Unemployment in Ross Township (7.4%) is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Ross Township for work; outside it, Merrillville is the main destination (12%, 1 miles). For jobs and income Ross Township is better than 46% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B+). A typical one-way commute lasts 32 minutes, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ross Township at work: what stands out
Ross Township is where the jobs are
Ross Township has 32,842 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Ross Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Ross Township’s grade explained
Job access by car holds Ross Township’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ross Township could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Who leaves Ross Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 17,377 residents head out to work, 3,733 work right here, and 29,109 people come in from elsewhere.
About 61,000 people are in Ross Township on a workday afternoon, 24% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
About 32 minutes each way for Ross Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ross Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,601 commuters (the 7% 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.
Who travels to work in Ross Township, and from where
Where Ross Township clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
8% 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.
The 32,842 jobs based in Ross Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ross Township, 2014 → 2024: 30,543 → 32,842. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ross Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Ross Township
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Ross Township gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 22,066 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). 7.6% of Ross Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Ross Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 887 U.S. towns of 35,000 to 67,000, Ross Township comes 633rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Westfield IN | 66,258 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Washington Township IN | 62,740 | $100K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 631 | Portage IN | 38,634 | $76K | 11.6% | 7.4% | 15% | B− |
| 632 | Jeffersonville Township IN | 65,369 | $62K | 14.4% | 4.9% | 20% | B− |
| 633 | Ross Township IN | 49,726 | $72K | 11.0% | 7.4% | 18% | B− |
| 634 | Prescott Valley AZ | 52,423 | $75K | 11.7% | 2.8% | 23% | B− |
| 635 | Boardman Township OH | 39,687 | $67K | 13.5% | 4.6% | 22% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 887 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Work next door: 24% of Ross Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ross Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | – | B− | B+ | 32 min | $72,416 |
| Merrillville | 12% | C+ | B+ | 32 min | $67,587 |
| Union Township | under 3% | A− | D | 32 min | $115,664 |
| Hobart Township | under 3% | C+ | B− | 27 min | $70,273 |
| Center Township | under 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $102,336 |
| Hobart | 5% | B | B− | 27 min | $75,160 |
| Crown Point | 7% | A | B− | 29 min | $101,686 |
| Calumet Township | under 3% | C− | B | 27 min | $46,882 |
| St. John Township | under 3% | A− | B+ | 31 min | $103,035 |
| Winfield | under 3% | A | C− | 37 min | $135,870 |
| Winfield Township | under 3% | A | C | 35 min | $133,448 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Merrillville. Darker towns draw more of Ross Township’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 2024, 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ross Township?
$72,416 (±$4,637) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ross Township?
11.0%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ross Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ross Township work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merrillville (12%, 1 mi), Chicago (10%, 32 mi), Gary (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Ross Township walkable?
Ross Township is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ross Township without a car?
2% 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 Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ross Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.