Jefferson TownshipWells County, IN
A town of 6,002. Public schools that outperform most of Indiana.
Is Jefferson Township a good place to live?
Jefferson Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $206K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the Fort Wayne metro’s $71K median household income. It grades A overall, ranked 72nd of 585 in Indiana. On the plus side, its schools outperform 86% of the state's. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Archbold Wilson Park, at 74 acres. 23% of residents are 65 or older in Jefferson Township, where Indiana’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 18%.
What makes Jefferson Township stand out
Where Jefferson Township beats most towns.
88% of working residents leave Jefferson Township for work
Where Jefferson Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Jefferson Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Jefferson Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Jefferson Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and looks healthier within Indiana than nationally.
Jefferson Township’s grade for schools is an A
Its A for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $206K.
Its public schools are run by the Norwell Community Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossian ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 566 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
Most of Jefferson Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.6 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Jefferson Township for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Jefferson Township grew to 1,460 in 2023, 335 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Jefferson Township is 29 minutes.
| Jefferson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 11% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Jefferson Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Jefferson Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Fewer middle-aged adults than Indiana overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (37% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). Jefferson Township’s median age is 36.4 years. Jefferson Township has grown 2.7% since 2020, to 6,002 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Jefferson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.4 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 22% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 85% are women (IN 59%).
| Jefferson Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.5% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.7% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.6% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.9% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.5% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Jefferson Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Conserved land covers 0.3% of Jefferson Township
2.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Jefferson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Archbold Wilson Park | 0.2 mi | 74 |
| 2. Sandalwood Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Melching Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Health in Jefferson Township trails 53% of U.S. towns
Within Indiana it is healthier than 68% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Jefferson Township beats the Indiana average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 41% of Jefferson Township adults have obesity.
| Jefferson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 39% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Jefferson Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11% | 14.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.3% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fort Recovery and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jefferson Township. Close and well known come first.
37 mi MuseumFort Recovery
16 mi Zoo & aquariumFort Wayne Children's Zoo
34 mi MuseumAuburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
15 mi MuseumFort Wayne Museum of Art
18 mi MuseumUnited States Vice Presidential Museum
20 mi MuseumForks of the WabashPhoto credits
Fort Recovery: Nyttend, Public domain · Fort Wayne Children's Zoo: Momoneymoproblemz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum: Michael Walter, a.k.a. Cuppysfriend, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Momoneymoproblemz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United States Vice Presidential Museum: Pilcrow, Public domain · Forks of the Wabash: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Jefferson Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson Township
About 4 of every 100 Jefferson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Jefferson Township
Township in Indiana, United States
Jefferson Township is one of nine townships in Wells County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,841 (up from 5,762 at 2010) and it contained 2,450 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 47 sq mi
- Elevation
- 830 ft
Jefferson Township’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Jefferson Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | #72 | A | A | — | A | B− |
| Preble Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C− |
| Lancaster Township | #70 | A | A | — | A | C+ |
| Pleasant Township | #440 | C+ | B | — | C | C+ |
| Union Township | — | — | A | — | A | B− |
| Marion Township | #462 | C+ | A | — | B− | C− |
| Kirkland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Preble Township and Union Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Jefferson Township, Preble Township, Lancaster Township, Pleasant Township, Union Township and Marion Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Kirkland Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Jefferson Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Jefferson Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Jefferson Township, IN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Jefferson Township grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #72 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Jefferson 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.