Roselawn, Indiana, 1910
Roselawn’s story
144 years in pictures
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1959 on.
- 1882Roselawn is settled
RoselawnIN
A town of 3,417, settled in 1882.
Population
3,417
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$202K
Census ACS
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
42.7
years
Jobs based here
475
A commuter town
TownGrade
B+
#253 of 585 in IN
Is Roselawn a good place to live?
Roselawn grades B+ overall, better than nearly two thirds of U.S. towns, and ranks 253rd of 585 in Indiana. Where it does best is cost of living (A): a typical home costs about $202K, 2.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. The trade-off is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: C+ for schools, B for incomes and B for walkability. On history, just 42 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do worse. The town’s mean commuting time is 40 minutes, above both Indiana’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · National Register of Historic Places.
What makes Roselawn stand out
Where Roselawn beats most towns.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Roselawn for work
Where Roselawn’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
475jobs based in Roselawn
4%of working residents work in town
27 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Roselawn grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Roselawn is from typical.
Cost of livingHomes are very affordable for local incomesAOpen →HealthFranciscan Health Rensselaer 14.9 miles awayC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 38% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB+Open →Jobs & income$76K median household incomeBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 2.6% of households have no car; 6.1% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →SchoolsBehind 58% of Indiana districts on tests and graduationC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Roselawn: who provides what
Roselawn is unincorporated, so Jasper County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerNIPSCO22.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCuii - Water Service Co.No health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers98% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesJasper CountyJasper County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereNewton County Circuit Court ClerkNewton County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2015
ZIP codes46310, 4634946310 98% · 46349 2%Census 2020
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 Roselawn.
Roselawn trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it has little public open land and has commutes longer than most of Indiana.
OutdoorsD
0% of Roselawn is conserved land
Just 0 of its 3,867 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Roselawn itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.5 miles of trail. Roselawn’s trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
#190for trails in IN
0%
conserved · 0 of 3,867 acres
1.5 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthC−
For health, Roselawn earns a C−
22% of Roselawn adults say their health is fair or poor. The town tracks Indiana closely on all 32 CDC measures. Two figures for adults locally: 39% sleep under 7 hours, 18% smoke cigarettes.
25%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Roselawn | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 21% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Indiana
0 better32 too close to call0 worse
Franciscan Health Rensselaer
14.9 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
39th
percentile among IN towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
Most of Roselawn’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.3 jobs for each of them
The average commute for its 1,537 working residents takes 39.6 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
For most workers, Roselawn is a place to come home to: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Roselawn has added 57 jobs, to 475 in 2023. Only 8 of the 593 Indiana towns we compare have a higher mean commuting time than Roselawn. The share of residents in Roselawn who live below the poverty line: 7%.
4%work in town
| Roselawn | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 40 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Roselawn4%
Crown Point4%
DeMotte4%
Colfax Township4%
Rensselaer3%
27 mi
median commute distance
475
jobs based in Roselawn
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Roselawn
The range runs from 17° on a January night to 84° on a July afternoon, with about 30 inches of snow a winter.
30″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–35°
Spring39–61°
Summer61–83°
Fall42–64°
Oct 16
typical first frost
Apr 29
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Low risk in Roselawn, with inland flooding at the top
Compared with 62% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Roselawn is lower. Just over two fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 33%.
38risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HousingCost of living grade A
Homes in Roselawn sell for about $314K
Homes are within reach (A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. At 2.2 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 83% of Indiana towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Nine in ten households are owner-occupiers in Roselawn. In Roselawn, the going rate for rent is $934 a month.
$314Kmedian sale price
| Roselawn | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 90% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $934 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
3
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Roselawn
18pages on Roselawn
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Roselawn; the nearest are
Valparaiso UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Valparaiso25.2 mi$48,450 tuitionIndiana University-NorthwestUniversity or college · Public · Gary28.1 mi$8,424 in-state tuitionKankakee Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Kankakee, IL29.2 mi$5,220 in-state tuition
About 4 of every 100 Roselawn residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Roselawn
Census-designated place in Indiana, United States
Roselawn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Newton and Jasper counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, Roselawn had a population of 4,132. Since the opening of Club Zoro Nature Park in 1933, Roselawn has been known for its nudist resorts. Today it hosts two such resorts: the Ponderosa Sun Club and Sun Aura. Sun Aura resort was previously known as Naked City, but closed in 1986 after its operator, Dick Drost, encountered significant legal troubles. The resort continued to operate under several different owners and was known as Sunspot resort prior to becoming Sun Aura.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1882
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 682 ft
- ZIP code
- 46372
- Area code
- 219
Roselawn’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Roselawn.
Keener TownshipRoselawn
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roselawn | #253 | B+ | A | — | C+ | C− |
| Keener Township | #121 | A− | A | — | A− | C+ |
Roselawn and Keener Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Roselawn with a neighbor →
Questions about Roselawn
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Roselawn, IN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Roselawn grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #253 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Roselawn, IN expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $202,000, 22% below the Indiana typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.