Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2017	Mar. 06, 2017	Jul. 30, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 28, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	ROSS STORES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000745732
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-28
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		391,895,145
Entity Public Float			$ 24,019,302,284
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes