Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ashland gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $135K for a typical one, or 2 years of the Pottsville area’s $68K median household income. It grades C overall, 863rd among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and the median household income is $53K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. On health, just 143 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. 14% of residents are under 18 in Ashland, below both Pennsylvania’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%).
Where Ashland beats most towns.
2,817 counted in 2010 and 2,471 in 2020; an estimated 2,520 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Ashland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 224 in 1850, a peak of 7,346 in 1890, 2,471 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
1 place 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 Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ashland.
Ashland is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
At 2 years of the Pottsville area’s $68K median household income, the typical home (about $135K) costs less against local pay than in 90% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Home values rose 41% in five years, to about $135K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
Ashland’s median rent is $764 a month. Typical home values rose 6.2% in the year to September 2026.
| Ashland | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $764 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 6,695 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ashland’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Ashland beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 21% of Ashland adults smoke cigarettes.
| Ashland | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Ashland | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.4% | 79.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 9.1% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $641 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1998, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ashland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 1,119 in 2013 to 746.
Most working residents leave Ashland for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Ashland has lost 373 jobs, to 746 in 2023. The average trip to work in Ashland is 29 minutes.
| Ashland | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $53,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ashland has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 19° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ashland's reported crime rate is well below Pennsylvania's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2024.
| Ashland | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eureka Park | — | 12 |
| 2. Higher Ups Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Washington Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ashland
About 2 of every 100 Ashland residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Ashland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 notable people were born in Ashland.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Ashland is a borough in Schuylkill and Columbia counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Pottsville. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. A small part of the borough also lies in Columbia County, although all of the population resided in the Schuylkill County portion as of the 2020 census. The borough lies in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. Settled in 1850, Ashland was incorporated in 1857, and was named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, Kentucky. The population in 1900 was 6,438, and in 1940, 7,045, but had dropped to 2,471 at the 2020 census. It is the location of Pioneer Tunnel, a tourist attraction featuring a tour of a coal…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ashland.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | #863 | C | A− | — | C+ | C− |
| Butler Township | #720 | B− | B | A+ | C+ | C |
| Conyngham Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ashland reports no FBI crime data of its own. Conyngham Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ashland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ashland grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #863 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health and C+ 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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Janet Asimov and Emil Seidel.