Debt (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Jan. 06, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012 Bank Of America Securities LLC And Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Amended Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Jan. 06, 2012 Senior Notes 6.25% Due 2013 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Notes 6.25% Due 2013 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes 6.25% Due 2013 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes 6.75% Due 2014 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Swing Line Loans [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member] Amended Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Amended Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving Credit Facility initiation date			December 2007
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity		$ 450,000,000		$ 785,000,000						$ 30,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility maturity date	December 2016
Line of credit interest on outstanding borrowings			At CCA's option, interest on outstanding borrowings of the Amended Revolving Credit Facility is based on either a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.25% to 1.0% or a London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus a margin ranging from 1.25% to 2.0% based on CCA's leverage ratio.
Purchase of Senior Notes							335,000,000
Debt issuance costs, capitalized				6,000,000
Charge against write-off of loan costs			100,000				200,000
Base rate plus a margin				0.50%							0.25%	1.00%
LIBOR plus a margin				1.50%							1.25%	2.00%
Percentage of commitment fee to unfunded balance				0.30%
Available under the Revolving Credit Facility				221,700,000
Sublimit for issuance of standby letters of credit				100,000,000
Percentage of capital stock of foreign subsidiary secured by pledge under Revolving Credit Facilities				65.00%
Aggregate principal amount							375,000,000	150,000,000	465,000,000
Maximum cash tender offer						150,000,000
Early tender deadline date						January 5, 2012
Total consideration offered upon tendering of senior notes						1,002.50
Principal amount of Senior Notes for which consideration is offered						1,000
Cash tender paid					57,500,000
Principal amount of Senior Notes outstanding after redemption					40,000,000		40,000,000
Redemption of Senior Notes					277,500,000
Amount charged against purchase and redemption of debt							1,400,000
Interest rate stated percentage of Senior Notes							6.25%	6.75%	7.75%
Unsecured senior notes issued date							March 2005	January 2006	June 2009
Note maturity date							Mar. 15, 2013	Jan. 31, 2014	Jun. 01, 2017
Issued price of Senior Notes									97.116%
Yield to maturity									8.25%
Percentage of notes redeemable by net proceeds from equity offering									35.00%
Redemption price percentage of aggregate principal amount outstanding of remaining notes							100.00%		65.00%
Redemption date							April 16, 2012
Line of credit facility outstanding amount				535,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding amount				$ 28,300,000