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 October 2, 2026.
Ellis County, Kansas, has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ellis County is held at the county jail, run by the Ellis 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: Ellis County public records, Ellis County arrest records, Ellis County warrants, Ellis County criminal records, Ellis County court records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Ellis County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ellis County is held at the county jail, run by the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office at ellisco.net/102/Sheriff (page title: Ellis County Sheriff's Office | Ellis County, KS), 105 W. 12th St. Hays, KS 67601, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Ellis County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 55 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 68 beds, and it ran at 81 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Ellis County has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 19 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Ellis County Jail
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Hays, Ellis and Victoria make the arrests that end in a booking in Ellis County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Ellis County: Fort Hays State University (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Hays's 877 for 2025, the Ellis County Sheriff's Office's 211 for 2025 and Ellis's 18 for 2021.
Together, the two agencies in Ellis County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,088 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 Ellis 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 Kansas Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Ellis County?
Ask the Ellis County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at ellisco.net/102/Sheriff.
How many people are in the Ellis County jail?
About 55 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 68 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Ellis County go?
To a facility of the Kansas Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.ks.gov.
Is this the official Ellis 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.