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.
Burke County, North Carolina, has about 89,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Burke County is held at the county jail, run by the Burke 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: Burke County public records, Burke County arrest records, Burke County warrants, Burke County criminal records, Burke County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Burke County
The county jail, run by the Burke County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Burke County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Burke County Sheriff's Office at burkenc.org/2562/Jail (page title: Jail | Burke County, NC), phone 828-764-9590, 130 Government Dr Morganton, NC 28655, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 828-764-9590.
The Burke County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 120 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 176 beds, and it ran at 102 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Burke County has about 89,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Burke County Jail
The Burke County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Morganton, Valdese, Drexel, Glen Alpine and Rhodhiss make the arrests that end in a booking in Burke County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Burke County: the State Park Rangers at South Mountains (state agency).
The Long View Police Department and the Hickory Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Burke County, so their arrests are not broken out for Burke County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Glen Alpine's 1,153 for 2025, Rhodhiss's 1,153 for 2025 and the Burke County Sheriff's Office's 851 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Burke County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,720 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 Burke 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 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 Burke County?
Ask the Burke County Sheriff's Office at 828-764-9590; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at burkenc.org/2562/Jail.
How many people are in the Burke County jail?
About 120 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 176 beds.
What is the phone number for the Burke County jail?
828-764-9590, the number on the page of the Burke County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Burke 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 Burke 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.