DeKalb County is a county in Indiana, United States, in the northeastern corner of the state along the Ohio line. It had a population of 43,265 at the 2020 census and covers 363.85 square miles (942.4 km2), of which 362.82 square miles is land, centred near 41°22′N 85°04′W.
Auburn is the county seat; its postal code is 46706. The county holds three cities, two incorporated towns, one census-designated place, and roughly a dozen unincorporated communities, organised into 15 civil townships. DeKalb County sits in the Eastern time zone and carries FIPS code 18033.
Towns & Villages in DeKalb County
DeKalb County has 22 named places on record: three cities, two incorporated towns, one CDP, and the rest unincorporated crossroads communities with no municipal government of their own. “CDP” marks a Census Bureau statistical area with no incorporated status; “Unincorp.” marks a community with a name and a place on the map but no CDP boundary or population count.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | City · seat | — | 13,269 | 46706 |
| Garrett | City | — | 6,014 | 46738 |
| Butler | City | Butler | 2,676 | 46721 |
| Waterloo | Town | — | 2,283 | 46793 |
| Ashley | Town | — | 1,053 | 46705 |
| Spencerville | CDP | Spencer | — | — |
| Saint Joe | Unincorp. | — | — | 46785 |
| Corunna | Unincorp. | — | — | 46730 |
| Hamilton | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Altona | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Auburn Junction | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Butler Center | Unincorp. | Butler | — | — |
| Cedar | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Concord | Unincorp. | Concord | — | — |
| Fairfield Center | Unincorp. | Fairfield | — | — |
| Hopewell | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Moore | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Newville | Unincorp. | Newville | — | — |
| Orangeville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Saint Johns | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sedan | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Summit | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Auburn, Garrett and Butler are the only three places that carry their own municipal government; every other name on the list is a rural crossroads or hamlet within one of the county’s townships and is reached only by county or state road.
Townships
DeKalb County is divided into 15 civil townships: Butler, Concord, Fairfield, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Keyser, Newville, Richland, Smithfield, Spencer, Stafford, Troy, Union and Wilmington. Township-level 2020 census population figures are not published separately by the Census Bureau for Indiana’s minor civil divisions, so no per-township count is given here.
ZIP Codes
What ZIP codes are in DeKalb County? The county has seven standard ZIP codes, each centred on a post-office town:
- 46706 — Auburn
- 46738 — Garrett
- 46721 — Butler
- 46793 — Waterloo
- 46705 — Ashley
- 46785 — Saint Joe
- 46730 — Corunna
Smaller unincorporated communities such as Spencerville, Hamilton, Altona and Sedan have no ZIP code of their own and are served by mail from the nearest post-office town above.
Geography
DeKalb County sits on rolling glacial till plain in Indiana’s northeast corner. Almost the entire land area — 99.7 percent — is dry ground given over to row-crop farming or, near Auburn and Garrett, small-city development; the remaining 1.03 square miles is water. The Saint Joseph River crosses the southeastern part of the county on its way toward Fort Wayne and the Maumee River system.
DeKalb County borders LaGrange County to the northwest and Steuben County to the north, Williams County, Ohio to the northeast, Defiance County, Ohio to the southeast, Allen County to the south, and Noble County to the west.
Demographics
DeKalb County had 43,265 residents at the 2020 census, a density of roughly 119 people per square mile. Auburn, the seat, is by far the largest place, with about 13,269 residents; Garrett is second at 6,014. Indiana’s statewide median household income is the Indiana median of $69,477; DeKalb County’s own median has historically run close to or slightly above that figure, reflecting steady manufacturing employment rather than the lower averages typical of Indiana’s more rural counties.
Economy & Local Life
Manufacturing anchors the county economy, concentrated in and around Auburn and Garrett, alongside agriculture across the surrounding townships. Auburn is home to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, housed in the original 1930s Auburn Automobile Company showroom, and the county seat hosts the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival over Labor Day weekend, drawing collector-car crowds from across the Midwest. Garrett grew up as a railroad division town on the former Baltimore & Ohio line and still carries that railroading identity in its downtown.
History
DeKalb County was authorized by the Indiana General Assembly on February 7, 1835, and organized in 1837. It is named for Johann de Kalb, a Bavarian-born major general in the Continental Army who was killed at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina, in 1780. Auburn was platted as the county seat in the 1830s and grew into a regional center of the early American auto industry in the early twentieth century, home to the Auburn Automobile Company and its Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg marques before the company closed in 1937.
Getting There
Interstate 69 runs north–south through the county, with U.S. Route 6 crossing east–west through Auburn; State Roads 1, 3, 4, 8, 101, 205, 327 and 427 cover the rest of the county.
- Fort Wayne — 20 miles south
- Angola — 20 miles north
- Kendallville — 20 miles west
- Bryan, Ohio — 20 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Fort Wayne International Airport, about 25 miles south of Auburn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is DeKalb County?
It is in the northeastern corner of Indiana, on the Ohio state line, roughly 20 miles north of Fort Wayne.
What is the population of DeKalb County?
DeKalb County had a population of 43,265 at the 2020 census.
How big is DeKalb County?
It covers 363.85 square miles (942.4 km2), of which 362.82 square miles is land.
What is the DeKalb County seat?
Auburn is the county seat.
How many towns are in DeKalb County?
The county has three cities (Auburn, Garrett, Butler), two incorporated towns (Waterloo, Ashley), and about 16 smaller unincorporated communities and one CDP.
What ZIP codes are in DeKalb County?
Seven standard ZIP codes serve the county, centred on Auburn (46706), Garrett (46738), Butler (46721), Waterloo (46793), Ashley (46705), Saint Joe (46785) and Corunna (46730).
What is DeKalb County known for?
Auburn’s early-twentieth-century Auburn Automobile Company and the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum give the county its identity as a center of classic American car history, celebrated each Labor Day weekend at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Indiana.