Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,483, settled in 1866. 3.5 times the library visits per person than the typical Nebraska town.
Trash & recyclingAshland is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 1st among Nebraska's 57 graded towns. The median household earns $89K, homes are within reach, about $406K for a typical one, or 4.8 years of the Omaha metro’s $85K median household income, and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 82% of the country. The exception is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Ashland’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, where Nebraska’s towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On the outdoors, just 3 of Nebraska’s 133 towns do better. Ashland's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Where Ashland beats most towns.
2,453 counted in 2010 and 3,086 in 2020; an estimated 3,483 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13% since 2020, after 25.8% 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 Nebraska), ordered by how far Ashland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 653 in 1870, 3,086 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Ashland.
Ashland trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Nebraska and has less tooth loss than most of Nebraska.
At 2 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #2 of 38 Nebraska towns. Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 57 in Nebraska.
2.8 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wiggenhorn Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes are within reach (about $406K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles.
Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026. Ashland’s median rent is $866 a month, near the Nebraska town median ($921 a month) and below the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Ashland | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $866 a month | $921 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Nebraska is tooth loss: 7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.4% statewide.
22% of adults binge drink in Ashland. Ashland beats the Nebraska average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 27% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Ashland.
| Ashland | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 17% |
| What stands out | Ashland | NE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7% | 12.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 12.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Among 57 Nebraska towns, just 1 have a higher FEMA risk score than Ashland. Since 1978, 50 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ashland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,427 working residents takes 26.5 minutes, against 19.2 across Nebraska. Jobs based here grew from 575 in 2013 to 868.
Most working residents leave Ashland for work: only 16% work in town. Ashland’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. Jobs based in Ashland grew to 868 in 2023, 293 more than in 2013.
| Ashland | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 35% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ashland has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 15° and about 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ashland's reported crime rate is well below Nebraska's. The property crime rate in Ashland is 0.6 per 1,000 residents. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025.
| Ashland | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Nebraska average. 13% of Ashland residents are 65 or older. Ashland has grown 13% since 2020, to 3,483 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ashland | Nebraska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 28% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.1 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 24% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Nebraska, 49.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.4, men 35.6.
| Ashland | NE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.9% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.9% | 13.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.9% | 7.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 25% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 21.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 11% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,500, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Ashland; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Ashland residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Nebraska.
Where Ashland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Ashland on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States
Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,262 at the 2022 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Ashland grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #1 of 57 in Nebraska. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
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 A−.
2 notable people were born here, including George Clifford Shedd and John Hobart Marble.
