Reviewed and updated October 11, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
Grass Valley, California, in Nevada County, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Grass Valley is held at the county jail, run by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Grass Valley public records, Nevada County inmate search, Grass Valley arrest records, Grass Valley warrants, Grass Valley criminal records, Grass Valley court records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Grass Valley
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Grass Valley is held at the county jail, run by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office at nevadacountyca.gov/4144/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Nevada County, CA), phone 530-550-3068, 950 Maidu Avenue Nevada City, CA 95959, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 11, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 530-550-3068.
The Nevada County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 283 beds, and it ran at 55 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Nevada County has about 102,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 16 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Nevada County Jail
The Nevada County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Grass Valley (filed by the FBI as Grass Valley Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Grass Valley.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency and three state police units in Nevada County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Grass Valley's 577 for 2025, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office's 555 for 2025 and Truckee's 317 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Nevada County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,609 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Grass Valley arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Grass Valley?
Ask the Nevada County Sheriff's Office at 530-550-3068; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at nevadacountyca.gov/4144/Sheriff.
How many people are in the Nevada County jail?
About 170 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 283 beds.
What is the phone number for the Nevada County jail?
530-550-3068, the number on the page of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Nevada County go?
To a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; its inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Is this the official Grass Valley website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.