Expertly Reviewed by: David Chen, CFA • Prison Management Strategy Analyst
Optimize your facility’s financial health with our Prison Architect Calculator. This tool helps wardens balance prisoner intake, staff wages, and daily overhead to ensure a sustainable cash flow and prevent bankruptcy.
Prison Architect Calculator
Prison Architect Calculator Formula
Where: P = Profit, N = Prisoners, G = Grant per head, S = Staff Wages, M = Misc Costs
Formula Source: Prison Architect Official Wiki – Finance
Variables
- Number of Prisoners (N): The total population currently housed in your facility.
- Daily Grant (G): The fixed daily income received per prisoner based on security level.
- Staff Wages (S): The total daily salary paid to guards, doctors, cooks, and admin.
- Misc/Food Overhead (M): Daily costs for food ingredients and utility maintenance.
- Daily Profit (P): The net cashflow remaining after all daily expenses are paid.
Related Calculators
What is the Prison Architect Calculator?
The Prison Architect Calculator is a specialized financial planning tool designed for players of the popular prison management simulation game. Managing a prison requires a delicate balance between security and solvency. If expenses like staff wages and food costs exceed the daily grants provided by the government, your prison will quickly fall into debt.
By using this tool, wardens can determine exactly how many prisoners are required to reach a specific profit goal, or calculate how much they can afford to spend on staff increases without going into the red. It simplifies the complex math behind the “Daily Cashflow” report in the game’s Intelligence menu.
How to Calculate (Example)
- Identify your prisoner count (e.g., 50 Medium Security inmates).
- Determine your grant per prisoner (e.g., $150). Total Revenue = $7,500.
- Sum up your staff wages (e.g., $4,000) and food/utility costs (e.g., $1,500).
- Subtract expenses from revenue: $7,500 – $4,000 – $1,500 = $2,000 Profit.
- Adjust variables to find your “Break-Even Point” where profit equals zero.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Intake higher security prisoners (Max or SuperMax) to receive higher daily grants, though this increases danger levels.
The calculator assumes 100% cell occupancy. If cells are empty or prisoners are in solitary/infirmary, grants might fluctuate.
This version focuses on finances. For food, ensure your cooks-to-cookers ratio is optimized alongside this profit model.
Use CCTV cameras and remote doors to reduce the need for physical guard presence in low-traffic areas.