Reviewed and updated October 9, 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 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Cedar County, Iowa, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cedar County is held at the county jail, run by the Cedar 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: Cedar County public records, Cedar County arrest records, Cedar County warrants, Cedar County criminal records, Cedar County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Cedar County
The county jail, run by the Cedar County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Cedar County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Cedar County Sheriff's Office at cedarcounty.iowa.gov/sheriff/inmate_roster (page title: Inmate Roster | Sheriff's Office | Cedar County, Iowa), phone 563-331-9900, 400 Cedar St Tipton, IA 52772, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Cedar County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 12 people, down from about 17 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 47 beds, and it ran at 26 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cedar County has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 7 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cedar County Jail
The Cedar County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Tipton, West Branch, Durant, Clarence and Mechanicsville make the arrests that end in a booking in Cedar County.
The Wilton Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Cedar County, so its arrests are not broken out for Cedar County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Cedar County Sheriff's Office's 93 for 2025, Tipton's 26 for 2025 and Durant's 10 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Cedar County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 136 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 Cedar County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Cedar County?
Look on the custody page of the Cedar County Sheriff's Office at cedarcounty.iowa.gov/sheriff/inmate_roster, or call 563-331-9900. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Cedar County jail?
About 12 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 47 beds.
What is the phone number for the Cedar County jail?
563-331-9900, the number on the page of the Cedar County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cedar County go?
To a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Is this the official Cedar County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.