Pierce County Jail Population Data

How to Look Up Pierce County Jail Population Data

Pierce County does not publish a real-time daily population dashboard on a public-facing webpage as of the research gathered for this page. The closest official public source for current bed use is the Pierce County Sheriff's Corrections Bureau page, which links to the live jail roster. That roster shows individuals currently in custody, but it is not a census count or average daily population figure. It reflects who is booked at the moment you look, not a trended population number.

For aggregate population data, the better path is the county budget process. Search results for official Pierce County budget documents have cited the Main Jail's reported capacity. Budget and corrections reports submitted to the county council are often the most reliable source for annual population statistics, average length of stay, and year-over-year booking counts. Those documents are sometimes posted on the Pierce County Sheriff's Office page or available through a public records request.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics collects annual jail census data from counties nationwide. Its Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails programs compile county-level figures that may include Pierce County in years the survey covers that jurisdiction. BJS data runs a year or two behind, but it is the standard reference for comparing local jails to state and national figures. The Vera Institute Incarceration Trends tool aggregates BJS data into a county-searchable format and is another practical starting point for researching Pierce County jail population over time.

Note: Pierce County publishes jail service and budget information, but a current public dashboard with daily population breakdowns was not located in the official sources reviewed for this page. Verify totals directly with the Sheriff's Office or through a county budget document before citing a specific number.

Pierce County Jail Capacity Overview

Pierce County operates two jail facilities on its law-and-justice campus in downtown Tacoma. The Main Jail sits at 910 Tacoma Avenue South. A separate structure known as the New Jail shares the same campus, adjacent to the County-City Building at 930 Tacoma Avenue South. Both facilities fall under the Pierce County Sheriff's Corrections Bureau. Their combined rated capacity determines how many people the county can hold under normal operating conditions.

Only one official capacity figure has been located in public sources during research. A Pierce County budget document search result states the Main Jail has a reported current capacity of 706 beds. No official figure for the New Jail's rated bed count was found in the sources reviewed. The visiting-hour schedule for the New Jail confirms it is a separate, active housing facility with its own unit assignments, but the county has not published its bed count in the publicly accessible pages reviewed here.

The phone numbers for both facilities are shared. Custody inquiries go to 253-798-4590. Jail administration can be reached at 253-798-4668. Both numbers cover matters at the Main Jail and the New Jail.

Average Daily Population

Pierce County's average daily population figures were not located in a publicly accessible official source during this research pass. The Corrections Bureau page discusses services, staffing, and current restrictions rather than a population dashboard. Budget documents may include ADP, but they are not consolidated in a single public-facing page. As a result, no average daily population figure is cited here. Any number claimed without a direct citation to a current county budget document or BJS annual survey should be treated with caution.

The county does make the live jail roster searchable through LINX. The roster shows who is in custody at the time of a search but is not designed as a population report. It will not tell you how many people were held last week, nor will it give you an average. It is a real-time list of current bookings, and LINX itself notes the name list will not include people who have been released.

Note: Do not rely on third-party sites that claim to publish live Pierce County jail population counts. Those figures are typically pulled from the public roster at a single moment and do not represent a verified average or official report.

Demographic Breakdown

Detailed demographic data for Pierce County jail inmates, including gender, race, age distribution, and citizenship status, was not found in the official public-facing sources reviewed here. The sheriff's public records page explains that most inmate jail records, including booking photos, are not public records and are exempt from disclosure under RCW 70.48.100. What the sheriff publishes in the public roster is limited to a defined set of fields: inmate name, booking date, charge, warrant type, charging agency, court jurisdiction, court date, sentence date or bail amount, sentence or fine, and release date. Race, date of birth, height, weight, housing pod, and booking photo are not included in the public roster.

For demographic context at the state and national level, the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes detailed breakdowns by race, sex, and age in its jail census products. Washington State also collects correctional data through the Department of Corrections, though DOC data covers prison populations rather than county jails. Vera Institute's county-level tool allows users to filter by demographic group for counties where that data has been reported to BJS. Pierce County may appear in those datasets for years when it participated in the annual survey, but individual years vary.

Note: If official Pierce County jail demographics are needed for legal, policy, or research purposes, a formal public records request to the Pierce County Sheriff's Public Disclosure Unit is the correct path.

Pretrial vs. Sentenced Population

The split between people awaiting trial and people serving a sentence is one of the most commonly cited jail population figures. For Pierce County, this breakdown was not located in an official public-facing source during research. No current dashboard or annual report page published that ratio. Nationally, the Bureau of Justice Statistics consistently finds that pretrial detainees, people who have not been convicted but are held because they cannot post bail or were denied release, make up a large share of the average local jail population. That national pattern does not translate directly to Pierce County without a county-specific source.

