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RossIN

A town of 6,751, settled in 1857.

Is Ross a good place to live?

Ross’ weakest subject grade is a C for schools. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Ross, against 10% in Indiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Chase Street Conservation Area, at 78 acres. Ross has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and health, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).

StrongestAHazard riskWeakestCSchools

What makes Ross stand out

Where Ross beats most towns.

A commuter town

97% of working residents leave Ross for work

Where Ross’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

10% → Chicago Chicago 10% 8% → Gary Gary 8% 7% → Merrillville Merrillville 7% 7% → Hammond Hammond 7% 4% → Crown Point Crown Point 4% 4% → Highland Highland 4% Ross · 3% stay
805jobs based in Ross
3%of working residents work in town
9 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Ross grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Ross is from typical.

How grading works

Ross has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and health, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

Nearby attractions

Soldier Field and 137 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ross. Close and well known come first.

All 166 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5

Getting set up

Moving to Ross: who provides what

Who provides power, water and the rest in Ross, and how to reach them.

PowerNIPSCO22.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterIndiana American Water - NorthwestNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
SchoolsLake Ridge SchoolsWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereLake County Board of Elections & RegistrationLake County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2021
ZIP codes46408, 46319, 4641046408 74% · 46319 15% · 46410 11%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Ross.

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A

Ross faces a very low natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves

Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ross.

18risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
18Very low riskLowerHigher
Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes
5
paid flood claims since 1981

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commuteJobs & income grade C

Most of Ross’ workers commute out: the town has 0.3 jobs for each of them

Most working residents leave Ross for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Ross has lost 182 jobs, to 805 in 2023. Ross’ median household income is $55,000, below both the Indiana town median ($71,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000).

3%work in town
RossIndiana townsU.S. towns
Median household income$55,000$71,000$80,000
Average trip to work28 minutes24 minutes25 minutes
Working residents who work in town3.4%11%8%

Where working residents work

In Ross3%
Chicago10%
Gary8%
Merrillville7%
Hammond7%
9 mi
median commute distance
805
jobs based in Ross
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Ross has four seasons and pleasant summers

Ross has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.

27″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter20–35°
Spring39–59°
Summer61–82°
Fall43–63°
Oct 20
typical first frost
Apr 23
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

OutdoorsC−

Conserved land covers 2.1% of Ross

0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.

2.1%conserved
2.1%
conserved · 74 of 3,619 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Chase Street Conservation Area—78
2. Oak Ridge Prairie County Park—4

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Ross

16pages on Ross
After high school

Colleges nearby

5 within 15 miles of the center of Ross

About Ross

Unincorporated community and Census-designated place in Indiana, United States

Ross is an unincorporated community in Calumet Township, Lake County, Indiana.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Elevation
640 ft

Ross’s neighbors

4 towns share a border with Ross.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownIN rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Ross——B−—C—
Gary#585D−A−D−D−D−
Calumet Township#573DA−—D−D−
Merrillville#481CB—C+C−
Ross Township#467C+B—C+C

Ross, Calumet Township, Merrillville and Ross Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Ross isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ross with a neighbor →

Questions about Ross

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Ross, IN a good place to live?

Ross has no overall grade: it has no figures for safety and health, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).

Is Ross, IN expensive?

Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.