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.
Nashville, North Carolina, in Nash County, has about 5,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Nashville is held at the county jail, run by the Nash 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: Nashville public records, Nash County inmate search, Nashville arrest records, Nashville warrants, Nashville criminal records, Nashville court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Nashville
The county jail, run by the Nash County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Nashville, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Nash County Sheriff's Office at nashcountync.gov/252/Detention-Center (page title: Detention Center | Nash County, NC), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Nash County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 240 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 276 beds, and it ran at 88 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Nash County has about 98,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Nash County Jail
The Nash County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Nashville (filed by the FBI as Nashville Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Nashville.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Nash County: Nash County Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement (other agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Spring Hope's 1,153 for 2025, Whitakers's 1,153 for 2025 and Rocky Mount's 566 for 2024.
Together, the six agencies in Nash County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,833 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 Nashville arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Nashville?
Ask the Nash County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at nashcountync.gov/252/Detention-Center.
How many people are in the Nash County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 276 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Nash County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Nashville 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.