Pierce County's jail holds a mix of custody types. The public jail roster fields include Sentence Date/Bail and Sentence/Fine, which reflect whether a person is being held on bail pending court or is serving a sentence after conviction. Warrant Type appears as a separate public field and can indicate holds tied to an outstanding warrant rather than a current charge. Federal or ICE holds, which are a separate category, were not addressed in the official sources reviewed. Without a published breakdown, the pretrial share for Pierce County specifically cannot be stated here.

Felony and Misdemeanor Holds

Pierce County Superior Court handles felony cases, while Pierce County District Court handles gross misdemeanors, misdemeanors, and civil infractions. Both court systems feed into the county jail. People held on felony charges typically remain in county custody until trial, sentencing, or transfer to state prison. People held on misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor charges may serve shorter sentences locally or be released more quickly, but the mix at any given time depends on booking volume and case pace.

A charge-type breakdown by felony versus misdemeanor was not located in official sources for this research. The public jail roster does list the charge and court jurisdiction for each person in custody, so someone reviewing the live roster can see individual charge descriptions, but no aggregate percentage or count was published in an accessible official source. Searches through Pierce County inmate records on LINX will show the charge field for any person currently booked.

Mental Health and Medical Population Indicators

Pierce County's jail medical and mental-health pages are among the more detailed official sources available. The Jail General Health Services page explains that health screening starts at booking. A nurse sees each arrestee who may have a health issue to assess housing appropriateness. Sick call runs five days a week. Inmates request care through a medical kite, which staff collect and prioritize within 24 hours. Medication passes run three times a day. Medical staff are on site around the clock and coordinate emergency hospital transport when needed. Dental care is also listed as a service offered.

The medical intake process means nearly every person booked in Pierce County is screened for health needs on arrival, which gives the county baseline data on the medical status of its jail population.

The Jail Mental Health Services page is direct about the scope of the issue. It states that large numbers of mentally ill individuals are incarcerated at the Pierce County Detention and Corrections Center. The program's stated goals are mental-health stability during custody and linkage to community services on release. The page frames mentally ill inmates as a community concern, not just a corrections matter, and emphasizes continuity of care between jail and outside providers.

The mental health program's emphasis on community linkage reflects that a significant share of Pierce County's jail population has behavioral health needs that extend beyond the custody period.

These service descriptions confirm the jail population includes people with active medical conditions and diagnosed mental health needs, but they do not provide a count or percentage. The share of the population receiving mental health services was not published as a specific figure in the official sources reviewed.

Pierce County Jail Staffing Challenges

The Corrections Bureau page includes a direct staffing notice. Pierce County Jail is facing staffing challenges similar to law-enforcement agencies nationwide. The notice states that in-person visitation remains restricted and the public reception desk remains closed. Those restrictions, still in place as of the sources reviewed, reflect operational adjustments tied to staff levels rather than a temporary event. The jail page lists fund deposit options, TouchPayDirect and a phone line at 1-866-232-1899, as the main way families can send money to inmates without coming to the facility.

Staffing affects population management in several ways. Lower staffing can reduce the ability to run all housing units at full capacity, affect how quickly medical and court-transport needs are handled, and constrain when visits or programs run. None of those specific effects were quantified in official sources here. The notice is the most direct statement the county makes about current operational conditions in the jail.

• In-person visitation is currently restricted at Pierce County Jail.
• The public reception desk is closed due to staffing conditions.
• Inmate funds can be deposited through TouchPayDirect online or by calling 1-866-232-1899.
• The facility locator number for TouchPay is 298402.
• All funds must be received by Sunday evening at 9 p.m. for the weekly commissary cycle.

National and State Context for Pierce County

Pierce County is the second-largest sheriff's agency in Washington. The sheriff's office serves more than 946,000 county residents, including more than 400,000 in unincorporated areas. The U.S. Census Bureau's QuickFacts page lists the July 1, 2025 population estimate for Pierce County at 946,288, with the April 1, 2020 census count at 921,130. Washington's Office of Financial Management placed Pierce County at 959,900 for its April 1, 2025 estimate. Tacoma, the county seat, had an OFM population estimate of 228,400 for that same date.

A county of nearly one million residents generates substantial demand on its jail. Even a relatively low booking rate per capita produces a large absolute population in a county this size.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes national and state-level jail data through its Annual Survey of Jails. The most recent BJS jail census data puts the national jail incarceration rate at roughly 220 to 230 per 100,000 residents, though that figure shifts year to year. Washington's rate has generally run below the national average. Pierce County's specific rate cannot be stated here without a verified county-level figure.

BJS data is the standard reference for comparing Pierce County's jail population to state and national benchmarks, even where county-specific dashboards are not public.

The Vera Institute's Incarceration Trends tool allows county-by-county searches using compiled BJS data. It is a useful secondary source when BJS's own county tables do not break out a specific jurisdiction. Vera's data runs on the same underlying survey but presents it in a more accessible format.

Population Trends Over Time

A five-year or ten-year trend line for Pierce County jail population was not found in a public-facing official source during this research. The Corrections Bureau page does not publish historical booking counts or year-over-year population graphs. County budget documents may include trend data, but those documents are not consolidated in a searchable public database.

