All Rankings
Most Lenient Districts
According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), more than 64,000 individuals were sentenced in U.S. federal courts in fiscal year 2024 under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 establishing the modern framework. The USSC Annual Report and Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics are published every March and cover all 94 U.S. district courts. See our methodology for refresh cadence.
Federal districts with the shortest average sentences · FY2024 · National avg: 57.7 months
For educational and research purposes only. Not legal advice.
| Rank | District | Circuit | Cases | Avg Sentence | vs. National | Disparity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New Mexico New Mexico | 10th | 2,634 | 22.6 mo | -60.8% | -29.0% |
| #2 | Eastern Arkansas Arkansas | 8th | 8,035 | 26.0 mo | -54.9% | -5.0% |
| #3 | Western Texas Texas | 5th | 6,122 | 28.3 mo | -51.0% | -18.5% |
| #4 | Montana Montana | 9th | 1,696 | 30.3 mo | -47.5% | -11.2% |
| #5 | New Jersey New Jersey | 3rd | 165 | 34.6 mo | -40.0% | -61.8% |
| #6 | Massachusetts Massachusetts | 1st | 109 | 39.8 mo | -31.0% | -44.8% |
| #7 | Colorado Colorado | 10th | 477 | 40.8 mo | -29.3% | -27.7% |
| #8 | Guam Guam | 9th | 653 | 43.5 mo | -24.6% | -36.0% |
| #9 | New Hampshire New Hampshire | 1st | 118 | 44.5 mo | -22.9% | -34.5% |
| #10 | Central California California | 9th | 521 | 51.0 mo | -11.6% | -31.7% |
| #11 | Middle Pennsylvania Pennsylvania | 3rd | 830 | 51.2 mo | -11.3% | -1.9% |
| #12 | Northern California California | 9th | 271 | 52.3 mo | -9.4% | +8.5% |
| #13 | Maine Maine | 1st | 531 | 53.3 mo | -7.6% | -21.6% |
| #14 | Eastern New York New York | 2nd | 507 | 54.7 mo | -5.2% | -9.3% |
| #15 | Eastern California California | 9th | 367 | 56.5 mo | -2.1% | -32.4% |
| #16 | Oregon Oregon | 9th | 317 | 57.6 mo | -0.2% | -39.7% |
| #17 | Virgin Islands Virgin Islands | 3rd | 536 | 57.8 mo | 0.2% | -4.2% |
| #18 | Eastern Michigan Michigan | 6th | 117 | 58.8 mo | 1.9% | -8.0% |
| #19 | Minnesota Minnesota | 8th | 577 | 60.0 mo | 4.0% | -10.7% |
| #20 | Middle Alabama Alabama | 11th | 1,377 | 60.4 mo | 4.7% | +41.5% |
Ranked by average sentence length in months (ascending) for FY2024. Includes districts with 100+ cases. Source: United States Sentencing Commission.