Jackson County is a county in Indiana, United States, in the south-central part of the state. It had a population of 46,428 at the 2020 census and covers 513.91 square miles (1,331.0 km2) centred near 38°55′N 86°02′W.
Brownstown is the county seat; its postal code is 47220. The county contains one city (Seymour), three incorporated towns, four census-designated places, and roughly three dozen unincorporated communities, organized into 12 civil townships. Jackson County observes Eastern time; its FIPS code is 18071.
Towns & Villages in Jackson County
Jackson County lists 41 named places on record: one city, three incorporated towns (Brownstown, Crothersville, Medora), four census-designated places (Cortland, Freetown, Rockford, Vallonia), and 33 unincorporated communities and rural crossroads. The Census Bureau does not separately tabulate population for most unincorporated places, so many cells below read —.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acme | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bald Knobs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bobtown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brownstown | Town · seat | — | 47220 |
| Chestnut Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clear Spring | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Conologue | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cortland | CDP | — | 47228 |
| Crothersville | Town | — | 47229 |
| Dudleytown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ewing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fleming | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Freetown | CDP | — | 47235 |
| Hangman Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Houston | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kriete Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kurtz | Unincorp. | — | 47249 |
| Langoons | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Little Acre | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maumee | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Medora | Town | — | 47260 |
| New Elizabethtown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Farmington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Newry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Norman | Unincorp. | — | 47264 |
| Peters Switch | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasantville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Reddington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Retreat | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rockford | CDP | — | — |
| Seymour | City | 21,569 | 47274 |
| Shields | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sparksville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spraytown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sunset Parkway | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Surprise | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tampico | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Uniontown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Vallonia | CDP | — | 47281 |
| Weddleville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wegan | Unincorp. | — | — |
Townships
Jackson County is divided into 12 civil townships, listed here alphabetically because the Census Bureau does not publish separate 2020 population figures for Indiana civil townships in this dataset.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Brownstown | — | Brownstown |
| Carr | — | — |
| Driftwood | — | — |
| Grassy Fork | — | — |
| Hamilton | — | — |
| Jackson | — | — |
| Owen | — | — |
| Pershing | — | — |
| Redding | — | — |
| Salt Creek | — | — |
| Vernon | — | — |
| Washington | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 47274 — Seymour (also serves the county’s southern half)
- 47220 — Brownstown (also serves the county seat area)
- 47229 — Crothersville
- 47260 — Medora
- 47235 — Freetown
- 47264 — Norman
- 47281 — Vallonia
- 47228 — Cortland (post office box delivery only)
- 47249 — Kurtz (post office box delivery only)
Rockford and most of the county’s rural crossroads communities have no standalone ZIP code and take their postal address from the nearest listed town.
Geography
Jackson County sits on the edge of southern Indiana’s hill country: the northern townships are gently rolling till plain, while the south grades into the Norman Upland, part of the sandstone-and-limestone hill belt that runs across the state’s southern third. Of the county’s 513.91 square miles, 509.31 are land and 4.60 are water. The East Fork White River crosses the county from northeast to southwest through Seymour, and the Muscatatuck River forms part of the southern county line; the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, a wetland and bottomland-forest preserve, lies along that river in the county’s southeast corner.
Jackson County borders seven Indiana counties: Monroe to the northwest, Brown to the north-northwest, Bartholomew to the north-northeast, Jennings to the east, Scott to the southeast, Washington to the south, and Lawrence to the west.
Demographics
Jackson County had a population of 46,428 at the 2020 census, spread across 509.31 square miles of land for a density of about 91 people per square mile. Seymour, with 21,569 residents, is by far the largest community and home to roughly half the county’s population; Brownstown, the county seat, is the second-largest population center, though its own 2020 count was not separately verified for this page. Statewide, Indiana’s median household income is $69,477 (2023 American Community Survey); county-specific income figures were not verified for this update and are omitted rather than estimated.
Economy & Local Life
Seymour anchors the county’s economy as a manufacturing and logistics hub along the Interstate 65 corridor midway between Indianapolis and Louisville. Rose Acre Farms, one of the largest egg producers in the United States, is headquartered in Seymour. Agriculture remains central outside the city, with corn, soybeans, and livestock farming across the county’s townships. Jackson County hosts an annual county fair in Brownstown, a longstanding summer fixture for the area’s 4-H and farm community.
History
Jackson County was organized by act of the Indiana Territorial legislature effective after January 1, 1816, and was named for General Andrew Jackson, who had not yet become president. On October 6, 1866, the Reno Gang held up an Ohio and Mississippi Railway train near Seymour in what is generally regarded as the first peacetime train robbery in United States history, part of a wider run of Reno Gang robberies that ended with the brothers’ capture and, for several, lynching. During the Second World War, Freeman Army Airfield near Seymour trained pilots for the Army Air Forces; in 1945, Black officers of the 477th Bombardment Group were arrested there after entering a whites-only officers’ club, an incident now known as the Freeman Field Mutiny and remembered as an early challenge to segregation in the U.S. military. Musician John Mellencamp was born and raised in Seymour.
Getting There
Interstate 65 runs the length of the county north-south, met by US Routes 31 and 50 and State Roads 11, 39, 58, 135, 235, 250, 256, and 258.
- Columbus — 15 miles north
- Indianapolis — 65 miles north
- Bloomington — 35 miles west
- Louisville, Kentucky — 60 miles south
Indianapolis International Airport, about 65 miles north, and Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, about 60 miles south, are the nearest commercial airports.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Jackson County, Indiana?
It is in the south-central part of Indiana, along Interstate 65 between Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky.
What is the population of Jackson County?
Jackson County had a population of 46,428 at the 2020 census.
How big is Jackson County?
It covers 513.91 square miles (1,331.0 km2), of which 509.31 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Jackson County?
Brownstown is the county seat.
How many towns and cities are in Jackson County?
One city (Seymour), three incorporated towns (Brownstown, Crothersville, Medora), and four census-designated places (Cortland, Freetown, Rockford, Vallonia).
What ZIP codes are in Jackson County?
47220, 47228, 47229, 47235, 47249, 47260, 47264, 47274, and 47281.
What was the Freeman Field Mutiny?
A 1945 protest at Freeman Army Airfield near Seymour, where Black Tuskegee Airmen officers were arrested for entering a segregated officers’ club, now recognized as an early civil-rights challenge to the segregated military.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Indiana.