76,046 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.3% since 2020)
689 square miles of land · 110 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
7 active community water systems list Ross County in the area they serve, reporting 69,602 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ROSS COUNTY WATER CO INC groundwater · private · OH7101412 | 35,345 served |
| CHILLICOTHE CITY PWS groundwater · local government · OH7100112 | 21,725 served |
| CHILLICOTHE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION groundwater · state · OH7101212 | 9,000 served |
| FRANKFORT VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH7100712 | 1,100 served |
| KINGSTON VILLAGE PWS buys groundwater · local government · OH7100912 | 1,032 served |
| BAINBRIDGE VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH7100012 | 900 served |
| CLARKSBURG VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH7100212 | 500 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 105 people were held in Ross County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 212 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 175.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
8 school districts have their office in Ross County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $43.5 million — $38.9 million to run schools, about $14,203 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17.4 million local (mostly property tax), $18 million state, $10.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $55.6 million.
Spent $31.1 million — $27.7 million to run schools, about $12,955 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.8 million local (mostly property tax), $14.1 million state, $5.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $315,000.
Spent $18.2 million — $17.6 million to run schools, about $13,719 per student, plus $155,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.6 million local (mostly property tax), $7.2 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $3 million.
Spent $15.8 million — $14.4 million to run schools, about $12,136 per student, plus $307,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.8 million local (mostly property tax), $10 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $66,000.
Spent $16.6 million — $15.1 million to run schools, about $14,600 per student, plus $1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $14.1 million state, $647,000 federal. Long-term debt: $64,000.
Spent $17 million — $15.2 million to run schools, about $16,456 per student, plus $735,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.6 million local (mostly property tax), $10.4 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $10.8 million.
Spent $14.2 million — $12.3 million to run schools, about $15,455 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.1 million local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $3.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $558,000.
Spent $22.1 million — $21.3 million to run schools, about $30,996 per student, plus $814,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.6 million local (mostly property tax), $13.1 million state, $2.6 million federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Ross County about $21.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
355 bridges in Ross County: 138 in good condition, 188 fair, and 29 poor (8.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 772 over RALSTON RUN · built 1980 | 2,704 vehicles a day |
| SR 207 over STREAM · built 1975 | 2,409 vehicles a day |
| CHARLESTON PIKE over CSX RAILROAD · built 1927 | 2,231 vehicles a day |
| ROZELLE CREEK RD over ROZELLE CREEK · built 1900 | 1,517 vehicles a day |
| MASSIEVILLE RD over INDIAN CREEK · built 1948 | 1,384 vehicles a day |
| MT. TABOR RD over TRIBUTARY INDIAN CREEK · built 1940 | 1,336 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $56.7 million of work in Ross County in fiscal 2025, about $735 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Ohio are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Ross County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Ross County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Ohio: the state government and every county in Ohio.
Nearby counties: Pike County (17 mi) · Pickaway County (22 mi) · Fayette County (27 mi) · Highland County (30 mi) · Vinton County (31 mi) · Jackson County (32 mi).