Population Stats
Jay County, Indiana has had a steady population trend over the past 20 years. When other communities were suffering from significant losses in population, Jay County remained steady. We have the workforce and the population base to meet the needs of your company both from Jay County and also our adjacent counties.
Population of County and Communities
| Jay County | Portland | Dunkirk | Redkey | Bryant | Pennville | Salamonia |
| 2019 | 20436 | 6002 | 2255 | 1282 | 245 | 675 | 160 |
| 2010 | 21253 | 6223 | 2362 | 1353 | 252 | 701 | 157 |
| 2000 | 21815 | 6414 | 2666 | 1422 | 276 | 727 | 157 |
| 1990 | 21512 | 6483 | 2739 | 1383 | 273 | 637 | 138 |
Population of Adjacent Counties – 1980 – 2019
| Adams | Blackford | Delaware | Jay | Mercer (OH) | Randolph | Wells |
| 2019 | 35777 | 11758 | 114135 | 20436 | 41172 | 24665 | 28296 |
| 2010 | 34387 | 12766 | 117671 | 21253 | 40816 | 26171 | 27636 |
| 2000 | 33605 | 14042 | 118769 | 21815 | 40912 | 27411 | 27626 |
| 1990 | 31095 | 14067 | 119659 | 21512 | 39443 | 27148 | 25948 |
| 1980 | 29619 | 15570 | 128587 | 23239 | 38334 | 29997 | 25401 |
Population Estimates by Age in 2015 – Jay County
| Number | Percent Distribution in County |
| Preschool (0 to 4) | 1488 | 6.95% |
| School Age (5 to 17) | 3,964 | 18.0% |
| College Age (18 to 24) | 1756 | 8.3% |
| Young Adult (25 to 44) | 4721 | 22.4% |
| Older Adult (45 to 64) | 5649 | 26.7% |
| Older (65 plus) | 3513 | 16.6% |
Population Estimate by Age in 2015 – Adjacent Counties (*)
| Pre-School | School Age | College Age | Young Ad. | Older Adults | Older |
| Adams | 3271 | 7670 | 3031 | 7754 | 8177 | 5097 |
| Blackford | 768 | 1974 | 950 | 2651 | 3465 | 2490 |
| Delaware | 6090 | 16013 | 23395 | 24986 | 27415 | 18947 |
| Jay | 1488 | 3994 | 1756 | 4721 | 5649 | 3513 |
| Mercer (OH) | 2900 | 8950 | 2092 | 9219 | 11349 | 6304 |
| Randolph | 1470 | 4426 | 1939 | 5591 | 6961 | 4785 |
| Wells | 1787 | 4999 | 2222 | 6341 | 7738 | 4877 |
| TOTALS | 17774 | 48027 | 35385 | 61263 | 70754 | 46013 |
(*) Following Counties comprise commuting region: Jay, Blackford, Randolph, Wells, Adams, and Mercer (Ohio)
Population Estimates by Age Within region – 2015 (*)
| Number | Percent Distribution in Region |
| Preschool (0 to 4) | 17688 | 6.41% |
| School Age (5 to 17) | 48959 | 17.75% |
| College Age (18 to 24) | 35871 | 13% |
| Young Adult (25 to 44) | 57662 | 20.9% |
| Older Adult (45 to 64) | 71647 | 25.97% |
| Older (65 plus) | 44101 | 15.99% |
(*) Following Counties comprise commuting region: Jay, Blackford, Delaware, Randolph, Wells, Adams, and Mercer (Ohio)
Ethnic Composition – Jay County – 2015
| Number | Percent of County |
| American Indian | 37 | 0.2% |
| Asian Alone | 97 | 0.5% |
| Black Alone | 103 | 0.5% |
| Native Hawaiian | 3 | 0.01% |
| White Alone | 20690 | 98.0% |
| Two or More Race Groups | 191 | 0.9% |
| Hispanic | 645 | 3.1% |
Ethnic Composition within Region – 2015
| Number | Percent of Region (*) |
| American Indian | 700 | 0.02% |
| Asian Alone | 2054 | 0.8 |
| Black Alone | 9145 | 3.7% |
| Native Hawaiian | 113 | .04% |
| White Alone | 225525 | 92.08% |
| Two or more Groups | 3850 | 1.58% |
| Hispanic | 6531 | 2.7% |
(*) Following counties comprise commuting region: Jay, Blackford, Delaware, Randolph, Wells, Adams and Mercer County (OH)