Stockholders' Equity (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended				9 Months Ended							3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2011	May 31, 2011	May 31, 2010	Feb. 28, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011 Officers And Executive Officers [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Employees [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Non-Employee Directors [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Non-Employee Directors [Member] Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Executive Officers [Member] Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Officers [Member] Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 General And Administrative Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 General And Administrative Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 General And Administrative Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 General And Administrative Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 General And Administrative Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 General And Administrative Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Operating Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Operating Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Operating Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Operating Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Operating Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Operating Expense [Member] Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Restricted Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Restricted Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Stock Options [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Stock Options [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Stock Options [Member]
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Allocation of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Approval of share repurchase program of CCA's common stock by company's board of directors	$ 500.0		$ 350.0	$ 250.0
Increased aggregate value of shares authorized for repurchase under share repurchase program		100.0
Common stock repurchased by CCA, shares					17,600,000
Common stock repurchased by CCA					380.6
Remaining authorized repurchase amount					119.4
Percentage of net income that increases restricted payment basket					50.00%
Restricted common stock and common stock units and stock options issued by CCA to certain of its employees															226,000		335,000				38,000		111,000			264,000		446,000			573,000		712,000
Fair value of restricted common stock and common stock units and stock options issued by CCA to certain of its employees																										6.5		9.7			5.5		5.5
Vesting period, in years						three	three	one	one	three	four
Performance criteria, cumulative period (in years)																										three
Allocated share-based compensation expense												1.3	3.7	1.1		3.3		0.3	0.9	0.2		0.8		1.6	1.3	4.6	4.1
Restricted common stock and common stock units outstanding subject to vesting					771,000
Expense net of forfeitures, relating to common stock options																													$ 1.0	$ 1.2	$ 3.2	$ 3.2
Weighted average exercise price of common stock shares issued to directors, officers and executive officers																															$ 24.47		$ 20.68
Common stock options outstanding																													3,700,000		3,700,000
Weighted average exercise price of common stock outstanding																													$ 18.57		$ 18.57