Ashland County, Ohio

Ashland County is a county in Ohio, United States, in the north-central part of the state between Cleveland and Columbus. It had a population of 52,447 at the 2020 census and covers 427 square miles (1,110 km2) centred near 40°50′N 82°16′W.

Ashland is the county seat, and its postal code is 44805. The county has one city, eight villages, and roughly a dozen smaller unincorporated communities spread across 15 civil townships. It sits in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Ashland County

Ashland County has one incorporated city and eight incorporated villages; the rest of its named places are unincorporated crossroads, lake communities, or township hamlets with no municipal government of their own. The table below carries the population where the 2020 census counted the place separately, and a dash where it is folded into its township’s total.

Two villages, Bailey Lakes and Mifflin, share Ashland’s 44805 ZIP; both are minutes from the county seat and are best treated as inner-ring Ashland communities rather than standalone towns. The old scrape’s list also included several mobile-home-park and cottage-area names (Carpenters MH Park, Hidden Acres MH Park, Idlewood Cottage Area, and similar) that are private developments rather than named communities with their own census or postal identity — they are left off this table; see notes for the full drop list.

Townships

Ashland County has 15 civil townships. The largest hold the county’s population centres outside the city of Ashland itself.

ZIP Codes

• 44805 — Ashland (also serves Mifflin and Bailey Lakes)
• 44842 — Loudonville
• 44840 — Jeromesville
• 44864 — Perrysville
• 44838 — Hayesville
• 44874 — Savannah
• 44866 — Polk
• 44859 — Nova
• 44880 — Sullivan
• 44848 — Nankin

Ashland County has 10 ZIP codes in total; the 44805 Ashland code covers the majority of the county’s population. Smaller unincorporated places use the ZIP of their nearest post office town rather than one of their own.

Geography

Ashland County sits on the divide between the Lake Erie and Ohio River watersheds, with the Black Fork of the Mohican River draining the southern and central townships and feeding Charles Mill Lake and Pleasant Hill Lake, two Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District reservoirs used for flood control and recreation. Terrain rises from flat glaciated farmland in the north to the more rugged, forested hills of the Mohican River valley around Loudonville and Mohican State Park in the south. Of the county’s 427 square miles, 423 are land and 3.8 are water.

Ashland County borders Lorain County to the north, Medina County to the northeast, Wayne County to the east, Holmes County to the southeast, Knox County to the southwest, Richland County to the west, and Huron County to the northwest.

Demographics

Ashland County had 52,447 residents at the 2020 census. Ashland, the county seat, is by far the largest community at 19,225; Loudonville is the next-largest incorporated place. Ashland County’s median household income runs below the Ohio median of $67,769, reflecting the county’s largely rural, agricultural township base outside the city of Ashland. Population density is about 124 people per square mile.

Economy & Local Life

Ashland University, a private university founded in 1878, is the county’s largest single employer alongside Ashland’s manufacturing base, which includes Archway Cookies and several auto-parts and specialty-chemical plants tied to the city’s long history as an industrial hub on the old Erie Railroad line. Agriculture, particularly corn, soybeans, and dairy, remains the dominant land use outside the city. Mohican State Park and the Mohican-Memorial State Forest around Loudonville draw seasonal tourism for canoeing, camping, and the annual Mohican Wilderness events. The Ashland County Fair, held each September, is the county’s largest annual gathering.

History

Ashland County was organized on February 24, 1846, from parts of Huron, Lorain, Richland, and Wayne counties, making it one of the last Ohio counties formed. It takes its name from “Ashland,” the Kentucky estate near Lexington belonging to U.S. Senator Henry Clay, who died the same decade the county was created. The city of Ashland itself predates the county, having been platted in 1815 as “Uniontown” before adopting the Ashland name. The county’s southern townships, along the Mohican River, hold some of Ohio’s earliest 19th-century Amish and Mennonite settlement, a community presence that continues today in the farms and craft shops around Loudonville and Perrysville.

Getting There

Interstate 71 crosses the western edge of the county, with U.S. Route 42, U.S. Route 250, and State Route 60 serving as the main north-south routes and State Route 3, 39, and 89 crossing east-west.

• Mansfield — 15 miles south
• Wooster — 18 miles east
• Akron — 45 miles northeast
• Cleveland — 65 miles north

The nearest commercial airport is Akron-Canton Airport (CAK); Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport, just south of the county, handles general aviation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ashland County, Ohio?
It sits in north-central Ohio, about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, centred near 40°50′N 82°16′W.

What is the population of Ashland County?
52,447 people, per the 2020 census.

How big is Ashland County?
427 square miles (1,110 km2), of which 423 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Ashland County?
Ashland is the county seat.

How many towns are in Ashland County?
One city (Ashland) and eight villages, plus about a dozen unincorporated communities across the county’s 15 townships.

What ZIP codes are in Ashland County?
Ten ZIP codes, led by 44805 (Ashland); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.

Where does the name “Ashland” come from?
From “Ashland,” Senator Henry Clay’s estate near Lexington, Kentucky, chosen when the county was organized in 1846.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Ohio.