Compare Federal Sentencing Districts

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's FY2024 Sourcebook records more than 61,000 federal sentencing cases under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The Commission's annual Sourcebook and datafiles cover all 94 federal judicial districts; see our methodology for the data refresh cadence and calculation scope.

Select any two U.S. district courts for a side-by-side sentencing comparison. Compare average sentences, guideline compliance, case volumes, and top offenses. FY2025 data.

For educational and research purposes only. Not legal advice. Average-sentence gaps between districts reflect each district's offense mix, cooperation rates, and caseload composition along with judicial practice - not judicial character alone.

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Popular Comparisons

Curated comparisons highlighting interesting sentencing contrasts from FY2025 data.

Two of the highest-volume federal districts, Eastern Arkansas and Western Texas together account for over 14,000 cases in FY2024.

SDNY vs. CDCA, two of the most prominent federal district courts in the country with very different sentencing profiles.

Two large Sun Belt districts, both well above the national average with high sentencing severity.

The two federal jurisdictions in the D.C. metro area, Eastern Virginia (a.k.a. "Rocket Docket") vs. DC Circuit.

Middle Tennessee averages 137 months, the harshest in FY2024. New Mexico averages just 22.6 months, the most lenient. A 114-month gap.

Alaska averages 125 months vs. Massachusetts at 39.8 months, one of the largest cross-circuit disparities.

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Northeast vs. Midwest

Northern Illinois (108 mo avg) vs. New Jersey (34.6 mo) - two large districts with dramatically different sentencing cultures.

11th Circuit vs. 1st Circuit, Southern Florida at 99 months versus Massachusetts at 39.8 months shows the geographic divide in sentencing.

Northern Texas (94 months avg, lower volume) vs. Western Texas (28 months avg, massive border caseload) - strikingly different despite sharing a state.

Two California federal districts, Northern California (San Francisco/Oakland) vs. Central California (Los Angeles).