Boyd County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the northeastern corner of the state
where the Ohio River meets the Big Sandy River. It had a population of 48,261 at the 2020
census, an estimated 47,751 by 2025, and covers 160 square miles (410 km2) centred near
38°22′N 82°41′W.
Catlettsburg is the county seat; its postal code is 41129. Ashland, seven miles west, is the
county’s largest city and its economic hub. The county holds 2 incorporated cities, 3 census
designated places and about a dozen smaller unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern
Time.
Towns & Villages in Boyd County
Boyd County has 21 named places on record: 2 incorporated cities and 19 unincorporated
communities, 3 of which are recognized as census designated places (CDPs) with their own
population counts. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural
communities with no formal boundary or local government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | City | 21,625 | 41101 |
| Catlettsburg | City · seat | 1,780 | 41129 |
| Westwood | CDP | 4,387 | 41101 |
| Cannonsburg | CDP | 862 | 41102 |
| Ironville | CDP | 782 | 41102 |
| Rush | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Burnaugh | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Coalton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Durbin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| England Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Garner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kavanaugh | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kilgore | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lockwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Meads | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Normal | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Princess | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rockdale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Summit | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Unity | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Winslow | Unincorp. | — | — |
Rush straddles the Boyd–Carter county line; only part of the crossroads community sits in
Boyd County, and its population is not tallied separately for the Boyd side. Neal, a former coal
and timber camp from the 1920s abandoned after the Second World War, no longer appears as an
inhabited place and is left off this list.
ZIP Codes
- 41101 — Ashland (also covers Westwood)
- 41102 — Ashland (also serves Cannonsburg and Ironville)
- 41105 — Ashland (a P.O. box ZIP)
- 41129 — Catlettsburg
Rush, Burnaugh, Coalton, Durbin, Garner, Kavanaugh, Kilgore, Lockwood, Meads, Normal, Princess,
Rockdale, Summit, Unity and Winslow have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under
Ashland’s or Catlettsburg’s code depending on location.
Geography
Boyd County sits in Kentucky’s northeastern corner, in the green rolling hills of the
Appalachian foothills where the Ohio River bends south to meet the Big Sandy River. Of its 162
square miles, 160 are land and 2.2 are water, about 1.3 percent — low, since the county has
no large lake and its water surface is almost entirely the two rivers that form its northern and
eastern borders. The county is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan statistical area,
which spans Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio.
Greenup County lies to the northwest, Lawrence County, Ohio, across the Ohio River to the
northeast, Wayne County, West Virginia, across the Big Sandy River to the east, Lawrence County,
Kentucky, to the south, and Carter County to the west. Greenup County, Lawrence County, Ohio, Wayne County, West Virginia,
Lawrence County, Kentucky and
Carter County all border Boyd County
directly.
Demographics
Boyd County had a population of 48,261 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 47,751 residents by 2025, a modest decline typical of northeastern Kentucky’s
former industrial counties. Ashland and Westwood are the two largest communities, together home
to well over half the county’s population. Median household income for Kentucky stood at
$61,118 (2023 ACS), and Boyd County’s figure runs close to that statewide line, reflecting
the county’s mix of hospital, retail and light-industrial jobs. Population density works
out to roughly 302 people per square mile of land, dense for a rural Kentucky county and
concentrated almost entirely along the Ashland–Catlettsburg river corridor.
Economy & Local Life
Health care is the county’s largest employer sector. UK King’s Daughters Medical
Center in Ashland is the fourth-largest hospital in Kentucky, with more than 4,000 employees
drawing patients from across the tri-state area. The county’s economy was built on heavy
industry — steelmaking, petroleum refining and activated-carbon production — and while
the AK Steel (formerly Armco) mill in Ashland closed in 2019, Calgon Carbon still runs an
activated-carbon plant in Catlettsburg, and Marathon Petroleum operates a refinery just across the
county line. Catlettsburg was once the largest hardwood timber market in the world, from the late
1800s through the early 1920s, when logs floated down the Big Sandy to its riverfront mills. The
county’s biggest annual event is Poage Landing Days in Ashland each September, marking the
Poage family’s 1786 founding of the settlement with music, crafts and a riverfront market.
History
The Kentucky legislature formed Boyd County in 1860, the 107th of the state’s 120
counties, carving it from parts of Greenup, Carter and Lawrence counties. It was named for Linn
Boyd, a Kentucky congressman who served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Catlettsburg, already established at the mouth of the Big Sandy River, became the county
seat.
Charles Smith, a French and Indian War veteran, received about 400 acres around Chadwicks
Creek for his service and built a cabin there in 1774, among the earliest European settlement in
the area. During the Civil War, Catlettsburg served as a Union Army supply depot on the Big Sandy.
The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway bridged the river at Catlettsburg starting in 1885, a crossing
that still carries roughly 80 trains a day.
Getting There
No interstate crosses Boyd County directly; US Route 23 runs the length of the county along the
Ohio and Big Sandy rivers, and US Route 60 crosses it east–west through Ashland and
Catlettsburg.
- Huntington, West Virginia — about 15 miles east
- Ironton, Ohio — about 10 miles northeast
- Grayson — about 20 miles southwest
- Louisa — about 25 miles south
Tri-State Airport, across the Big Sandy in Huntington, West Virginia, is the nearest
commercial airport, about 15 miles from Ashland. Amtrak’s Cardinal train, running between
Chicago and New York via Washington, D.C., stops at the Catlettsburg station beside the C&O
rail bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Boyd County located?
It sits in Kentucky’s northeastern corner, where the Ohio River meets the Big Sandy River,
bordered by Greenup, Carter and Lawrence counties in Kentucky and Lawrence County, Ohio, and Wayne
County, West Virginia.
What is the population of Boyd County?
48,261 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 47,751.
How big is Boyd County?
160 square miles (410 km2) of land, plus 2.2 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Boyd County?
Catlettsburg, at the mouth of the Big Sandy River, is the county seat; Ashland is the largest
city.
How many towns and cities are in Boyd County?
Two incorporated cities, Ashland and Catlettsburg, plus the census designated places Westwood,
Cannonsburg and Ironville, and 16 smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes does Boyd County use?
41101 and 41102 for Ashland and its CDPs, 41105 for a P.O. box ZIP, and 41129 for
Catlettsburg.
What is Boyd County known for?
UK King’s Daughters Medical Center, one of Kentucky’s largest hospitals, and
Catlettsburg’s history as the world’s largest hardwood timber market in the early
1900s.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kentucky.