For national context, jail populations across the U.S. dropped sharply during 2020 due to pandemic-era booking and release policy changes, then began rising again through 2022 and 2023 in most jurisdictions. Whether Pierce County followed that national pattern, and by how much, would require reviewing Pierce County budget reports or submitting a public records request to the Sheriff's Public Disclosure Unit. The Vera Incarceration Trends tool may include Pierce County historical figures if BJS collected county-level data for those years.

Note: Anyone citing a Pierce County jail population trend for policy, litigation, or research purposes should request the original county corrections reports rather than relying on estimates from secondary sources.

What Data Was Not Published

It is worth being clear about the gaps. The following figures were not found in official Pierce County public-facing sources during this research pass. They may exist in county budget documents, corrections bureau annual reports, or BJS survey submissions, but they were not available on a public webpage at the time of this review.

• Current average daily population (ADP)
• New Jail rated bed capacity
• Total combined jail system capacity (both facilities)
• Pretrial vs. sentenced population split
• Felony vs. misdemeanor hold percentages
• Demographic breakdown by race, sex, or age
• Average length of stay
• Annual booking count
• Federal or ICE hold counts
• Five-year population trend data

The reason for these gaps is partly structural. Under RCW 70.48.100, most inmate jail records are exempt from public disclosure. The public roster covers a narrow set of fields. Aggregate data is a separate question from individual records, but Pierce County has not built a public-facing population dashboard in the way some other large counties have. A formal public records request to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, directed to the Public Disclosure Unit, is the correct path for anyone who needs verified aggregate data for research or legal purposes.

How to Read Jail Population Claims Carefully

Third-party websites sometimes publish jail population counts, rankings, or comparisons. Those figures are usually drawn from one of three sources: BJS survey data, state-level corrections statistics, or a snapshot of the live jail roster taken at a single moment. Each source has real limits. BJS data is the most reliable but runs one to two years behind. State corrections data covers prisons, not county jails. A roster snapshot on any given day reflects that day's booking count, which can swing significantly based on weekends, court appearances, and release patterns.

When a site claims that Pierce County holds a specific number of inmates or has a specific incarceration rate, check whether the figure cites BJS, the county's own report, or a roster snapshot. A rate per 100,000 calculated from a single roster snapshot is not comparable to a BJS annual average. Pierce County's population of nearly one million also means that even a small percentage difference in rate translates to a large difference in absolute headcount, so precision matters when comparing the county to smaller jurisdictions.

Average Daily Population (ADP)

The mean number of inmates held per day over a reporting period, typically a calendar year. This is the standard metric for comparing jail size across counties.

Rated Capacity

The number of beds a facility is designed to hold under normal operation. A jail at 100 percent of rated capacity has no buffer for surges.

Pretrial Detainee

A person held in jail who has not been convicted. They may be awaiting arraignment, a bail hearing, or trial.

Sentenced Inmate

A person serving a sentence after conviction, either in the county jail for short terms or awaiting transfer to state prison for longer felony sentences.

Searching Pierce County Inmate Records by Name

This page covers aggregate jail population data, not individual inmate lookups. If you want to search for a specific person currently in custody, individual name searches go through the live jail roster. The Pierce County inmate records page covers how to use LINX to search by name, what fields appear in the public roster, and what the Sheriff's Office will and will not release about a person in custody. That page also addresses released inmates, what to do when a name does not appear on the current roster, and how to request historical release date information from jail administration.

Where the Data Comes From

The figures on this page come from a small number of official sources. The 706-bed Main Jail capacity figure comes from a Pierce County budget document search result. County population figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts page and the Washington Office of Financial Management April 1, 2025 estimates. The staffing and operational notices come from the Pierce County Corrections Bureau page. Medical and mental health program descriptions come from the Jail General Health Services and Mental Health Services pages. The national jail rate context comes from BJS Annual Survey of Jails reports.

No figures were estimated, interpolated, or sourced from third-party aggregators. Gaps acknowledged in the "What Data Was Not Published" section above are genuine gaps in publicly available official sources, not data that was found but excluded. Anyone who needs more complete population data can submit a public records request to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, review a current county budget document, or query the Bureau of Justice Statistics county data files directly.

• Pierce County Corrections Bureau: piercecountywa.gov/1932/Pierce-County-Jail
• U.S. Census QuickFacts Pierce County: census.gov
• Washington OFM population estimates: OFM April 2025 report
• Bureau of Justice Statistics: bjs.ojp.gov
• Vera Institute Incarceration Trends: incarcerationtrends.vera.org
• RCW 70.48.100 (jail records): app.leg.wa.gov

Related Pierce County Records

For the current live roster and individual inmate searches, use Pierce County inmate records. To find information about people who have left custody, see released inmates. Arrest and booking information connects to arrest records. For outstanding warrants that may affect who is held in the county jail, see Pierce County warrant records.