What is the county seat of St. Joseph County?

The county seat of St. Joseph County is South Bend.

Is there an online parcel map for St. Joseph County?

Yes. Indiana Geographic Information Office (IndianaMap) publishes a parcel map of 119,742 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has St. Joseph County's boundary or name changed?

St. Joseph County was created in 1830 from Cass County, Carroll County and Tippecanoe County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 11 later changes, chiefly involving La Porte County, Starke County and Cass County.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for St. Joseph County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

County · code 18141

St. Joseph CountyIndiana

St. Joseph County is in Indiana and has South Bend as its seat. It was created on April 1, 1830, from parts of Cass, Carroll, and Tippecanoe counties and was named after the St. Joseph River.

Founded1830
County seatSouth Bend
Named forSt. Joseph River, Michigan and Indiana
Land area458 sq mi + 3.6 sq mi water
Population272,912 2020 Census
Parcels mapped119,742 checked 15 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in St. Joseph County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1830 from Cass County, Carroll County and Tippecanoe County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

St. Joseph County was formed on April 1, 1830, from Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass County and from Non-County Area 10 attached concurrently to Carroll and Tippecanoe counties. The county gained territory from Elkhart County in 1832 but lost land to the creation of La Porte County that same year and to the creation of Marshall and Starke counties in 1835. Over the following decades, St. Joseph County lost additional territory to the organization and detachment of Porter, Marshall, Newton, Lake, Starke, and La Porte counties.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1830
St. Joseph County created St. Joseph created from Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass and from Non-County Area 10 attached concurrently to Carroll and Tippecanoe. Non-County Area 14 was attached to St. Joseph for administrative and judicial purposes.
from Cass from Carroll from Tippecanoe
1 April 1830 · Ind. Acts 1829, 14th sess., ch. 23, secs. 1-2, 7-9, 14/pp. 28-31
1831
Gained territory Non-County Area 14 attached to St. Joseph gained from Non-County Area 4, Non-County Area 10 concurrently attached to Carroll and Tippecanoe, and from Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass.
from Carroll from Tippecanoe from Cass
1 April 1831 · Ind. Acts 1830, 15th sess., spec., ch. 12, secs. 1-2, 7-8/pp. 16-18
1832
Gained territory St. Joseph gained from Elkhart.
from Elkhart
31 January 1832 · Ind. Acts 1831, 16th sess., ch. 120/p. 114
1832
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to creation of La Porte. St. Joseph lost part of Non-County Area 14 attachment to creation of La Porte.
to La Porte
1 April 1832 · Ind. Acts 1831, 16th sess., ch. 2/p. 9
1834
Lost territory St. Joseph lost part of Non-County Area 14 attachment to Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass and Non-County Area 17 attached to White.
to Cass to White
24 December 1834 · Ind. Acts 1834, 19th sess., gen., ch. 57/p. 77

Show all 15 changes (10 more)

