Census-designated place · Lake County, Indiana

Ross, Indiana

Ross is a census-designated place in Lake County, Indiana, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 6,751 residents. Ross, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 26 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,641 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #278 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), distance to an emergency room (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), days with unhealthy air (high) and median Air Quality Index (high).

26Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,641 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #278 of 353 in IN
Population: 6,751 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,191.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1866085

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety17#12,904/15,637
Economy27#11,426/15,631
Housing80#2,989/14,977
Health—
Healthcare46#8,511/15,650
Environment16#12,966/15,453
Education23#12,108/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,335/15,650
Community33#10,475/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,714/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ross, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lake County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Drought exposure · low0%
98/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAALake County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.1 mi
90/100Indiana 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLake County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
88/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.379
85/100Indiana 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Natural hazard risk · low12.1
81/100Indiana 24.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLake County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low8 mi
80/100Indiana 29 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLake County value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high4,344 /100k
6/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLake County value
Days with unhealthy air · high4.1%
9/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLake County value
Median Air Quality Index · high53
10/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLake County value
Homicide rate · high8.4 /100k
12/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLake County value
Child care cost burden · high37.8%
14/100Indiana 30.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLake County value
High ozone days · high5 days
15/100Indiana 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLake County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

No large change over the last five years in the published series.

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

There is not enough history to compare Ross, Indiana over five years.

Cities and towns like Ross, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ross, Indiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Ross, Indiana five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

6,751 residents (±37)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

6,751 residents (±37)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

White60%4,057
Black14%954
Hispanic or Latino21%1,391
Asian

Education

4,859 residents (±232)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

No high school diploma14%693
High school or GED45%2,193
Some college18%870

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,970 households (±200)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k18%537
$25k–50k29%†852
$50k–75k22%646
$75k–100k11%†317
$100k–150k16%470
$150k–200k4.0%†118
$200k or more1.0%†30

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,970 households (±200)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Own69%2,054
Rent31%916

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

884 households (±172)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $75015%†133
$750–1,00020%†176
$1,000–1,50054%478

Home values

2,054 homes (±216)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $150k66%1,348
$150k–250k31%†637
$250k–400k2.5%†51

Age of homes

3,367 homes (±214)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

2010 or later0.6%†20
2000–20092.2%†74
1980–199910%†348

Size of homes

3,367 homes (±214)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Studio3.2%†108
1 bedroom9.7%†327
2 bedrooms35%1,169

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,106 workers (±301)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone84%2,599
Carpool11%†341
Public transit0.7%†22
Walk0.4%†11
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.4%†106
Other0.9%†27

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

3,000 workers (±288)

Ross, Indiana
Indiana share

Under 15 min20%593
15–29 min32%966
30–44 min33%994
45–59 min

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lake County, the county holding most of Ross's residents.

Lake County has 10,566 employer establishments, 211 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Indiana's), with 171,790 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,154. The Census Bureau also counts 35,311 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 10,566; 35,311 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 211; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 171,790
Average annual pay: $57,154; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lake County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,071	21.4	1.03×About typical	16,364	$68,052	1,790
Restaurants and other eating places	923	18.5	1.00×About typical	18,320	$19,472	230
Specialty trade contractors	638	12.8	0.82×About typical	7,976	$85,404	1,727
Limited-service restaurants	484	9.7	1.21×About typical	9,201	$17,803	108
Truck transportation	415	8.3	1.64×More than typical	3,848	$60,862	1,634
Offices of physicians	386	7.7	1.19×About typical	7,322	$92,828	237
Automotive repair and maintenance	362	7.2	1.44×More than typical	2,094	$46,582	454
Lessors of real estate	362	7.2	0.59×Fewer than typical	1,254	$43,400	3,618
Full-service restaurants	320	6.4	0.83×About typical	7,460	$21,876	72
Construction of buildings	287	5.7	0.76×Fewer than typical	2,119	$83,719	949
Religious organizations	277	5.5	1.00×About typical	2,336	$28,570	—
Legal services	263	5.3	0.98×About typical	1,129	$74,329	275

Rank places for an industry Open Lake County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 500,134 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ross is mostly in Lake County.

See federal money in Lake County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ross, Indiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Frank J. MrvanD-IN-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 92%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lake County39100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in Lake County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024

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