The Most Hostile States For Felons (And The Most Friendly) - Zippia (2024)

According to the University of Georgia, 8% of Americans have been convicted of a felony.

Yet, some populations are disproportionately more likely to be convicted of a felony– and face the adverse consequences the heavy label carries. For example, an estimated 33% of the African-American male population is a felon.

For many felons their sentence continues long after their time is served. After release from prison, felons often struggle to find gainful employment and in some states can even be denied the right to vote.

While some states have passed laws preventing employers from inquiring about a criminal record on job applications and made other headway in helping felons rejoin society, others have further to go.

To shine a light on the states where felons face the most discrimination and most hostile job market, we evaluated current laws in place. Sadly, some regions in particular offer particularly bleak prospects for felons.

How We Determined This

We ranked each state in 4 areas:

• Ban the box law: Can employers ask on job application if potential employees have a criminal record?

• Background check laws

• Percent of felons who disenfranchised

• Voting restrictions on felons

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” – for many workers this question means the worst thing they ever did will be one of the first things a new employer learns about them. It can also mean their application will end up in the trash bin. However, many states have passed laws to restrict- or eliminate entirely- the question from job applications. The less laws and protections passed, the more hostile job market for felons.

Of course, a job application isn’t the only place where a record can come up. Background checks also are an obstacle to felons. In most states, a felony shows up on your background check for 7 years. We set out to find the exceptions built in around the 7-year rule— and where they are non-existent.

From there, we examined disenfranchisem*nt. While in the past couple of years many states have made progress towards restoring felons voting rights, others haven’t or haven’t gone far now. Not only do voting rights empower workers, but they can also be a good proxy for attitudes toward felons in general.

We used data from The Sentencing Project to find the percent of disenfranchised felons and general voting restrictions.

You can see a breakdown of the 10 most hostile states for felons below, or scroll to the bottom to see the states that offer felons the best prospects.

1. Mississippi

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 11
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

Mississippi is the most hostile state for felons seeking employment. 11% of felons in Mississippi are disenfranchised, helped by the fact that those with a felony are unable to vote even when they are on probation. Yet, equally as problematic, they face obstacles due to their past at every stage of the job hunt.

2. Georgia

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 10
Voting Restrictions:Prison Parole

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” In Georgia, many felons see this question on a job application and know their chance of getting a job aren’t looking so great. Considering felon unemployment is estimated to be 7 times higher than non-felons, if Georgia bans this question they could give felons in the peach state a better chance of getting their lives back on track.

3. Tennessee

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 9
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

In 3rd place is Tennessee. Tennessee restricts felons from voting while in prison, on parole, and on probation. No doubt this contributes to the 9% of felons who are unable to vote.

4. Alabama

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 9
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation, post-sentence

Alabama is a state that throws the book at felons– even after their sentence has been served. Alabama is one of two states to restrict felons from voting post-sentence. This is paired with no ban-the-box laws or background exclusions that fit job seeking felons hard.

5. Florida

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 8
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

While Florida has recently made some progress on voting rights for felons, they still fall short of other states when it comes to giving felons a second chance.

6. Virginia

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 6
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

While some states make it illegal to do a background check for low-paying jobs, in Virginia even a job at McDonalds is free to check a prospective employee’s criminal record with no exceptions.

6. Kentucky

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 6
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

6% of felons are disenfranchised in Kentucky. However, 100% of felons who have been convicted in the past 7 years have to check “yes, I have been convicted of a felony” if asked on an application.

8. Arizona

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 5
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation, post-sentence

Arizona, along with Alabama, restricts some felons from voting post-sentence. Unsurprisingly, this rigid attitude is also reflected in their workplace laws towards felons.

9. Arkansas

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 4
Voting Restrictions:Prison, parole, probation

In 9th place is Arkansas. Arkansas has no background exclusions for felons and employers are free to enquire about criminal status on job applications.

10. Texas

Ban the box law?: No Law
% Disenfranchised Felons: 3
Voting Restrictions:Prison Parole

In 10th place, while Texas has some headway over the 9 previous states, it still has far to go. Job seekers with a felony in Texas may be forced to explain their record before they even meet with a prospective employer in person.

Getting A Job Is Crucial For Felons Looking To Reintegrate into Society

These ten states have strong shortcomings when it comes to helping felons get back on their feet.

Overall, we only analyzed four areas, and other aspects such as job training programs, education, and assistance are also important. However, each of these four areas is important and illustrates the broad differences in available opportunities.

While only 3% of Texans are disenfranchised- that is 3% more than Massachusetts. Similarly, the tiny box that all the above states allow can make a big difference when it comes to landing a job and being a contributing member of society who is able to support themselves and their family.

These differences matter.

You can see the full list of all states, and which ones have the most opportunity below: