• county
  • FIPS 18179
  • Largest town: Bluffton

Wells County, Indiana

Wells County had 28,798 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 368.1 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 92 in Indiana by population and 66th by land area.

Population
28,798
#56 of 92 in Indiana · #1,480 in US
Area
368.1 sq mi
#66 of 92 in Indiana · #2,636 in US
Density
78 / sq mi
#51 of 92 in Indiana · #1,095 in US
Median household income
$69,833
#37 of 92 in Indiana · #1,018 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Wells County within Indiana. Pin: Indianapolis.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Wells County

Wells County population, land area and income

Wells County had 28,798 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 368.1 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 92 in Indiana by population and 66th by land area. That works out to 78.2 people per square mile, near the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Indiana has 34,874 residents; Wells County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $69,833 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

28,798

3144th1st

1480th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

368 sq mi

3144th1st

2636th of 3,144 (US)

Density

78.2 / sq mi

3144th1st

1095th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$69,833

3143rd1st

1018th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Indiana (92)

Population

28,798

92nd1st

56th of 92 (IN)

Land area

368 sq mi

92nd1st

66th of 92 (IN)

Density

78.2 / sq mi

92nd1st

51st of 92 (IN)

Median household income

$69,833

92nd1st

37th of 92 (IN)

How Wells County's population changed since 2020

Wells County gained 638 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.3%. That ranks 18th of 92 in Indiana for growth. The median Indiana county changed by +0.8%, and the state as a whole by +2.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Wells County recorded 1,425 births and 1,482 deaths, a natural change of -57. Net international migration added +97 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +572. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 572 people.

28.2k202028.2k202128.3k202228.6k202328.8k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
1,425
Deaths
1,482
Net international migration
+97
Net domestic migration
+572
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+162

Where Wells County is

The Census internal point of Wells County is at 40.735500, -85.213300. It sits in UTM zone 16N. The map shades Indiana's 92 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Wells County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Vigo County: +0.0%Fayette County: -0.1%Grant County: -0.1%Noble County: +0.7%Clay County: -0.0%Fulton County: -2.3%Henry County: +0.3%Jasper County: +1.5%Carroll County: +2.0%Huntington County: +0.8%Howard County: +0.6%Tipton County: -0.4%Starke County: +0.3%Lawrence County: +0.4%Jennings County: +0.2%Jay County: -1.5%Greene County: +1.3%Blackford County: -2.4%Madison County: +3.1%Parke County: +2.1%DeKalb County: +2.4%Scott County: +1.5%Benton County: +1.7%Wells County: +2.3%Wabash County: -0.5%Union County: -2.8%Marshall County: +0.8%Putnam County: +3.1%Clinton County: -0.8%Hamilton County: +8.8%Hancock County: +10.8%Jackson County: +2.0%Hendricks County: +8.5%Johnson County: +5.1%Decatur County: -0.2%Lake County: +0.8%Newton County: +2.5%Fountain County: +2.1%Crawford County: +0.0%Perry County: +0.9%Martin County: +0.6%Dearborn County: +1.3%Morgan County: +2.8%Monroe County: +0.0%Switzerland County: +2.5%Ohio County: +1.2%Sullivan County: -0.2%Franklin County: +1.5%Adams County: +2.0%Jefferson County: -0.5%Knox County: -1.1%Ripley County: +0.8%Vanderburgh County: +0.0%Gibson County: -0.1%LaGrange County: +1.5%Dubois County: -0.0%Harrison County: +0.8%Randolph County: -0.3%Brown County: +1.1%Shelby County: +1.3%Tippecanoe County: +2.8%Daviess County: +2.2%Delaware County: +1.1%Elkhart County: +0.2%Whitley County: +1.6%Allen County: +3.4%Montgomery County: +1.8%Miami County: -0.8%St. Joseph County: +0.4%Kosciusko County: +0.6%Floyd County: +1.8%Rush County: -0.1%Wayne County: -0.2%Posey County: -0.5%Clark County: +5.0%Orange County: -0.1%Marion County: +0.5%Boone County: +10.7%Porter County: +1.5%Steuben County: +1.2%Vermillion County: +0.8%Cass County: -0.6%Owen County: +2.5%White County: +0.6%Washington County: +0.4%Pulaski County: -0.8%Pike County: -1.1%Warren County: +0.3%Warrick County: +3.7%Spencer County: +1.8%LaPorte County: -0.8%Bartholomew County: +3.1%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -0.2%
  2. < +0.4%
  3. < +1.2%
  4. < +2.1%
  5. ≥ +2.1%
no data

Orange pin: Wells County internal point. Dark pin: Indianapolis.

Internal point

Decimal
40.735500, -85.213300
DMS
40°44'7.80"N 85°12'47.88"W
UTM
16N 650867.0E 4510931.0N
Geohash
dp5rsztt6
Plus code
86GPPQPP+6M

Towns in Wells County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Wells County, 14,504 people together, or 50% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Wells County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Bluffton with 10,556.

  1. 01Bluffton10,556
  2. 02Ossian3,438
  3. 03Markle (part)510
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Wells County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Wells County. The most populous is Allen County, IN, with 399,295 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Indianapolis and the nearest big city

Indianapolis is 83.3 miles SW of Wells County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Fort Wayne, IN (population 273,203), 24.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Bluffton, IN (population 10,556), 2.2 miles away.

Wells County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Wells County is 18179: state code 18 for Indiana plus county code 179. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $69,833.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Wells County, Indiana?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 28,798. That is up 638 people (2.3%) from the July 2020 estimate of 28,160.

What is the FIPS code of Wells County?

18179. The first two digits (18) are Indiana; the last three (179) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Wells County?

Bluffton, with 10,556 residents inside Wells County in 2024.

Which counties border Wells County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Allen County, IN; Grant County, IN; Huntington County, IN; Adams County, IN; Jay County, IN; Blackford County, IN.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.