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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Clay County, Nebraska, has about 6,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clay County is held at the county jail, run by the Clay 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: Clay County public records, Clay County arrest records, Clay County warrants, Clay County criminal records, Clay County court records, Nebraska arrest records and Nebraska inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clay County
The county jail, run by the Clay County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Clay County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Clay County Sheriff's Office at claycounty.ne.gov/sheriff-office (page title: Sheriff Office | Clay County), phone 402-762-3528, 68933, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 402-762-3528.
The Clay County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 7 people, up from about 6 in 2018. Its rated capacity in 2022, the last year with a capacity figure, was 10 beds, and it ran at 50 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Clay County has about 6,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Clay County Jail
The Clay County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Sutton and Harvard make the arrests that end in a booking in Clay County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Clay County: the State Patrol in Clay County (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Clay County Sheriff's Office's 2 for 2025, Harvard's 1 for 2025 and Sutton's 0 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Clay County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3 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 Clay County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Clay County serves the sentence in a facility of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, whose inmate locator is at dcs-inmatesearch.ne.gov/Corrections/COR_input.jsp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Clay County?
Ask the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 402-762-3528; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at claycounty.ne.gov/sheriff-office.
How many people are in the Clay County jail?
About 7 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 10 beds.
What is the phone number for the Clay County jail?
402-762-3528, the number on the page of the Clay County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Clay County go?
To a facility of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services; its inmate locator is at dcs-inmatesearch.ne.gov.
Is this the official Clay 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.