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 23, 2026.
Stearns County, Minnesota, has about 164,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Stearns County is held at the county jail, run by the Stearns 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Stearns County public records, Stearns County arrest records, Stearns County warrants, Stearns County criminal records, Stearns County court records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Stearns County
The county jail, run by the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Stearns County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office at jailroster.stearnscountymn.gov/Current?page=1&sortOrder=booking_asc (page title: Stearns County, MN | Jail Roster Current Inmate Search), phone 320-259-3760, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Stearns County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 130 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 151 beds, and it ran at 87 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Stearns County has about 164,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 8 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Stearns County Jail
The Stearns County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for St. Cloud, Sartell, Waite Park, St. Joseph, Sauk Centre, Cold Spring and five more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Stearns County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Stearns County: the State Patrol at St. Cloud (state police).
The Eden Valley Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Stearns County, so its arrests are not broken out for Stearns County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were St. Cloud's 2,647 for 2025, the Stearns County Sheriff's Office's 496 for 2024 and Waite Park's 401 for 2025.
Together, the nine agencies in Stearns County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,260 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 Stearns County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Stearns County?
Look on the custody page of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office at jailroster.stearnscountymn.gov, or call 320-259-3760. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Stearns County jail?
About 130 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 151 beds.
What is the phone number for the Stearns County jail?
320-259-3760, the number on the page of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Is this the official Stearns 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.