Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetOH-ASHLAND-OH · Ashland, OH 19,008 pop · income 31st pct · 12 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Ashland
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ashland on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Augusta · lowest
48,756
Augusta · lowest
48,756 median HH income
43.2% of the leader · rank #1
Paullina · near
57,308
Paullina · near
57,308 median HH income
50.8% of the leader · rank #2
Richland · near
57,308
Richland · near
57,308 median HH income
50.8% of the leader · rank #3
Ashland · this city
57,310
Ashland · this city
57,310 median HH income
50.8% of the leader · rank #4
Burton · near
57,315
Burton · near
57,315 median HH income
50.8% of the leader · rank #5
Wray · near
57,318
Wray · near
57,318 median HH income
50.8% of the leader · rank #6
Springboro · highest
112,872
Springboro · highest
112,872 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ashland on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 19,008.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ashland - the verdict
Ashland ranks in the 31st percentile for household income and the 43rd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
31st
percentile, household income
26th
percentile, home value
22nd
percentile, median rent
43rd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Ashland, OH
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 19,008 residents in Ashland, a small town within Ohio. Median household income here is $57,310 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.0%. Typical homes in Ashland are valued around $146,100, and the median resident age is 39.0 years. 23.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 59.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 67% from five years earlier. Ashland reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1590.1 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 49.7°F.
Living costs in Ohio run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Ohio at 92.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,092 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Ohio run around $228, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Workers in Ashland report an average commute of 18.6 minutes, with 79.0% driving alone and 7.8% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 55.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ashland's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to population change to within-city variation to climate and hazard context to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ashland, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Ashland?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 15 public schools within the city match. 23.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
What does the journey to work look like in Ashland?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 18.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
PlainCities matches 12 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ashland?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Ohio, the closest population matches are Norwood (19,023 residents, $64,724 income); Sylvania (19,038 residents, $95,610 income); White Oak (18,845 residents, $71,789 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Crowley, TX (19,007 residents); Augusta, ME (18,999 residents); Terrell, TX (19,019 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Ashland?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1590.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 30% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
1590.1
Violent rate
172.5
Property rate
1417.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -487 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
19,217
2025 estimate
18,730
Period change
-2.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 49.7°F. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Ohio is 55.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
55.0
Mean temperature
49.7°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in Ashland?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.5×
Home value
$146,100
Household income
$57,310
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 9.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Ohio average
D
City profile score · Ashland, OH
49/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B+
92.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime C-
173 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
9.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$57,310
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Ashland profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 75/100 (B+) · 92.8 index
Violent crime: 53/100 (C-) · 173 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 45/100 (D) · 23.8%
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 9.0%
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,310
Where Ashland sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ashland's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Ashland highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Ashland, OH (this city): home $146,100, crime 1,590/100k
Crowley, TX : home $241,500, crime 1,689/100k
Augusta, ME : home $188,900, crime 4,342/100k
Terrell, TX : home $190,000, crime 1,862/100k
Gautier, MS : home $162,700, crime 2,171/100k
Springfield, TN : home $235,200, crime 1,308/100k
Norwood, OH : home $228,300, crime 3,395/100k
Sylvania, OH : home $233,700, crime 804/100k
Twinsburg, OH : home $288,700, crime 610/100k
Springboro, OH : home $330,300, crime 648/100k
Tallmadge, OH : home $226,400, crime 1,061/100k
How does Ashland compare to other US cities?
Ashland measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income31% higher than other cities
Home value26% pricier than other cities
Median rent22% pricier than other cities
Safety43% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Ohio, Ashland ranks #183 of 281 Ohio cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ashland against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Ohio only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Ohio-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ashland near the bottom of Ohio's cities
Among the 1,196 Ohio cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ashland ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ashland only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#750 of 1,145
34th percentile in Ohio
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,196
0th percentile in Ohio
Median Home Value
#574 of 1,164
51st percentile in Ohio
Poverty Rate
#468 of 1,196
60th percentile in Ohio
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#430 of 1,196
64th percentile in Ohio
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Ohio only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
31st percentile nationally for median household income · 43rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ashland's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ashland's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Ashland's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$146,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 74% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Ashland's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,258 of 15,516
More affordable than 73% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#397 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.5×, Ashland sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,258 of 15,516 and #397 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$57,310Ashland, OH median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ashland, OH median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ashland, OH.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
19,008
Median Income
$57,310
Median Home Value
$146,100
Median Age
39.0
Poverty Rate
9.0%
Labor force participation
59.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1590.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
172.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1417.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
49.7°F
Annual Precipitation
N/A
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
15
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ashland's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
19,217 residents
2021
18,898 residents
2022
18,767 residents
2023
18,665 residents
2024
18,744 residents
2025
18,730 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
3
3
0
$1.0M
2020
3
3
0
$1.0M
2021
3
3
0
$1.0M
2022
30
26
4
$7.7M
2023
5
3
2
$1.7M
2024
1
1
0
$0.4M
Permit volume decreased 67% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
18.6 minutes
Drive Alone
79.0%
Carpool
6.6%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
4.4%
Work from Home
7.8%
Other
2.1%
Based on 9,099 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Ohio statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $228
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Ohio at $228 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Ohio statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ashland. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Ohio's BEA cost-of-living index is 92.8 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ashland is $1,092/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Ohio statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.0 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Ohio statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ashland sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ashland compares to similar-size Ohio cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.