Jasper County is a county in Indiana, United States, on the Kankakee River plain in the north-central part of the state. It had a population of 32,918 at the 2020 census and covers 561.39 square miles (1,454.0 km2), of which 559.62 square miles (1,449.4 km2) is land, centred near 41°01′N 87°07′W.
Rensselaer is the county seat and its postal code is 47978. The county has one city, three incorporated towns, and about thirty unincorporated communities, grouped into 13 civil townships. Jasper County observes Central Time and its FIPS code is 18-073.
Towns & Villages in Jasper County
Jasper County lists 34 named places on record, only four of them incorporated — the city of Rensselaer and the towns of DeMotte, Remington, and Wheatfield. The rest are unincorporated crossroads, former rail stops, and farm hamlets (marked Unincorp. below); several, such as North Marion and South Marion, are simply the two ends of one small settlement split by the township line.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer | City · seat | Marion | 5,733 | 47978 |
| DeMotte | Town | Kankakee | 4,168 | 46310 |
| Remington | Town | — | 1,356 | 47977 |
| Wheatfield | Town | Wheatfield | 904 | 46392 |
| Fair Oaks | Unincorp. | — | — | 47943 |
| Tefft | Unincorp. | — | — | 46380 |
| Aix | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Asphaltum | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Baileys Corner | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Collegeville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Deer Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dunns Bridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Egypt | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Forest City | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fountain Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Gifford | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hanging Grove | Unincorp. | Hanging Grove | — | — |
| Kersey | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Kniman | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Laura | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lewiston | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| McCoysburg | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Moffitt | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Moody | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Newland | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| North Marion | Unincorp. | Marion | — | — |
| Parr | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Pleasant Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Rosebud | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Roselawn | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| South Marion | Unincorp. | Marion | — | — |
| Stoutsburg | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Surrey | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Virgie | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Keener | 10,625 | Rensselaer’s eastern suburbs |
| Marion | 6,648 | Rensselaer, North Marion, South Marion |
| Wheatfield | 4,377 | Wheatfield, Roselawn |
| Walker | 3,692 | Remington |
| Carpenter | 1,925 | Fair Oaks |
| Union | 1,588 | Stoutsburg |
| Barkley | 915 | Collegeville |
| Kankakee | 913 | DeMotte |
| Newton | 825 | Newland |
| Gillam | 619 | Parr |
| Milroy | 256 | Tefft |
| Hanging Grove | 209 | Hanging Grove |
| Jordan | 326 | McCoysburg |
ZIP Codes
- 47978 — Rensselaer (also serves North Marion, South Marion)
- 46310 — DeMotte
- 47977 — Remington
- 46392 — Wheatfield (also serves Roselawn)
- 47943 — Fair Oaks
- 46380 — Tefft (post office box service only)
The county’s smaller hamlets — Aix, Asphaltum, Baileys Corner, Collegeville, Deer Park, Dunns Bridge, Egypt, Forest City, Fountain Park, Gifford, Hanging Grove, Kersey, Kniman, Laura, Lewiston, McCoysburg, Moffitt, Moody, Newland, Parr, Pleasant Ridge, Rosebud, Stoutsburg, Surrey, and Virgie — have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the nearest post office town above.
Geography
Jasper County sits on the flat glacial plain that once formed part of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the country before it was ditched and drained for farmland in the second half of the 19th century. The Kankakee River forms much of the county’s northern edge, and Carpenter Creek and Barkley Creek drain the interior. The terrain is now dominated by row-crop farmland with little natural elevation change.
Jasper County borders Porter County to the north, LaPorte County and Starke County to the northeast, Pulaski County to the east, White County to the southeast, Benton County to the south, Newton County to the west, and Lake County to the northwest.
Demographics
Jasper County’s population was 32,918 at the 2020 census, giving a density of about 59 people per square mile. Rensselaer (5,733) and DeMotte (4,168) are the two largest communities and together hold more than a quarter of the county’s residents. Indiana’s median household income was $69,477 in the 2023 American Community Survey; Jasper County’s farm and manufacturing base places it close to that state figure rather than in the lower-income bracket common to some rural Indiana counties.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop and livestock farming — corn, soybeans, and hog production — remains the backbone of the county economy, supplemented by grain-handling and light manufacturing around Rensselaer and DeMotte. Rensselaer was home to Saint Joseph’s College, a Catholic liberal-arts college founded in 1889 that suspended operations in 2017; its campus and Halleck Center remain local landmarks. DeMotte, in the county’s Dutch-settled northern townships, hosts an annual Sunflower Festival each August.
History
Jasper County was organized on March 15, 1838, and named for Sergeant William Jasper, a scout who served with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and died at the 1779 Siege of Savannah. Much of the county remained unsettled marsh into the late 1800s; large-scale ditching and drainage of the Grand Kankakee Marsh in the following decades converted the wetland into the farmland that defines the county today.
Getting There
U.S. Routes 24 and 231 and State Roads 10, 16, and 43 cross the county, and Interstate 65 clips its southeastern corner near Remington.
- Lafayette — 35 miles southeast
- Valparaiso — 30 miles north
- Monticello — 25 miles southeast
- Chicago, Illinois — 75 miles northwest
The nearest commercial air service is Purdue University Airport in Lafayette; Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports are the nearest major hubs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Jasper County, Indiana?
It is in the north-central part of the state, on the Kankakee River plain, part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
What is the population of Jasper County?
32,918 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Jasper County?
561.39 square miles (1,454.0 km2), of which 559.62 square miles is land.
What is the Jasper County seat?
Rensselaer is the county seat.
How many towns are in Jasper County?
One city (Rensselaer) and three incorporated towns — DeMotte, Remington, and Wheatfield — plus about thirty unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Jasper County?
47978 (Rensselaer), 46310 (DeMotte), 47977 (Remington), 46392 (Wheatfield), 47943 (Fair Oaks), and 46380 (Tefft).
What college was in Rensselaer?
Saint Joseph’s College, a Catholic liberal-arts college founded in 1889 that suspended operations in 2017.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Indiana.