Tool · U.S. Sentencing Commission data
What sentences do judges actually give?
Real national numbers from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, by type of case.
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How to mail it inside, and what the mailroom rejectsFiscal year 2025
Pick a type of crime to see what judges gave in fiscal year 2025, and how often they went below, inside or above the range.
National numbers from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They describe other people’s cases, not what will happen in one case.
Print this. Copy it. Mail it to someone inside. That’s what it’s for. Just don’t sell it.
| Type of crime | People | Medianmonths | Insidethe range | Belowthe range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | 25,119 | 5 | 69.8% | 23.6% |
| Drug trafficking | 16,222 | 70 | 29.0% | 69.1% |
| Firearms | 8,041 | 41 | 50.0% | 43.5% |
| Fraud, theft and embezzlement | 5,080 | 12 | 42.4% | 55.0% |
| Other federal crimes | 1,665 | 0 | 97.9% | 1.9% |
| Child pornography | 1,432 | 97 | 37.8% | 58.7% |
| Sexual abuse | 1,409 | 210 | 43.1% | 52.3% |
| Money laundering | 1,368 | 30 | 27.8% | 70.1% |
| Robbery | 1,249 | 90 | 40.5% | 53.7% |
| Assault | 854 | 46 | 45.1% | 44.8% |
| Obstruction, perjury and other crimes against the courts | 559 | 9 | 50.8% | 42.6% |
| National defense | 499 | 0 | 45.1% | 53.8% |
| Crimes committed in prison | 414 | 11 | 65.3% | 32.3% |
| Tax crimes | 409 | 12 | 24.7% | 74.1% |
| Murder | 405 | 292 | 39.3% | 55.1% |
| Obscenity and other sex offenses | 325 | 18 | 51.1% | 41.2% |
| Bribery and corruption | 310 | 12 | 22.6% | 76.8% |
| Stalking and harassment | 288 | 22 | 42.7% | 46.9% |
| Environmental crimes | 150 | 0 | 50.7% | 49.3% |
| Kidnapping | 146 | 154 | 28.1% | 68.5% |
| Drug possession | 107 | 0 | 87.8% | 8.9% |
| Civil rights violations | 100 | 16 | 38.0% | 59.0% |
| Manslaughter | 94 | 71 | 39.4% | 23.4% |
| Prostitution, gambling and other commercial vice | 88 | 6 | 54.5% | 39.8% |
| Forgery, counterfeiting and copyright | 83 | 12 | 39.8% | 53.0% |
| Arson | 77 | 60 | 51.9% | 35.1% |
| Extortion and racketeering | 57 | 24 | 40.4% | 54.4% |
| Burglary and trespass | 50 | 6 | 61.2% | 32.7% |
| Food and drug law violations | 44 | 0 | 72.7% | 27.3% |
| Antitrust | 18 | 6 | 38.9% | 61.1% |
| All federal cases | 66,662 | 18 | 51.5% | 43.8% |
Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2025 Sourcebook, Tables 12, 15, 31 and 36 (fiscal year 2025). Percentages of the cases the Commission could compare with the guideline range. “Below” includes cooperation, fast-track and every other reason. Median sentences count probation as 0 months.
Print this. Copy it. Mail it to someone inside. That’s what it’s for. Just don’t sell it.
1 How this works
The U.S. Sentencing Commission collects the papers from every federal sentencing and publishes the totals once a year. These are its numbers for fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, counting the cases reported to it by February 26, 2026. In that year, 66,662 people were sentenced in federal court.1
The middle sentence. The median is the sentence in the middle: half the people got less and half got more. A few very long sentences pull the average up, so the median is usually the better guide.2 Choose a criminal history category to see the median for people with a similar past.3
Inside, below or above. For every case where the Commission could compare the sentence with the guideline range, it records where the sentence landed.4 This tool puts those into five groups:
- inside the range;
- below, because the government asked for less for cooperating, under §5K1.1;
- below, through a fast-track program for an early plea, under §5K3.1, used mostly in immigration cases;
- below for other reasons the judge gave, a departure or a “variance”, with or without the government’s agreement;
- above the range.
Where inside the range. For people sentenced inside the range, the tool shows how many got the lowest number in it.5 When the government asked for less for cooperation, it shows the typical cut below the bottom of the range.6
Pleas and trials. In 2025, 97.7% of people sentenced had pleaded guilty.7
2 What this can’t tell you
- These are national numbers. Districts and judges differ, sometimes by a lot. The Commission’s free Interactive Data Analyzer, at https://ida.ussc.gov, can narrow the numbers to one district and one type of crime. Someone inside can ask the lawyer to print it.
- A type of crime is a wide net. “Drug trafficking” covers everyone from a courier to the head of an organization, and all drugs and amounts.
- They describe other people’s cases, not this one. The facts, the lawyer, the plea deal and the judge all matter more than an average.
- The rules changed after this year. Since November 1, 2025, the fast-track departure has been replaced by an adjustment in the offense level, and most other departures were deleted, so the 2026 numbers will be sorted differently.8
- How the groups are built. “Above” adds the Commission’s upward departures (Table 31) and upward variances (Table 36). Table 36 leaves out 27 of the 2,890 upward variances nationwide, so “above” can run a fraction of a point low and “below, other reasons” a fraction high. Probation counts as 0 months in the medians.
3 Guides that go with this tool
The Presentence Report: The Document That Shapes the Sentence
What a federal presentence investigation report is, how to get ready for the interview, why prison runs on it, and how to object within 14 days.
Federal Plea Deals: What You Are Really Signing
How a federal plea deal works: the three kinds, what the judge can still do, the waivers near the end, and what to check before anyone signs it.
This is educational information from a paralegal, not legal advice. Every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about yours.
§ Sources
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics (fiscal year 2025; cases reported by Feb. 26, 2026), https://www.ussc.gov/research/sourcebook-2025. Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Table 15 (sentence imposed by type of crime; probation counted as zero months, and sentences of 470 months or more, including life, counted as 470 in averages). Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Table 27 (sentence length in each criminal history category by type of crime). Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Tables 29 and 31 (sentence imposed relative to the guideline range; 626 of 66,662 cases could not be compared) and Table 36 (upward variances by type of crime). Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Table 34 (position of within-range sentences by type of crime). Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Table 37 (extent of §5K1.1 departures, measured from the guideline minimum: Appendix A). Back
- U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 2025 Sourcebook, Table 12 (guilty pleas and trials by type of crime: 65,099 of 66,662). Back
- USSG amend. 836 (Nov. 1, 2025) (§5K3.1 deleted and replaced by §3F1.1; most of Chapter Five, Part K, Subpart 2 deleted). Back