USSC · FY2024→FY2025

District Average-Sentence Changes

Year-over-year change in average federal sentence length across 91 districts with ≥50 cases in both FY2024 and FY2025. Same district_stats series each district page shows.

Compiled by PlainSentencing, Federal Sentencing Data Publishing · August 30, 2026

+30.4 mo
Largest rise · District of Columbia: -30.0 mo
Largest decline · Northern Florida: 91
Districts with both years (≥50 cases)

FY2024→FY2025 average-sentence change

District of Columbia leads this board at +30.4 mo (57.8 mo → 88.2 mo). The 38th-place cutoff to appear on the rising list is +0.1 mo; Northern Florida sits at the other end at -30.0 mo.

+30.4 mo
#1 rise · District of Columbia: +0.1 mo
#38 cutoff, rising board: -30.0 mo
Largest decline · Northern Florida: 91
Districts with a prior-year pair (≥50 cases)

Average sentence months come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission individual offender extract for that fiscal year. Offense mix and guideline policy both move the average, so this board ranks arithmetic change, not a quality grade. PlainSentencing does not advise on individual cases.

Largest average-sentence increases

Top 12 of 38 districts on the rising board. Sort key is month change in district_stats.avg_sentence_months, FY2025 versus FY2024.

Source: USSC via PlainSentencing, FY2024–FY2025. Floor: ≥50 cases in both years.

38 steepest increases

#	District	YoY	Avg
1	District of Columbia	+30.4 mo	57.8 mo→88.2 mo
2	Rhode Island	+17.7 mo	39.8 mo→57.5 mo
3	Connecticut	+16.3 mo	63.2 mo→79.5 mo
4	Western Wisconsin	+13.7 mo	58.8 mo→72.5 mo
5	Kansas	+12.5 mo	74.1 mo→86.6 mo
6	Eastern Texas	+11.8 mo	84.8 mo→96.6 mo
7	Southern Ohio	+11.3 mo	60.0 mo→71.3 mo
8	Eastern California	+10.5 mo	75.7 mo→86.2 mo
9	Eastern Washington	+10.1 mo	67.7 mo→77.8 mo
10	Eastern New York	+9.9 mo	64.1 mo→74.0 mo
11	Southern Georgia	+9.1 mo	74.3 mo→83.4 mo
12	Southern West Virginia	+7.5 mo	68.0 mo→75.5 mo
13	Northern West Virginia	+7.1 mo	69.7 mo→76.8 mo
14	Middle Pennsylvania	+6.3 mo	76.5 mo→82.8 mo
15	Northern Iowa	+5.9 mo	95.5 mo→101.4 mo
16	Eastern Louisiana	+5.7 mo	78.8 mo→84.5 mo
17	Alaska	+5.0 mo	76.9 mo→81.9 mo
18	Western Michigan	+4.5 mo	96.5 mo→101.0 mo
19	Oregon	+4.5 mo	51.0 mo→55.5 mo
20	Eastern Tennessee	+4.4 mo	97.7 mo→102.1 mo
21	Northern Illinois	+4.4 mo	69.2 mo→73.6 mo
22	Eastern Pennsylvania	+4.0 mo	73.5 mo→77.5 mo
23	New Jersey	+3.8 mo	51.2 mo→55.0 mo
24	Southern New York	+3.2 mo	61.7 mo→64.9 mo
25	Wyoming	+3.1 mo	68.7 mo→71.8 mo
26	New Hampshire	+2.5 mo	44.5 mo→47.0 mo
27	Northern Texas	+2.5 mo	94.4 mo→96.9 mo
28	Northern Ohio	+2.3 mo	74.3 mo→76.6 mo
29	Western Washington	+2.1 mo	57.6 mo→59.7 mo
30	Western Oklahoma	+1.9 mo	70.3 mo→72.2 mo
31	Northern Alabama	+1.8 mo	69.7 mo→71.5 mo
32	Nevada	+1.8 mo	52.3 mo→54.1 mo
33	Western Louisiana	+1.7 mo	88.9 mo→90.6 mo
34	Montana	+1.4 mo	56.5 mo→57.9 mo
35	Central Illinois	+0.5 mo	96.3 mo→96.8 mo
36	Utah	+0.3 mo	43.5 mo→43.8 mo
37	Western Missouri	+0.2 mo	106.1 mo→106.3 mo
38	Western Pennsylvania	+0.1 mo	66.4 mo→66.5 mo

