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POPULATION
Wells County’s population, 2004 estimate was 27,963. By the 2000 Census, it was 27,600, an increase of 6.4 percent over the 25,948 in the 1990 Census. The state’s growth was 9.6 percent over 1990 and the nation’s growth in population was 13.2 percent.
Wells County had 74.6 persons per square mile by the 2000 Census, up from 72.5 in the 1990 Census
For the municipalities, the 2000 Census figures were:
Bluffton 9,536, up 4.6% over 1990’s 9,120
Ossian 2,943, up 21.1% over 1990’s 2,428.
Markle 1,102, down by 106 from 1990’s 1,208.
Uniondale 277, down by 12 from 1990’s 289.
Poneto 240, up by 4 over 1990’s 236.
Vera Cruz 55, down by 28 from 1990’s 83.
Zanesville, 602. (The town was not incorporated until 1992)
The Census Bureau’s 2000 tabulations for neighboring counties were Adams 33,625, Blackford 14,048, Huntington 38,075, Jay 21,806, Allen 331,849 Grant 73,403, Whitley 30,707.
By the 2000 Census, Wells County’s median age was 36.8 years, up from 33.1 in 1990 Census and older than the state median.
The 2000 Census breakdown for Wells County (with 1990 figures, where listed, following in parentheses) were:
Male population 13,613 (12,592); Female population 13,987 (13,356).
By age groups: Under age 5 -- 1,835 (2,002); 5-9 years -- 2,112; 10-14 years -- 2,211; 15-19 years -- 2,136; 20-24 years -- 1,528; 25-34 years -- 3,187; 35-44 years -- 4,568; 45-54 years -- 3,671; 55-59 years --1,364; 60-64 years -- 1,097; 65-74 years -- 1,930; 75-84 years -- 1,438; 85 years and older -- 523.
(Census figures back in 1990 had listed Wells County as having 2,002 children under the age 5. The population here of age 16 and older then was 19,305. There were 18,570 people 18 years or older.)
The 2000 Wells population was 27.3 percent below the age of 18 and 14.1 percent above the age of 65. By comparison, the 1990 Wells population had been 28.4 percent below the age of 18 and 13.5 percent above the age of 65.
(The 1990 Census listing of the county’s 25,948 population by age groups had included 976 in the 18-20-year bracket, 1,230 ages 21-24 years; 7,992 25-44 years; 2,658 45-64 years; 1,047 55-59 years; 1,164 60-64 years; 3,506 65 years or older, 1,569 75 years or older, 448 85 years or older.)
The city of Bluffton’s median age in the 2000 Census was 36.9 years up from 32.8 years in the 1990 Census Ossian’s median age was 35.0 years in 2000, up from 33.83 years in the 1990 Census.
By gender, in the 2000 Census, Bluffton had 4,520 males and 5,016 females. (In 1990, Bluffton had 4,864 females and 4,156 males.) In the 2000 Census, Ossian had 1,408 males and 1,535 females. (Back in the 1990 Census, Ossian had 1,278 females and 1,150 males.) Poneto again was one of the few municipalities in Indiana to have more males than females in the 2000 Census -- 127-113. (The Poneto figures in the 1990 Census had been 123-113.)
By race, Wells County’s 2000 population of 27,600 was shown as 27,136 white or 98.3%; Other numbers were 45 Blacks or African-American; 53 American Indiana & Alaska Native; 59 Asian, 8 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; 120 of some other race.
(Back in 1990, Wells County’s 25,948 population had been shown as 25,758 white or 99.2 percent. Other numbers then were: Blacks 10, American Indiana, Eskimo or Aleutian 40, Asian or Pacific Islander 41, other 99.)
Hispanics were reported in the 2000 Census as numbering 397 in Wells County. (Reported of Hispanic origin in the 1990 Census had been 262 persons.) The 2000 Census reported 224 people of Hispanic origin in Bluffton, 34 living in Ossian and 7 in Markle.
HOUSING
Total Housing Units, 2004 estimate: 11,473. Of those, 8,420 were Owner Occupied with a medianvalue of $87,900. Renter Occupied households totalled 1,982, with a median rent of $458. By the 2000 Census, Wells County was found to have 10,970 total housing units with 10,402 of them occupied and 568 vacant or 4.9 percent. (By the 1990 Census, Wells County had 9,928 housing units with 9,438 occupied and 490 vacant -- 4.9%.)
The home vacancy rate of 1.2 percent in 2000 was the same as in 1990. The rental vacancy rate in Wells was 5.7 percent in 2000, up from 4.8 percent in 1990. However, all these vacancy rates were below state averages. Bluffton in the 2000 Census had 4,197 total housing units with 3,922 occupied and 275 or 6.6% vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7 percent.
By the 2000 Census, out of the 10,402 occupied housing units in Wells County, 8,420 are owner occupied for 80.9 percent, while 1,982 are are renter-occupied for 19.1 percent.
The average household size of owner-occupied housing units is 2.71 person by the 2000 Census, while the average household size of renter-occupied housing is 2.18 persons.
In the city of Bluffton, by the 2000 Census, out of the 3,922 occupied housing units, 2,776 or 70.8 percent are owner-occupied, while a substantial number of 1,146 or 29.2 percent are renter-occupied. The average size of a owner-occupied units in Bluffton by the 2000 Census was 2.48 persons. For renter-occupied units the figure was given as 2.04 persons.
By household statistics in the 2000 Census, the 10,402 Wells County total households included 7,625 family households for 73.3 percent, with 3,647 or 35.1 percent of all households being families with their own children under 18 years of age.
Married couple families number 6,435 in Wells County or 61.98 percent of the households. Married couple families with their own children under age 18 in the home number 2,911 or 28 percent of the total households. (In Bluffton the percentage is 21.3 percent. The national average was listed as 24 percent.)
There are 860 female householders in the county with no husband present, and 537 of them have their own children under age 18 in the home. Wells County by the 2000 Census has 2,777 non-family households or 26.7 percent. In 2,423 of them, the householder is living alone. In 1,059 of them or 10.2 percent of all households, the householder is age 65 years or older.
The average household size in Wells County is 2.61 persons by the 2000 Census. The average family size is 3.09 persons. In Bluffton, the average household size is 2.35 persons, and the average family size is 2.96 persons.
Wells County new home construction in the 1980s averaged only 62.4 with 624 new homes being built. However, in the 1990s, 1,149 new homes were built for an average of 114.9 new homes per year.
Wells County had 107 new house permits in 2002, with 71 or 66.3 percent in the Northern Wells School District. Southern Wells had 15 for 14 percent and Bluffton-Harrison had 21 for 19.7 percent. There were 36 new homes in Bluffton and 20 in Ossian in year 2002.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Selected statistics by zip code:
| Zip Code | Median Household Income | % Owner Occupied Homes | Median Home Value |
| 46714 | $30,100 | 74.5 | $53,800 |
| 46731 | $40,000 | 89.6 | $61,900 |
| 46759 | $33,500 | 86.3 | $43,800 |
| 46766 | $30,500 | 83.8 | $45,000 |
| 46777 | $32,250 | 86.0 | $62,300 |
| 46781 | $32,300 | 85.5 | $44,200 |
| 46791 | $36,000 | 87.9 | $54,700 |