Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Ross Township earn more than those in 71% of U.S. towns
Ross Township grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 6.7% of residents; Pennsylvania has 11.7%. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 10.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in Pittsburgh.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ross Township: the figures worth knowing
Ross Township trades workers with the towns around it
Ross Township has about as many jobs (14,131) as working residents (16,015), but they are mostly different people: 14,862 residents leave for work each day while 12,978 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Ross Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Ross Township works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Ross Township: Pittsburgh (37%) and McCandless Township (5%). Next door ↓
Most Ross Township residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 8% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Ross Township draws workers from far and wide
The 14,131 jobs in Ross Township are filled from a wide area. Ross Township’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Ross Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Ross Township fell from 20,646 in 2013 to 14,131 in 2023, −32%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ross Township is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #237 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ross Township could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How a workday changes Ross Township
On a workday 14,862 residents head out to work, 1,153 work right here, and 12,978 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The commute from Ross Township, by distance
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.
37% of working residents work in Pittsburgh
Where Ross Township clocks in
37% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Ross Township’s 14,131 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ross Township, 2013 → 2023: 20,646 → 14,131. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Ross Township takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ross Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,374 commuters (the 25% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Ross Township is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ross Township is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #286 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,590 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 3.9% of Ross Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Ross Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ross Township is 344th among 1,257 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 43,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Northampton Township PA | 39,919 | $159K | 2.5% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Horsham Township PA | 27,882 | $122K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | Fort Washington MD | 25,134 | $143K | 5.3% | 5.9% | 2% | A− |
| 343 | Clarence NY | 33,198 | $125K | 6.5% | 4.0% | 13% | A− |
| 344 | Ross Township PA | 32,218 | $93K | 6.7% | 3.2% | 7% | A− |
| 345 | Granger IN | 30,321 | $123K | 4.7% | 4.4% | 4% | A− |
| 346 | Peachtree Corners GA | 42,519 | $82K | 7.9% | 2.5% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,257 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Pennsylvania.
Ross Township and its neighbors: 42% work next door
The biggest share goes to Pittsburgh (37%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ross Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | – | A− | A− | 24 min | $92,642 |
| Pittsburgh | 37% | C+ | A+ | 23 min | $65,742 |
| Bellevue | under 2% | B | A | 22 min | $68,827 |
| Reserve Township | under 2% | A− | A | 24 min | $81,724 |
| Shaler Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 23 min | $95,654 |
| McCandless Township | 5% | A | A | 25 min | $110,858 |
| Ohio Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 22 min | $153,333 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ross Township?
$92,642 (±$3,317) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ross Township?
6.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ross Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ross Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (37%, 6 mi), McCandless Township (5%, 4 mi), Cranberry Township (3%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ross Township walkable?
Ross Township is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 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 4% of households have no car. 27% 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), 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.