Million Dollar Hoods

Research Initiative

Million Dollar Hoods

Mapping the True Cost of Mass Incarceration in Los Angeles and Beyond

Los Angeles Operates the Largest Jail System in the United States.

Los Angeles spends nearly $1 billion every year to jail more than 27,000 people each night. Yet the burden is not shared equally across communities. The vast majority of LA’s jail budget is spent locking up residents from just a handful of neighborhoods. In these ZIP codes, more than $1 million annually may be spent on incarceration of residents.

Million Dollar Hoods is an innovative, community-driven research initiative that exposes the true costs – both fiscal and human – of mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond. In doing so, MDH aims to end mass incarceration by equipping community leaders, advocates, policy-makers, students, and the public with rigorous, accessible data, history, and lived narratives, so that public resources can be redirected toward community well-being, rather than punitive systems.

Visit the Million Dollar Hoods Website

MDH Work

Interactive Mapping

Million Dollar Hoods maps the costs of policing and incarceration at the hyper local level, showing the impact of the justice system by neighborhood, race, gender, and law-enforcement agency.

Rapid-Response Research Reports

MDH publishes 1- to 2-page briefs developed with community partners on topics like bail, the policing of unhoused communities, police in schools, and more.

Data Dashboards

MDH Data Dashboards put the power of information in public hands, allowing anyone to analyze where and how policing and incarceration impacts Los Angeles communities.

Oral Histories

Through deep collaboration with community partners, MDH amplifies the voices of those most impacted by policing, collecting powerful stories that reveal the lived realities behind the data.

LAPD Archive

In partnership with the ACLU of Southern California, MDH sued the LAPD and won, securing access to hundreds of thousands of historical records documenting policing in the city of Los Angeles from the 1970s to early 2000s. These LAPD Files reveal a hidden history that will soon be open to the public.

Why It Matters

Data-Driven Insights on Justice and Inequality

Our research sheds light on:

The neighborhoods where incarceration drains millions in public funds each year.
The racial and economic disparities embedded in policing and jail systems.
The consequences of investing in punishment over community health and stability.

By making these costs visible, MDH provides the evidence base to inform bold policy reform. The project equips advocates, community leaders, and decision-makers with the data and narratives required to advance new solutions, reimagine public safety, and end mass incarceration.