Ashland is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Ashland to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.
The education level of Ashland citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 34.59% of adults in Ashland have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Ashland in 2022 was $32,934, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $131,736 for a family of four. However, Ashland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Ashland is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Ashland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ashland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Ashland also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.43% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ashland include English, Irish, German, Italian, and Welsh.
The most common language spoken in Ashland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
