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 on September 24, 2026.
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cerro Gordo County is held at the county jail, run by the Cerro Gordo 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: Cerro Gordo County public records, Cerro Gordo County arrest records, Cerro Gordo County warrants, Cerro Gordo County criminal records, Cerro Gordo County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Cerro Gordo County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cerro Gordo County is held at the county jail, run by the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office at cerrogordo.gov/sheriff/jail (page title: Jail | Sheriff's Office | Cerro Gordo County, Iowa), phone 641-421-3019, 17262, Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 641-421-3019.
The Cerro Gordo County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 42 people, down from about 81 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 171 beds, and it ran at 47 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cerro Gordo County has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 10 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cerro Gordo County Jail
The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Mason City and Clear Lake make the arrests that end in a booking in Cerro Gordo County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Mason City's 1,224 for 2025, the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office's 395 for 2025 and Clear Lake's 226 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Cerro Gordo County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,845 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 Cerro Gordo County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Cerro Gordo County serves the sentence in a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Cerro Gordo County?
Ask the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office at 641-421-3019; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at cerrogordo.gov/sheriff/jail.
How many people are in the Cerro Gordo County jail?
About 42 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 171 beds.
What is the phone number for the Cerro Gordo County jail?
641-421-3019, the number on the page of the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo 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.