Photo: Corey Graese · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Ashland run?
Ashland’s city government spent $36.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,694 per resident. Water and other utilities ($13.3 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Ashland is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,694 per resident a year, or $4.64 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Ashland yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Ashland has no 2022 figures in the Census files, so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 14358% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Ashland reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $12 · 2024: $1,694. Per resident it went from $12 to $1,694 (up 14017%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 21,476 to 21,342.
full-time in March 2025, up from 284 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,164 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.93% of the home’s value, vs 0.75% across Kentucky.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Ashland’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Ashland’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Ashland →
Who’s in charge in Ashland
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Ashland’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on ashlandky.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 70 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (21,342).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Ashland Independent School District
Ashland’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,409 per pupil, $8,862 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kentucky districts overall: 37% local, 46% state, 17% federal.
Boyd County School District · $17,205 per pupil
Fairview Independent School District · $17,208 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Ashland’s votes are counted by county
Kentucky reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Ashland alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Boyd County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican68.6%14,363 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat30.0%6,291 votesOthers: 1.4% (297 votes).
Most votes in Boyd County: Donald J Trump
Kentucky: Trump 64.5%, Harris 33.9%
100% of Ashland lies in Boyd County. Every 2024 race in Boyd County is on the county’s page.
Boyd County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Ashland.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: ashlandky.org ↗
- 2Kentucky HouseAshland is split between 2 districts
- 3Kentucky SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kentucky
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Ashland compares with the towns next door
Ashland’s 2022 figures are missing from the Census files, so it isn’t placed among them. Neighbors that reported 2022 spent $1,351 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Catlettsburg | $1,351 | $823 |
| Ashland | estimate | $1,164 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Ashland’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Ashland’s government
How much does Ashland spend per resident?
About $1,694 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Ashland?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,164 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.93% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.75% across Kentucky. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see ashlandky.org.
Who runs Ashland’s government?
See ashlandky.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Ashland yet.
How did Ashland vote in 2024?
Kentucky counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Ashland alone. Boyd County, where 100% of Ashland lies, voted Trump 68.6%, Harris 30.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Ashland?
304 full-time and 27 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $2.0M (about $23.7M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Ashland in the state legislature?
Ashland is split among 2 State House districts, so your address decides. The Kentucky Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 18 (Robin Webb). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Ashland’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →