The St. Louis County Inmate Population
The St. Louis County inmate population is not one single list. The main adult county jail is the St. Louis County Jail in Duluth, operated by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Gordon Ramsay. The sheriff's jail page says that jail holds offenders from all jurisdictions in the county, fugitives wanted in other states, fugitives wanted in other Minnesota counties, and prisoners from the U.S. Marshals office when they are held locally. That means the roster may include a person arrested by Duluth Police, Hibbing Police, Virginia Police, the sheriff, Minnesota State Patrol, tribal police, probation, or another agency.
The county system also includes two short-term Range lockups, one in Hibbing and one in Virginia. Northeast Regional Corrections Center is different. It is run by Arrowhead Regional Corrections in Saginaw and serves a regional correctional role, including referrals from St. Louis, Carlton, Cook, Lake, Koochiching, and other counties. Arrowhead Juvenile Center is a youth residential correctional treatment center, not an adult inmate roster facility. A person sentenced to a Minnesota prison is searched through the Minnesota Department of Corrections Locator, not the county jail roster.
St. Louis County Inmate Population Statistics
Official sources publish several capacity and service figures, but they do not publish a reliable current aggregate inmate count as a separate dashboard. The county about-jail page reports a Duluth jail capacity of 197 beds, plus the Hibbing 72-hour lockup at 8 inmates and the Virginia 72-hour lockup at 12 inmates. ARC's public material reports that NERCC served 534 men in 2025 and AJC served 220 juveniles with delinquency offenses in 2025. WTIP reported NERCC as a 144-bed facility in 2025, while the official ARC page did not state that rated bed count.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis County Jail Duluth rated capacity | 197 beds | County about-jail page, inspected 2026 |
| Hibbing 72-hour lockup capacity | 8 inmates | County about-jail page, inspected 2026 |
| Virginia 72-hour lockup capacity | 12 inmates | County about-jail page, inspected 2026 |
| NERCC rated capacity | 144 beds | WTIP 2025 report; official ARC page did not publish bed count |
| ARC NERCC service count | 534 men served | ARC homepage, 2025 |
| ARC AJC service count | 220 juveniles served | ARC homepage, 2025 |
St. Louis County Inmate Population Trends
The trend picture is partly historical and partly operational. The jail history page gives a 1979 baseline of 2,127 bookings and an average daily population of 87.9, with a high of 116 and a low of 69. The current roster is available as a PDF and the sheriff says it updates hourly, but the research did not locate an official current annual booking total, current average length of stay, or current demographic dashboard. For that reason, the St. Louis County inmate population should not be described with a live count unless the roster has been counted by a reliable source.
| Year | ADP / Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 87.9 average daily population | Official jail history; 2,127 bookings; high 116 and low 69. |
| 2025 | 534 men served at NERCC | ARC annual figure for the regional adult facility. |
| 2025 | 220 juveniles served at AJC | ARC annual figure; AJC is juvenile, not adult jail population. |
| 2026 | Current roster available hourly | Official county PDF, but no separate official aggregate count located. |
St. Louis County Jail Capacity
Capacity matters because the county covers Duluth, the Range, and a large rural area. The sheriff's roster page says inmates may be transferred to another jail facility to alleviate housing overcrowding, and it states that those transfers are not disciplinary. When a current roster entry lists a location other than the St. Louis County Jail, the reader should contact the listed facility for day-to-day custody questions. That transfer note is a local fact, not a general warning.
NERCC is part of the regional response to jail pressure. The official Arrowhead Regional Corrections NERCC page describes a minimum/medium work-farm correctional facility and says it helps address jail overcrowding in the five-county region while reducing use of state prison beds. St. Louis County also announced in April 2025 that the jail and Aspirus St. Luke's earned NCCHC accreditation for jail health services. That accreditation is a conditions fact, not a population count.
Laws for St. Louis County Jail Records
The sheriff's roster disclaimer cites Minnesota law because jail custody data is public only within the bounds of state classifications. Minnesota Statutes section 13.03 is the broad Government Data Practices Act rule for access to government data unless another law classifies it. Section 13.82 governs law-enforcement data, including arrest-related data and booking-photo classification. Section 13.85 defines corrections and detention data for jails, lockups, work farms, prisons, and other detention facilities.
Key statutes:
Minn. Stat. section 641.05 requires sheriffs to keep a permanent record of people committed to jail under the sheriff's charge.
Minn. Stat. section 241.021 gives the Commissioner of Corrections inspection and licensing authority over correctional facilities.
Minnesota Rules chapter 2911 sets jail standards for admissions, releases, classification, records, security, sanitation, and related jail operations.
Search St. Louis County Inmate Population
The official county lookup path starts at the sheriff's jail roster page. St. Louis County does not provide a fielded jail search form there. It publishes a current roster PDF and a separate 48-hour release roster PDF. Use the PDF search function or browser find to search by name. If the person was just arrested, the sheriff warns that the person may be in intake and not listed until a booking number has been assigned.
- Open the sheriff's jail roster page and read the hourly-update and intake-delay notice.
- Select the current roster PDF for people still in custody, or the 48-hour release roster for recent releases.
