Which age group has the highest percent of prison populations?

• A. 21-25
• B. 26-30
• C. 31-35 (19% of prisoners are in this age category)
• D. 36-40

Answer: (C)

The main point this question tests is understanding how prison populations are distributed by age. The data show that the early-to-mid-thirties age group holds the largest share, about one-fifth of prisoners. Because this group has the highest percentage among the options, it is the best answer. In many criminology data sets, incarceration peaks in the late twenties to mid-thirties due to a combination of higher offending risk, more years of potential offending accumulated, and the time needed for sentencing to accumulate, which keeps this age range at the top of the distribution. The other age ranges have smaller shares, so they do not represent the largest portion of prisoners.