Ashland is a
home rule-class city in
Boyd County,
Kentucky, in the
United States. Ashland, the largest city in Boyd County, is located upon the southern bank of the
Ohio River. The population was 21,684 at the
2010 census. Ashland is a part of the
Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, this
metropolitan statistical area (MSA) had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000. Ashland is the second-largest city within the MSA, after
Huntington, West Virginia. Ashland serves as an important economic and medical center for northeast Kentucky and is part of the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Kentucky.