Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ashland is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 15th among Missouri's 247 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $93K. A typical home there costs about $365K, 5 years of the Columbia metro’s $72K median household income. Only 30 of Missouri’s 419 towns score higher on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. Only 17 of Missouri’s 213 towns score higher on safety.
Where Ashland beats most towns.
3,707 counted in 2010 and 4,747 in 2020; an estimated 5,221 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.7% since 2020, after 28.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Ashland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 371 in 1880, 4,747 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 4 maps from 1886 on.
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 carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Missouri (mostly inland flooding), fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and has less tooth loss than most of Missouri.
Its widest gap with Missouri is tooth loss: 7.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.8% statewide.
7.8% of Ashland adults have diabetes, against 12% in Missouri’s towns and 12% across U.S. towns. 28% of Ashland adults have high blood pressure. Ashland beats the Missouri average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Ashland | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.8% | 12% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ashland | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.3% | 15.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 13.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.2% | 16.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Southern Boone Co. R-I school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Southern Boone High, with 570 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Boone MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 648 | B− |
| Southern Boone HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 570 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
The typical Ashland home is worth about $365,000, up 2.2% in a year, 37% above the Missouri typical home.
| Ashland | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,206 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of Missouri towns; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
At 18 of 100, Ashland’s FEMA risk score is where Missouri’s towns sit at 54 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ashland since 1983.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 9.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 39 to 19 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Ashland’s violent crime rate is 0.2 per 1,000 residents. Among 170 Missouri towns, just 8 have a lower property crime rate than Ashland.
| Ashland | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Ashland for work: only 8% work in town. 4.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Ashland. Since 2013, Ashland has added 234 jobs, to 1,260 in 2023.
| Ashland | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.9% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ashland has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 21° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Ashland | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ashland City Park | 0.6 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ashland. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaFaurot Field
16 mi MuseumNational Churchill Museum
10 mi MuseumState Historical Society of Missouri10 mi MuseumMuseum of Art and Archaeology
10 mi GardenMizzou Botanic Garden11 mi GardenMcAlester ArboretumFaurot Field: Mitchell3417 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · National Churchill Museum: Ammodramus, CC0 · State Historical Society of Missouri: Grey Wanderer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mizzou Botanic Garden: Unknown, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Ashland
About 6 of every 100 Ashland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
Where Ashland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Missouri, United States
Ashland is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. Ashland is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,747 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ashland grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #15 of 247 in Missouri. It grades A for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Eva Johnston and C. Edwin Creed.
.jpg){kind=link}
