Jansen was platted in 1886 when the Rock Island Railroad reached the site and was named for Peter Jansen (1852–1923), a Mennonite immigrant from Russia who became an influential Nebraska sheep rancher and land colonizer. Jansen fled religious and conscription pressure in the Russian Empire in 1873, built a large ranching operation west of Beatrice, used his railroad connections to found the village bearing his name, and went on to serve as a Nebraska state representative and state senator.

Jansen is an incorporated village with a 2020 Census population of 100, down from 143 in 2000, with an aging population (2010 median age of 50). Its ZIP code is 68377, shared with neighboring Harbine. The local economy is agricultural.