Rush County is a county in Indiana, United States, in the east-central part of the state. It had a population of 16,752 at the 2020 census and covers 408.12 square miles (1,057.0 km2) of land, centred near 39°37′N 85°28′W.
Rushville is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city, and its postal code is 46173. The county has one city, three small towns, and roughly 20 unincorporated communities spread across 12 civil townships. It sits in the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in Rush County
Rush County has one incorporated city and a scattering of small towns, census-designated places, and unincorporated crossroads communities. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated but tracked separately by the Census Bureau); Unincorp. = a named place with no separate census count of its own.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushville | City · seat | Rushville | 6,185 | 46173 |
| Carthage | Town | Anderson | — | 46115 |
| Arlington | CDP | Posey | — | 46104 |
| Manilla | CDP | Anderson | — | 46150 |
| Milroy | CDP | Richland | — | 46156 |
| Glenwood | Unincorp. | Union | — | — |
| Charlottesville | Unincorp. | Noble | — | — |
| Circleville | Unincorp. | Center | — | — |
| Fairview | Unincorp. | Ripley | — | — |
| Falmouth | Unincorp. | Ripley | — | 46127 |
| Gings | Unincorp. | Jackson | — | — |
| Gowdy | Unincorp. | Walker | — | — |
| Henderson | Unincorp. | Washington | — | — |
| Homer | Unincorp. | Orange | — | 46146 |
| Mauzy | Unincorp. | Center | — | — |
| Mays | Unincorp. | Anderson | — | 46155 |
| Moscow | Unincorp. | Union | — | — |
| New Salem | Unincorp. | Washington | — | — |
| Occident | Unincorp. | Jackson | — | — |
| Raleigh | Unincorp. | Noble | — | — |
| Richland | Unincorp. | Richland | — | — |
| Sexton | Unincorp. | Orange | — | — |
| Williamstown | Unincorp. | Walker | — | — |
Rushville anchors the county on its own; the rest are small towns and rural crossroads that never incorporated. Boyd, Farmers, Farmington, Henry, and Sulphur Spring appear in older local place-name records but are too small or too faded to confirm a township or ZIP for today — they are omitted from the table pending verification rather than guessed.
Townships
| Township | Main settlements |
|---|---|
| Anderson | Carthage, Manilla, Mays |
| Center | Rushville (part), Circleville, Mauzy |
| Jackson | Gings, Occident |
| Noble | Charlottesville, Raleigh |
| Orange | Homer, Sexton |
| Posey | Arlington |
| Richland | Milroy, Richland |
| Ripley | Fairview, Falmouth |
| Rushville | Rushville (part) |
| Union | Glenwood, Moscow |
| Walker | Gowdy, Williamstown |
| Washington | Henderson, New Salem |
Individual township population counts for 2020 are not separately verified, so they are omitted here; the settlements above are grouped by their historical township per county records.
ZIP Codes
- 46173 — Rushville (also serves the surrounding unincorporated crossroads)
- 46115 — Carthage
- 46104 — Arlington
- 46150 — Manilla
- 46156 — Milroy
- 46127 — Falmouth
- 46146 — Homer
- 46155 — Mays (post-office box delivery only)
Small unincorporated places without a post office of their own, such as Glenwood, Circleville, and Williamstown, are served by the ZIP code of their nearest post town.
Geography
Rush County sits on the till plains of east-central Indiana, a landscape of flat to gently rolling farmland drained by the Big Blue River and Flatrock River. Land makes up 408.12 of the county’s 408.46 square miles, with only a sliver of water. The county borders Henry County to the north, Fayette County to the east, Franklin County to the southeast, Decatur County to the south, Shelby County to the west, and Hancock County to the northwest.
Demographics
Rush County had 16,752 residents at the 2020 census, a decline from the 2010 count of 17,392. Rushville and Carthage are its two largest communities. Median household income runs below the Indiana median of $69,477, typical for a farm-economy county without a metro-adjacent commuter base. Population density is about 41 people per square mile, among the more thinly settled counties in central Indiana.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture drives Rush County’s economy — corn, soybeans, and livestock on the till-plain farmland that surrounds Rushville. The county was once the state’s leading maple syrup producer, a trade still marked each spring by small local sugar camps. Rushville serves as the county’s retail, medical, and school hub, and the Rush County Fair remains the county’s biggest annual gathering.
History
Rush County was organized in 1822 and named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The county originally divided into six townships, later split into the twelve that stand today as the county’s farms and small towns filled in through the 19th century.
Getting There
Interstate 74 crosses the northern part of the county, and U.S. Route 52 runs through Rushville, alongside a network of state roads linking the county’s towns.
- Indianapolis — 45 miles northwest
- Cincinnati — 65 miles southeast
- Connersville — 15 miles east
- Greensburg — 20 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Indianapolis International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rush County?
It is in east-central Indiana, about 45 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
What is the population of Rush County?
16,752 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Rush County?
408.12 square miles of land (1,057.0 km2), plus a small amount of water.
What is the county seat of Rush County?
Rushville, the county’s only incorporated city.
How many towns are in Rush County?
One city (Rushville) and three small towns, plus about 18 unincorporated communities across 12 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Rush County?
Eight, led by 46173 for Rushville; see the ZIP Codes section above.
Why was Rush County once known for maple syrup?
Its hardwood groves made it Indiana’s top maple-syrup county by the late 1800s, a tradition still marked with local sugar camps each spring.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Indiana.