Most of Ross commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Ross report 805 jobs for 2,923 working residents. Jobs and income earn Ross C; getting around on foot earns it C. Household incomes here are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Ross stands out on work
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Ross’ working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 28 minutes, longer than the Indiana average of 24. Time on the road ↓
Ross’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ross is Chicago, IL, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (286) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Ross is a place people come home to
There are 805 jobs based in Ross, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ross has about 4,600 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Few Ross workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Ross
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ross is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #452 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Ross’ grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (18.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ross could be anywhere from C− to B.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Ross
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ross workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,000 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Ross commutes
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Ross, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,825 residents head out to work, 98 work right here, and 707 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Ross on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Ross clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What Ross’ employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ross, 2013 → 2023: 987 → 805. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ross’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Ross is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ross is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns, #392 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Ross near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,106 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.4% of Ross households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ross’ commuters take a bus or train.
Ross places 2,359th of 3,253 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,357 | Paulsboro NJ | 6,329 | $64K | 15.2% | 13.0% | 5% | C |
| 2,358 | Worland WY | 4,730 | $63K | 10.7% | 3.1% | 55% | C |
| 2,359 | Ross IN | 6,751 | $55K | 18.4% | 5.6% | 3% | C |
| 2,360 | Corinth NY | 6,624 | $83K | 9.8% | 8.5% | 9% | C |
| 2,361 | Knoxville IA | 7,469 | $62K | 12.5% | 4.8% | 29% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,253 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ross, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Next door is work for 15% of Ross
The biggest share goes to Gary (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ross workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross | – | C | C | 28 min | $54,563 |
| Gary | 8% | C− | B | 26 min | $38,731 |
| Merrillville | 7% | C+ | B+ | 32 min | $67,587 |
| Ross Township | under 4% | B− | B+ | 32 min | $72,416 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ross’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ross: questions
What is the median household income in Ross?
$54,563 (±$7,894) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ross?
18.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ross?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ross work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (10%, 26 mi), Gary (8%, 4 mi), Merrillville (7%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ross walkable?
Ross is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ross without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ross, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ross
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.