Prison Commissary Prices: Why They Feel So High

Prison commissary prices feel high for three main reasons: some items are marked up well above store prices, some prisons add commissions or surcharges, and prison wages are often pennies an hour. Even when a price looks close to what you'd pay at a store, it can cost your loved one hours or days of work. Below, we break down each piece with sourced numbers and the year the data was collected, since prices change often.

Markups: how much more does commissary cost?

A markup is the amount added on top of what the prison pays its supplier. Markups vary a lot by state.

• In April 2024, The Appeal published commissary price lists collected from 46 states. It found some prison prices were up to five times higher than in the community, with markups as high as 600 percent. The biggest example was a denture cup in Georgia.
• The same investigation found ramen cost about 35 cents at Target, while prison prices ranged from 24 cents to $1.06.
• Reading glasses in Vermont cost over $15 in prison, about five times the Walgreens price.

But it's not the same everywhere. An older Prison Policy Initiative study, "The Company Store" (May 2018), compared prices in Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington. It found some commissary items cost less than outside stores, and others were only a bit higher. That study used sales data from 2016 and 2017, so today's prices may differ.

For a look at what is usually sold, see our prison commissary list and prison commissary food guides.

Facility commissions and extra fees

Some of what your loved one pays doesn't go to the item at all. Depending on the state, it can go to the prison system or to added charges.

• Commissions: The Appeal reported in 2024 that Florida's Department of Corrections gets a 35.6 percent commission on marked-up items under a five-year, $175 million commissary contract. Items sold at or below cost are not part of that commission.
• Surcharges: Iowa adds a 6 percent "Pay for Stay" fee to most commissary items, according to The Appeal. Prison Legal News reported in January 2025 that Alaska adds a 3 percent surcharge that funds a welfare fund for people in prison.
• Sales tax: Prison Legal News reported that sales tax adds over 9 percent in Tennessee.
• Digital items: In 2018, the Prison Policy Initiative found Massachusetts charged $1.85 per song download, including a 5-cent payment per song to the corrections department.

Families can also pay fees just to get money onto the account. Our guide on how to put money on commissary covers the lower-fee options.

Low prison wages vs. commissary prices

This is the biggest reason prices feel high. A $2 item is cheap for most people, but not for someone earning cents an hour.

In April 2017, the Prison Policy Initiative surveyed prison pay across the country. It found:

• Regular prison jobs (like kitchen or cleaning work) paid an average of about 14 to 63 cents per hour.
• Jobs in state-owned businesses (correctional industries) paid an average of about 33 cents to $1.41 per hour.
• The average top daily wage for regular jobs was $3.45, down from $4.73 in 2001.
• In several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas, regular prison jobs paid nothing.

Here is what that looks like in real life, from the 2018 Company Store report:

• In Massachusetts, pay started at 14 cents an hour. A $1.87 pack of floss loops took over 13 hours of work to afford.
• A $4 tube of antifungal cream in Massachusetts cost about four days' wages at the lowest pay rate.

So even a "fair" price can be out of reach. That's why most people inside depend on money from family. The same report found that people in prison spent an average of $947 a year at commissary across the three states studied, mostly on food.

States that cap or cut markups

Some states have taken steps to limit what people pay.

• California: Senate Bill 474, called the BASIC Act, became law on October 8, 2023. It caps canteen prices at a 35 percent markup over what the state pays vendors. The cap is set to end on January 1, 2028. Before the cap, The Appeal reported markups between 63 and 200 percent.
• Michigan: In July 2022, the corrections department stopped marking up hygiene items. Those had been marked up 19 percent for most products. In 2024 it lowered the food markup to 14 percent, according to The Appeal.
• Nevada: A 2023 law ended markups on hygiene items.

Rules like these change, so check with your state's corrections department for current pricing. Many states post a commissary price list online.

How old is this data?

Commissary prices change often, sometimes monthly. Here's how current each source is:

• Wage survey: Prison Policy Initiative, April 2017.
• Three-state price and spending study: Prison Policy Initiative, May 2018, using 2016–2017 sales data.
• National price and markup investigation: The Appeal, April 2024.
• Fee and surcharge roundup: Prison Legal News, January 2025.
• California markup cap: state law, in effect until January 1, 2028.

The overall pattern has held up across these reports: low pay plus added costs make basic items hard to afford. For more on how the system works, read how prison commissary works and our guide to commissary spending limits.

Tips to stretch commissary money

• Ask your loved one which items they need most, so money goes to essentials first.
• Look up your state's commissary price list if it's posted, so you both know real costs.
• Compare deposit methods. A mailed money order is often the cheapest way to send funds.
• If you can, send money less often in larger amounts, since many deposit fees are flat.
• See our guide to supporting a loved one in prison on a budget for more ideas.