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.
Wilkes County, North Carolina, has about 66,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wilkes County is held at the county jail, run by the Wilkes 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: Wilkes County public records, Wilkes County arrest records, Wilkes County warrants, Wilkes County criminal records, Wilkes County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Wilkes County
The county jail, run by the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Wilkes County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office at wilkescounty.net/152/Jail (page title: Jail | Wilkes County, NC), phone 336-903-7623, 502 Courthouse Drive Wilkesboro, NC 28697, 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 336-903-7623.
The Wilkes County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 240 beds, and it ran at 73 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Wilkes County has about 66,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 26 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Wilkes County Jail
The Wilkes County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro make the arrests that end in a booking in Wilkes County.
The Elkin Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Wilkes County, so its arrests are not broken out for Wilkes County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office's 624 for 2025, North Wilkesboro's 327 for 2025 and Wilkesboro's 285 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Wilkes County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,236 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 Wilkes 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 Wilkes County?
Ask the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office at 336-903-7623; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wilkescounty.net/152/Jail.
How many people are in the Wilkes County jail?
About 170 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 240 beds.
What is the phone number for the Wilkes County jail?
336-903-7623, the number on the page of the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Wilkes 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 Wilkes 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.