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 23, 2026 and September 28, 2026.
Cherokee County, North Carolina, has about 30,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cherokee County is held at the county jail, run by the Cherokee 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: Cherokee County public records, Cherokee County arrest records, Cherokee County warrants, Cherokee County criminal records, Cherokee County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Cherokee County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cherokee County is held at the county jail, run by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office at cherokeecounty-nc.gov/269/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Cherokee County, NC), phone (828) 837-2589, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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) 837-2589.
The Cherokee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 120 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 128 beds, and it ran at 95 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cherokee County has about 30,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 39 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cherokee County Jail
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Andrews and Murphy make the arrests that end in a booking in Cherokee County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office's 634 for 2025, Murphy's 410 for 2025 and Andrews's 110 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies in Cherokee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,044 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County?
Ask the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office at (828) 837-2589; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at cherokeecounty-nc.gov/269/Sheriffs-Office.
How many people are in the Cherokee 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 128 beds.
What is the phone number for the Cherokee County jail?
(828) 837-2589, the number on the page of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.