- Use PDF find to search the last name, then check first and middle names, suffix, date of birth, and age.
- Read the booking number, booking date, location, bail, charges, offense level, order type, and arresting agency.
- If the location shows another jail, contact that facility. If the person is sentenced to prison, search MNDOC.
The official roster landing page is shown in the county screenshot source for the St. Louis County jail roster landing page.
The roster landing page matters because it links both the current custody report and the recent release report instead of sending users to one name-search box.
Current St. Louis County Inmate Lookup
The current roster PDF is free and does not require a login. It shows jail-record data after a booking number exists. The county PDF is not a criminal-history report, and it does not replace court records. It is the custody view. Roster entries may include a person housed in another jail because St. Louis County uses transfers when housing pressure requires it.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current roster PDF | PDF link | No user field | Open or download the roster, then use PDF find for a name. |
| 48-hour release roster | PDF link | No user field | Separate report for people released in the recent window. |
| Name search | Browser/PDF find | Optional technique | Use last name first; verify with date of birth or booking details. |
| Booking number | Visible roster value | Not an input | The person is not listed until a booking number is assigned. |
What St. Louis County Inmate Records Show
The roster shows jail data, not every fact about a case. A booking charge may change after the prosecutor reviews the case. The roster may show bail, no bail, a hold, a sentence, a warrant, a remand, or another order type. A hold means another legal reason may keep the person in custody even if a dollar amount appears elsewhere. A remand is a court order placing the person in custody.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Full inmate name in the PDF roster. |
| Booking number | Numeric jail identifier assigned before public roster display. |
| Booking date/time | Date and time booked, when shown on the entry. |
| DOB / age | Date of birth and age in roster snippets reviewed. |
| Charges | Charge text, often abbreviated, with one or more counts. |
| Bail and order type | Dollar amount, no bail, hold, warrant, remand, sentence, or probable cause. |
| Mugshot | No booking photograph was observed in the official PDF roster snippets. |
St. Louis County Jail vs MNDOC
County jail and state prison are easy to confuse. The St. Louis County roster is the right source for current local jail custody after arrest, short local sentences, holds, and some U.S. Marshals prisoners held locally. MNDOC covers adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections and still under DOC jurisdiction, including people in prison and people released from prison but still under supervision. Newly sentenced people may take several business days to appear in the MNDOC locator.
| County Jail | State Prison / Supervision | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial detainees, local sentences, holds, and local bookings | Adults committed to MNDOC and still under jurisdiction |
| Run by | St. Louis County Sheriff's Office | Minnesota Department of Corrections |
| Where to look | County jail roster and release roster PDFs | MNDOC public locator |
| Timing issue | Intake delay before booking number | Several business days after a new prison sentence |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Use the MNDOC Locator when the person has moved beyond St. Louis County jail custody into a Minnesota prison or DOC supervision. Search by name or six-digit MNDOC Offender ID. Use BOP's federal inmate locator for federal inmates from 1982 to present. ICE is separate from both county jail and BOP; ICE ODLS searches people currently in ICE custody or in CBP custody more than 48 hours. No adult state prison, BOP prison, or dedicated ICE detention center was located inside St. Louis County in the official sources reviewed.
The state locator source appears in the manifest as the MNDOC public viewer.
The MNDOC locator is the state-prison fallback when the St. Louis County inmate population search no longer shows the person in local custody.
St. Louis County Detention Facilities
The facility map is important because St. Louis County uses more than one detention setting. The five facilities below should not be treated as identical. The Duluth jail is the main adult county jail. Hibbing and Virginia are 72-hour lockups. NERCC is a regional adult corrections center. Arrowhead Juvenile Center serves court-ordered youth and is not an adult jail roster source.
- St. Louis County Jail - main adult county jail for local arrestees, pretrial detainees, local sentences, fugitives, and some U.S. Marshals prisoners.
- Hibbing 72-Hour Lockup - short-term Range-area holding facility with an 8-inmate capacity.
- Virginia 72-Hour Lockup - short-term Range-area holding facility with a 12-inmate capacity.
- Northeast Regional Corrections Center - ARC minimum/medium regional work-farm correctional facility for incarcerated men.
- Arrowhead Juvenile Center - ARC youth residential correctional treatment center for court-ordered youth.
St. Louis County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the St. Louis County inmate population?
The official research supports capacity and service figures, not a safe live count. The Duluth jail has 197 beds, Hibbing has an 8-inmate lockup, Virginia has a 12-inmate lockup, NERCC served 534 men in 2025, and AJC served 220 juveniles in 2025. The current county roster updates hourly, but the research did not locate a separate official current population dashboard.
Why is a recent arrest missing?
The sheriff says a person may be in jail intake and not listed until assigned a booking number. Also check the 48-hour release roster, transferred-location field, MNDOC, BOP, and ICE ODLS when the county roster does not match what is known about the custody status.
Does the roster show mugshots?
No mugshot was observed in official PDF roster snippets, and the sheriff's roster page does not advertise a mugshot gallery. Booking photos may be requested through the sheriff's public data process when releasable under Minnesota law.