousands of dollars in debt. States use a variety of collection methods that circumvent traditional criminal processes and protections.

Learn more about pay-to-stay
Captive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stayCaptive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stayCaptive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stayCaptive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stay

The latest numbers

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45 states currently have active prison pay-to-stay statutes or policies

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The largest pay-to-stay lawsuit amount in our sample of Michigan data, 2003-2019

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The average pay-to-stay amount in our sample of Illinois data, 1996-2015

Over the last decade, we have compiled the most comprehensive dataset on the practice of prison pay-to-stay. Learn more about your state's policy landscape.

The Data

Captive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stay and works toward reforming the laws that enable it

The State of Pay-to-StayWhat is Pay-to-Stay?About the LabResearch & ResourcesContact
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