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.
Wilson County, North Carolina, has about 80,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wilson County is held at the county jail, run by the Wilson 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: Wilson County public records, Wilson County arrest records, Wilson County warrants, Wilson County criminal records, Wilson County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Wilson County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wilson County is held at the county jail, run by the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at wilsoncountync.gov/departments/office-of-the-sheriff/sheriff-s-mobi... (page title: Sheriff's Mobile App | Wilson County), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Wilson County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 220 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 250 beds, and it ran at 89 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Wilson County has about 80,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 21 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Wilson County Jail
The Wilson County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Wilson and Black Creek make the arrests that end in a booking in Wilson County.
The Kenly Police Department and the Sharpsburg Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Wilson County, so their arrests are not broken out for Wilson County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Wilson's 2,357 for 2025, Black Creek's 1,153 for 2025 and the Wilson County Sheriff's Office's 660 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Wilson County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,170 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County?
Ask the Wilson County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wilsoncountync.gov.
How many people are in the Wilson 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 250 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Wilson 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 Wilson 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.