How to Look Up York County Jail Population Data
The clearest official source for York County jail population data is the 2020 PREA audit of the Detention Center. PREA is the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and its audits report capacity, average daily population, admissions, staffing, and housing setup. The York County audit gives a firm capacity and a 12-month operating profile. It is a point-in-time record, not a live feed, so its numbers reflect the audit window rather than today.
For a "today" snapshot, the York County current inmates search shows a live count of records. That count shifts through the day as bookings, bond releases, court orders, and transfers happen. The audit numbers are official and stable. The live count is operational and changes hourly, so it should always be dated when used. On May 26, 2026, the roster page displayed 438 current records.
York County Jail Capacity Overview
York County runs one main detention center inside the Moss Justice Center complex. The 2020 PREA audit lists a designated capacity of 565. At the facility-characteristics snapshot in that audit, the population was 248. The facility is a multilevel, 149,000-square-foot jail built in 1995, with six buildings and twelve inmate housing units. The table sets the capacity against two reference populations.
| Facility | Rated Capacity | Reported Population |
|---|---|---|
| York County Detention Center (snapshot, 2020 audit) | 565 | 248 |
| York County Detention Center (12-month ADP, 2020 audit) | 565 | 467 |
| York County Detention Center (live roster, May 26, 2026) | 565 | 438 |
The capacity of 565 is a rated capacity, not a target. The audit found the jail was not over capacity at any point in the prior 12 months. The snapshot of 248 sits near 44 percent of capacity, while the 12-month average of 467 sits near 83 percent. Only the capacity and the two 2020 figures come from the audit; the 438 count is a live operational number dated to May 26, 2026.
Average Daily Population
Average daily population, or ADP, is the most useful single number here. The 2020 PREA audit reports a 12-month ADP of 467 for the York County Detention Center. ADP smooths the daily churn of bookings and releases, so it describes the jail far better than any one-day count.
That 467 average works out to roughly 83 percent of the rated 565 beds. No year-over-year ADP figure for 2021 through 2026 was located in official searchable text, so the 467 figure stands as the official baseline rather than a current-year number. Treat it as the best stable county-specific measure of how busy the jail runs.
Compare ADP with the live count and the gap makes sense. The 12-month average of 467 absorbs busy days and quiet days alike. A single live roster reading, such as the 438 records seen on May 26, 2026, can sit above or below that average depending on the hour. Neither figure is wrong. They answer different questions. ADP describes the typical day over a year. The live count describes one moment. For planning, capacity, or staffing talk, ADP is the figure to lean on.
Demographic and Custody-Level Breakdown
The York County jail holds both men and women across three custody levels: minimum, medium, and maximum. The 2020 PREA audit gives an age range of 17 to 82 and notes that 16 youthful inmates were held during the audit period, with sight-and-sound separation in place. The audit does not publish a percentage split by race or gender, so exact shares are not claimed here. The table shows the custody and population categories the audit does confirm.
| Category | What the Audit Reports |
|---|---|
| Sex held | Both females and males. |
| Custody levels | Minimum, medium, and maximum. |
| Age range | 17 to 82. |
| Youthful inmates held | 16 over the prior 12 months. |
| Other-agency holds | U.S. Marshals, ICE, and city or municipal agencies. |
These are county-specific figures from the 2020 audit. They describe the kinds of people held, not a precise percentage chart, since the source does not publish one.
Pretrial vs. Sentenced and Federal Holds
The York County jail population is a mix, not a single group. It holds pretrial detainees waiting for court, sentenced local inmates, municipal holds, federal holds for the U.S. Marshals, and immigration holds for ICE. The 2020 PREA audit does not break the population into a clean pretrial-versus-sentenced percentage, so the table below describes the categories rather than fixed shares.
| Status | Who They Are |
|---|---|
| Pretrial | Held awaiting bond, a hearing, or General Sessions; not yet convicted. |
| Sentenced (local) | Serving a court-imposed sentence in the county jail. |
| Federal / ICE holds | Held for the U.S. Marshals or ICE while in their custody. |
| Municipal holds | Held for a city or municipal agency. |
This mix matters for any search. A person physically in the York County jail may not be a York County sentenced inmate at all. They could be awaiting bond, awaiting General Sessions, or held for a federal or immigration agency on a case that is not a county prosecution.
