All Rankings
Highest Caseload 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.
Districts with the most federal criminal cases · FY2024 · National total: 61,546 cases
For educational and research purposes only. Not legal advice.
| Rank | District | Circuit | Cases | % of National | Avg Sentence | % Non-Citizen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Eastern Arkansas Arkansas | 8th | 8,035 | 13.1% | 26.0 mo | 73% |
| #2 | Western Texas Texas | 5th | 6,122 | 9.9% | 28.3 mo | 67% |
| #3 | New Mexico New Mexico | 10th | 2,634 | 4.3% | 22.6 mo | 42% |
| #4 | Montana Montana | 9th | 1,696 | 2.8% | 30.3 mo | 66% |
| #5 | Middle Alabama Alabama | 11th | 1,377 | 2.2% | 60.4 mo | 46% |
| #6 | Northern Texas Texas | 5th | 1,221 | 2.0% | 94.4 mo | 21% |
| #7 | Northern Alabama Alabama | 11th | 1,136 | 1.8% | 90.3 mo | 38% |
| #8 | Southern Texas Texas | 5th | 1,134 | 1.8% | 84.8 mo | 27% |
| #9 | Rhode Island Rhode Island | 1st | 1,120 | 1.8% | 71.4 mo | 35% |
| #10 | Southern New York New York | 2nd | 1,048 | 1.7% | 61.7 mo | 22% |
| #11 | Utah Utah | 10th | 926 | 1.5% | 70.9 mo | 21% |
| #12 | Middle Pennsylvania Pennsylvania | 3rd | 830 | 1.3% | 51.2 mo | 16% |
| #13 | Southern Iowa Iowa | 8th | 829 | 1.3% | 74.3 mo | 8% |
| #14 | Western Virginia Virginia | 4th | 827 | 1.3% | 87.9 mo | 10% |
| #15 | Kansas Kansas | 10th | 783 | 1.3% | 106.1 mo | 7% |
| #16 | Western North Carolina North Carolina | 4th | 777 | 1.3% | 82.4 mo | 18% |
| #17 | Northern New York New York | 2nd | 727 | 1.2% | 64.1 mo | 24% |
| #18 | Hawaii Hawaii | 9th | 687 | 1.1% | 70.3 mo | 25% |
| #19 | Guam Guam | 9th | 653 | 1.1% | 43.5 mo | 34% |
| #20 | Western Missouri Missouri | 8th | 642 | 1.0% | 65.7 mo | 12% |
Ranked by total cases sentenced in FY2024. "% Non-Citizen" reflects the proportion of non-U.S. citizen defendants, which is particularly high in border districts. Source: United States Sentencing Commission.