Ashland is a somewhat small town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 7,822 people and three associated neighborhoods, Ashland is the 90th largest community in Virginia.Ashland is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Ashland is a town of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ashland who work in management occupations (9.37%), office and administrative support (8.36%), and teaching (7.84%). Also of interest is that Ashland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Ashland telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.60% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Ashland is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Ashland area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Ashland maintain a good economy. The population of Ashland is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 34.85% of adults in Ashland have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Ashland in 2022 was $34,985, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $139,940 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 10.96% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ashland include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Ashland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
