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 October 9, 2026.
Guilford County, North Carolina, has about 559,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Guilford County is held at the county jail, run by the Guilford 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: Guilford County public records, Guilford County arrest records, Guilford County warrants, Guilford County criminal records, Guilford County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Guilford County
The county jail, run by the Guilford County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Guilford County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Guilford County Sheriff's Office at guilfordcountync.gov/government/sheriffs-office/detention-centers (page title: Detention Centers | Guilford County), phone (336) 641-2700, 201 S Edgeworth St. Tuesday through Friday: Greensboro Detention Center Greensboro, NC 27401, 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 (336) 641-2700.
The Guilford County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 850 people, down from about 930 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,308 beds, and it ran at 64 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Guilford County has about 559,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Guilford County Jail
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Greensboro, High Point and Gibsonville make the arrests that end in a booking in Guilford County.
The FBI's agency list also places four campus police departments and one other agency in Guilford County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Kernersville Police Department, the Burlington Police Department and the Archdale Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Guilford County, so their arrests are not broken out for Guilford County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Greensboro's 6,307 for 2025, High Point's 3,107 for 2025 and the Guilford County Sheriff's Office's 1,382 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Guilford County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,932 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 Guilford 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 Guilford County?
Ask the Guilford County Sheriff's Office at (336) 641-2700; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at guilfordcountync.gov.
How many people are in the Guilford County jail?
About 850 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,308 beds.
What is the phone number for the Guilford County jail?
(336) 641-2700, the number on the page of the Guilford County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Guilford 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 Guilford 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.