50 steepest declines

#	District	YoY	Avg
1	Northern Florida	-30.0 mo	99.0 mo→69.0 mo
2	Northern Mississippi	-25.3 mo	86.3 mo→61.0 mo
3	Western Tennessee	-19.4 mo	108.2 mo→88.8 mo
4	Eastern Oklahoma	-16.9 mo	125.2 mo→108.3 mo
5	Western Arkansas	-15.8 mo	116.6 mo→100.8 mo
6	Eastern Wisconsin	-14.7 mo	72.6 mo→57.9 mo
7	Virgin Islands	-14.6 mo	75.5 mo→60.9 mo
8	Western New York	-14.0 mo	73.3 mo→59.3 mo
9	Middle Alabama	-14.0 mo	87.5 mo→73.5 mo
10	Middle Louisiana	-13.6 mo	61.8 mo→48.2 mo
11	Northern Oklahoma	-13.2 mo	81.1 mo→67.9 mo
12	Eastern Michigan	-12.6 mo	65.7 mo→53.1 mo
13	Middle Georgia	-12.4 mo	96.8 mo→84.4 mo
14	Northern Georgia	-12.3 mo	70.8 mo→58.5 mo
15	Middle Florida	-12.2 mo	90.3 mo→78.1 mo
16	Central California	-10.9 mo	70.9 mo→60.0 mo
17	New Mexico	-10.6 mo	30.3 mo→19.7 mo
18	Southern Mississippi	-10.2 mo	87.3 mo→77.1 mo
19	South Carolina	-9.8 mo	80.8 mo→71.0 mo
20	Middle Tennessee	-9.6 mo	90.3 mo→80.7 mo
21	Hawaii	-9.6 mo	97.8 mo→88.2 mo
22	Southern Illinois	-8.9 mo	91.0 mo→82.1 mo
23	Puerto Rico	-8.6 mo	71.4 mo→62.8 mo
24	South Dakota	-8.4 mo	91.0 mo→82.6 mo
25	Southern Indiana	-7.8 mo	120.2 mo→112.4 mo
26	Southern Iowa	-7.7 mo	137.0 mo→129.3 mo
27	Minnesota	-7.6 mo	81.8 mo→74.2 mo
28	Southern Texas	-6.9 mo	28.3 mo→21.4 mo
29	North Dakota	-6.3 mo	66.7 mo→60.4 mo
30	Western Virginia	-6.0 mo	77.0 mo→71.0 mo
31	Nebraska	-5.1 mo	93.9 mo→88.8 mo
32	Middle North Carolina	-5.0 mo	97.8 mo→92.8 mo
33	Western Texas	-4.8 mo	26.0 mo→21.2 mo
34	Eastern Missouri	-4.6 mo	77.3 mo→72.7 mo
35	Western Kentucky	-3.8 mo	86.0 mo→82.2 mo
36	Eastern Virginia	-3.6 mo	82.4 mo→78.8 mo
37	Southern Florida	-3.6 mo	60.4 mo→56.8 mo
38	Southern California	-3.6 mo	22.6 mo→19.0 mo
39	Eastern Kentucky	-3.5 mo	106.3 mo→102.8 mo
40	Southern Alabama	-3.3 mo	70.6 mo→67.3 mo
41	Northern New York	-2.8 mo	54.7 mo→51.9 mo
42	Northern California	-2.1 mo	40.8 mo→38.7 mo
43	Vermont	-2.0 mo	34.6 mo→32.6 mo
44	Massachusetts	-1.5 mo	53.3 mo→51.8 mo
45	Delaware	-1.3 mo	46.0 mo→44.7 mo
46	Eastern Arkansas	-1.1 mo	84.4 mo→83.3 mo
47	Idaho	-1.1 mo	69.3 mo→68.2 mo
48	Maryland	-0.9 mo	74.8 mo→73.9 mo
49	Eastern North Carolina	-0.9 mo	87.9 mo→87.0 mo
50	Western North Carolina	-0.6 mo	84.5 mo→83.9 mo

Cross-sectional severity boards remain on the rankings hub (noindex while that class is recovery-held). This research page is the indexable change bracket. Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission individual offender datafiles.

This portal is rendered directly from its public source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USSC district_stats; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-30.