Center TownshipJennings County, IN
A town of 8,149.
Is Center Township a good place to live?
Center Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $145K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the county’s $69K median household income. It grades C− overall, 543rd of 585 graded towns in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country, and the median household income is $51K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. 23% of working residents work locally in Center Township, above both Indiana’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (8%). Selmier State Forest, at 352 acres with 5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
21 miles of trails in Center Township
3.8% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
How Center Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Center Township is from typical.
Its best grade is an A for history, which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C− comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Center Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Center Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Center Township.
Open space protected for good: 3.8% of Center Township
Center Township’s density of trails comes in at 0.8 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 21 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves locally: 8, covering 730 acres.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Selmier State Forest | 5 mi | 352 |
| 2. The Quarry Adventure | 3 mi | 158 |
| 3. Calli Nature Preserve | 2.3 mi | 138 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Center Township fall behind 67% of Indiana districts
The public schools here belong to Jennings County School Corporation. The largest public high school is Jennings County High School, with 1,188 students. Below: Two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennings County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 572 | C |
| Jennings County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,188 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
Center Township earns a D for health
Against the 6,173 U.S. towns with household incomes like Center Township’s, it is less healthy than 69%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Center Township, 42% have obesity. 20% of adults in Center Township report frequent mental distress; 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Center Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.9% | 15.4% |
| More smokers | 20.1% | 15.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Center Township
Summer afternoons peak near 86° in July, and January nights bottom out around 23°; snowfall runs to about 17 inches a winter. Center Township brings chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Center Township has 1.4 jobs for every working resident, and 4,515 people commute in
One in 4 of the town’s working residents works locally. Center Township’s average commute is 21 minutes. The top destinations are North Vernon (22%), Columbus (15%) and Seymour (12%). For half of commuters, work is under 20 miles away.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Moderate risk in Center Township, with inland flooding at the top
Of the losses FEMA expects in Center Township, 58% come from inland flooding and 23% from tornadoes. On expected storm and flood damage, Center Township sits above 54% of U.S. communities. The town has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Center Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Center Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Center Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Center Township
Township in Indiana, United States
Center Township is one of eleven townships in Jennings County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,171 (down from 8,894 at 2010) and it contained 3,605 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 25 sq mi
- Elevation
- 669 ft
Center Township’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Center Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | #543 | C− | A− | — | C | D |
| Vernon Township | #548 | C− | A− | — | C | D |
| Campbell Township | — | — | A− | — | C | D |
| Spencer Township | — | — | A− | — | C | C− |
| North Vernon | #540 | C− | A− | C+ | C | C− |
| Sand Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Geneva Township | #526 | C− | A | — | C | C |
Campbell Township and Spencer Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Center Township, Vernon Township, Campbell Township, Spencer Township and Geneva Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Sand Creek Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Center Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Center Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Center Township, IN a good place to live?
Center Township grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #543 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Center Township, IN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.