Admissions and Length of Stay
The flow through the jail is far larger than its one-day count. The 2020 PREA audit reports 6,555 admissions over the prior 12 months. The average length of stay was 21 days. Of those admissions, the audit recorded 1,680 with a stay of 30 days or more and 579 with a stay of 72 hours or more.
The big admissions number shows a heavy operational workload built mostly from short stays. The 1,680 admissions of 30 days or more point to a group held long enough to weigh on housing, medical, visitation, and court-transport. The 72-hour figure appears smaller than the 30-day figure in the audit lines, so it should be quoted as reported and not used to build a trend on its own.
The gap between flow and standing count is the key idea here. A one-day population near 248 or 438 looks small next to 6,555 admissions in a year. That is because most people booked into the jail leave quickly, often within the 21-day average stay. So the jail does a large volume of intake and release work even while its bed count stays well under capacity. Reading admissions and ADP together gives a far truer picture than any single snapshot.
Medical and Mental Health Population
The York County Detention Center provides on-site medical and mental-health services to its population. The 2020 PREA audit describes a medical team of four registered nurses, three licensed practical nurses, a pharmacy technician, a records clerk, a contracted physician, a dentist, a dental assistant, and a pharmacist. Mental-health counseling is provided through Catawba Mental Health.
These services support the people held in the jail. They are not a public clinic. The audit also notes that forensic medical exams for sexual assault were provided through a local hospital or clinic rather than on-site, which shows the jail leans on outside providers for some specialized care.
Programs and Volunteers
Programs reach a meaningful share of the population. The 2020 PREA audit narrative mentions roughly 200 volunteers tied to the facility. Program offerings include life skills, Bible studies, religious services, Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, and educational services. The Inmate Programs unit also keeps a library and coordinates continuing and special education.
Staffing context comes from the same audit, which counted 128 staff with inmate contact. That figure is a 2020 operational snapshot, so it should not be presented as a current 2026 number without a newer sheriff budget or annual report to confirm it.
National and State Context
Local numbers read better against a backdrop. National and state jail rates come from outside sources, not the York County Sheriff, so they are clearly labeled here as context only. The Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes annual jail reports with national incarceration rates per 100,000 residents. The Vera Institute tracks county-level incarceration trends across the country. Neither set of figures is a York County official count.
| Level | Source / Label |
|---|---|
| York County | 2020 PREA audit: capacity 565, ADP 467 (county-specific). |
| South Carolina | Bureau of Justice Statistics jail reports (state context, not York-specific). |
| National | BJS and Vera Institute incarceration data (national context, not York-specific). |
No reliable per-100,000 rate for York County alone was located in official searchable text during research, so a county rate is not invented here. Use the BJS and Vera figures only to frame scale, never as York County Sheriff numbers.
Population Trends and Current Roster Caveat
A clean multi-year trend line is not available. Official York County jail annual population reports for 2021 through 2026 were not located in searchable text during research. So the 2020 PREA audit stands as the official baseline, and the live roster gives only a dated snapshot.
On May 26, 2026, the roster page showed 438 current records. That sits below the 2020 ADP of 467 and well below the 565 capacity, but it is a single live count, not a verified trend. The roster count moves all day as arrests, bond releases, court orders, and transfers occur. Read it as "today, at this hour," and always date it.
Searching for York County Inmate Records by Name
This page covers aggregate jail population data, not individual people. For a name-based search of the live jail roster, use York County inmate records, which explains the roster fields and what each inmate profile shows.
Where the Data Comes From
The county-specific figures here come from the York County Detention Center 2020 PREA audit, a public document from the Sheriff's Office. The live count comes from the York County current inmates search, dated when cited. Broader scale comes from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Vera Institute, labeled as context, not local counts.
Keep the sources straight. The audit gives stable capacity and 12-month figures. The roster gives a moving daily snapshot. The national bodies give comparison only. When a number matters for a decision, confirm it with the York County Sheriff's Office.