1830
St. Joseph County created St. Joseph created from Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass and from Non-County Area 10 attached concurrently to Carroll and Tippecanoe. Non-County Area 14 was attached to St. Joseph for administrative and judicial purposes.
from Cass from Carroll from Tippecanoe
1 April 1830 · Ind. Acts 1829, 14th sess., ch. 23, secs. 1-2, 7-9, 14/pp. 28-31
1831
Gained territory Non-County Area 14 attached to St. Joseph gained from Non-County Area 4, Non-County Area 10 concurrently attached to Carroll and Tippecanoe, and from Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass.
from Carroll from Tippecanoe from Cass
1 April 1831 · Ind. Acts 1830, 15th sess., spec., ch. 12, secs. 1-2, 7-8/pp. 16-18
1832
Gained territory St. Joseph gained from Elkhart.
from Elkhart
31 January 1832 · Ind. Acts 1831, 16th sess., ch. 120/p. 114
1832
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to creation of La Porte. St. Joseph lost part of Non-County Area 14 attachment to creation of La Porte.
to La Porte
1 April 1832 · Ind. Acts 1831, 16th sess., ch. 2/p. 9
1834
Lost territory St. Joseph lost part of Non-County Area 14 attachment to Non-County Area 12 attached to Cass and Non-County Area 17 attached to White.
to Cass to White
24 December 1834 · Ind. Acts 1834, 19th sess., gen., ch. 57/p. 77
1835
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to creation of Marshall and Starke. St. Joseph lost most of Non-County Area 14 attachment to creation of Marshall, Newton, Porter, and Starke. New counties not fully organized; all of Porter and parts of Marshall, Newton, and Starke were attached to St. Joseph for administrative and judicial purposes.
to Marshall to Starke to Newton to Porter
7 February 1835 · Ind. Acts 1834, 19th sess., gen., ch. 25, secs. 9-10, 13-14/pp. 46-47
1836
Lost territory Porter fully organized, detached from St. Joseph. St. Joseph lost Newton attachment to Porter and to creation of Lake, effectively ending Newton's attachment to St. Joseph, although a small remnant of the attached area remained between the north line of township 32 and the Kankakee River.
to Porter to Newton to Lake
1 February 1836 · Ind. Acts 1835, 20th sess., gen., ch. 18/p. 51
1836
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to Marshall; Marshall fully organized, detached from St. Joseph.
to Marshall
1 April 1836 · Ind. Acts 1835, 20th sess., gen., ch. 17/p. 49
1838
Boundary clarified St. Joseph boundaries were redefined, implying changes that never took effect; corrected 16 February 1839.
no change
17 February 1838 · Ind. Acts 1837, 22d sess., loc., ch. 61, secs. 41, 48, 50, 52, 64-66, 70-71, 75-78/pp. 241-266; Pence and Armstrong, 406
1839
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to La Porte, and lost all of Non-County Area 14 attachment to La Porte; Non-County Area 14 eliminated. St. Joseph boundaries were redefined, correcting mistake of 17 February 1838 (no change).
to La Porte
16 February 1839 · Ind. Acts 1838, 23d sess., gen., ch. 56/p. 70
1842
Lost territory St. Joseph lost part of Starke attachment to La Porte.
to Starketo La Porte
29 January 1842 · Ind. Acts 1841, 26th sess., gen., ch. 147/p. 152
1850
Changed Starke fully organized, detached from St. Joseph.
Starke
15 January 1850 · Ind. Acts 1849, 34th sess., gen., ch. 258/p. 213
1850
Lost territory St. Joseph lost to La Porte.
to La Porte
4 July 1850 · Ind. Acts 1849, 34th sess., gen., ch. 141/p. 114
1931
Exchanged territory St. Joseph exchanged small areas with La Porte.
with La Porte
9 March 1931 · Ind. Acts 1931, 77th sess., ch. 115, secs. 1-4/pp. 450-452
1981
Boundary clarified St. Joseph boundaries were clarified (no change).
no change
31 August 1981 · Ind. Secretary of State, correspondence, 13 Jul. 1990; Ind. Acts 1980, 101st gen. assy., 2d reg. sess., pub. law no. 212, secs. 1-2/pp. 1682-1685

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in St. Joseph

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Good enough

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 119,742 parcels from Indiana Geographic Information Office (IndianaMap). Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 6 October 2026 · checked 15 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 130,054 in all from Indiana Geographic Information Office (IGIO).
edited 8 March 2026 · checked 13 October 2026
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

St. Joseph by the Census

Population

272,912 2020 Census count

Housing units

118,123 2020 Census count

Land area

458 square miles

Water area

3.6 square miles

People per sq mi

596 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

St. Joseph County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

County government
The official website of St. Joseph County.
sjcindiana.gov

See your own lot on these maps

Open St. Joseph County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about St. Joseph County

When was St. Joseph County founded?: St. Joseph County was founded in 1830, formed from Cass County, Carroll County and Tippecanoe County, and named after St. Joseph River, Michigan and Indiana.
What is the county seat of St. Joseph County?: The county seat of St. Joseph County is South Bend.
Is there an online parcel map for St. Joseph County?: Yes. Indiana Geographic Information Office (IndianaMap) publishes a parcel map of 119,742 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has St. Joseph County's boundary or name changed?: St. Joseph County was created in 1830 from Cass County, Carroll County and Tippecanoe County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 11 later changes, chiefly involving La Porte County, Starke County and Cass County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for St. Joseph County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby