Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ashland gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $129K, 2.1 years of the Huntington metro’s $60K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 109th of 138 in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 83% of the country. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. 39% of working residents work locally in Ashland, where Kentucky’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Paramount Theatre and Culbertson House. On safety, just 17 of Kentucky’s 180 towns do worse.
Where Ashland beats most towns.
First Presbyterian Church
Census counts: 1,459 in 1870, a peak of 31,283 in 1960, 21,625 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
21 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Ashland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ashland, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ashland.
Ashland draws workers from Flatwoods and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
14,661 jobs are based in Ashland, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Ashland’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Ashland is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Huntington (6%), Lexington (3%) and Russell (3%).
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $53,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 10% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Ashland Independent school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 671 | B |
| Paul G. Blazer High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 821 | B |
| Hager Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 344 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
At 2.1 years of the Huntington metro’s $60K median household income, the typical home (about $129K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. At about $129K, home values are up 6% in five years, against a rise of 25% across Kentucky.
The typical Ashland home is worth about $129,000, about the same as a year ago, 44% below the Kentucky typical home. Ashland’s median rent is $872 a month.
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $872 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 6,698 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ashland’s, it is less healthy than 64%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
28% of Ashland adults have been diagnosed with depression. Ashland beats the Kentucky average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 13% of Ashland adults binge drink.
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ashland | KY |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 6.6% | 5.4% |
| More adults with arthritis | 36.7% | 32.2% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.4% | 4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 650 to 468 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 24.2°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Kentucky places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Ashland has chilly winters and warm summers. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.0 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is The Charles and Betty Russel Park, 51 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Charles and Betty Russel Park | 2.1 mi | 51 |
| 2. Central Park | 0.8 mi | 51 |
| 3. Armco Steel Sports Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 44 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ashland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. Ashland has lost 2.9% of its people since 2020, down to 20,996 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Ashland | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 40.7 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 26% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.9, men 37.4.
| Ashland | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.9% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.3% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.2% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.6% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ashland. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Theme parkCamden Park
18 mi National forestWayne National Forest
12 mi MuseumHuntington Museum of Art
11 mi MuseumHeritage Farm Museum and Village10 mi MuseumMuseum of Radio and TechnologyCamden Park: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Wayne National Forest: Forest Service, USDA, Public domain · Huntington Museum of Art: Daderot, CC0 · Heritage Farm Museum and Village: Zeo1989, CC BY-SA 4.0
6 within 15 miles of the center of Ashland
About 5 of every 100 Ashland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kentucky.
21 places in Ashland on the National Register of Historic Places.
33 notable people were born in Ashland.
City in Kentucky, United States
Ashland is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. It is located on the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,625 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous city in Boyd County. It is a principal city of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, referred to locally as the "Tri-State area" and home to 376,155 residents in 2020. Ashland serves as an important economic and medical center for northeastern Kentucky. Ashland is a home-rule class city under Kentucky law.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ashland.
| Town | KY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | #109 | C− | B+ | C− | B− | C− |
| Westwood | #95 | C | A | — | C | D |
| Catlettsburg | — | — | A | A− | C | D− |
Catlettsburg has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Westwood reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ashland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ashland grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #109 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
33 notable people were born here, including Gina Haspel and Trace Cyrus.
