Over the past 37 years, the population of Ashland has grown by 75%, from 12,330 to 21,505 residents, increasing moderately at an average annual growth rate of 1.5%. Growth has been uneven over the decades as population surged by a 1.9% average annual rate during the 1970s, then slowed to nearly half that annual rate (1%) during the 1980s. By the 1990s the city’s population growth rate rose to 1.7%, and has moderated to a 1.5% average annual growth rate since 2000.

The increases in the city’s population have not been evenly distributed across all age groups, as shown in the chart to right. During the 1970s, most of the population increase occurred in the 20-29 and 30-39 ages groups. In the 1980s the 20-29 age group lost all of the growth from the preceding decade while the 40-49 age group experienced the most growth. In the 1990s, the 30-39 age group lost population while the 50-59 age group gained, as did those in the 20-29 and over 70 age groups. Since 2000, Ashland has lost population in the under 17 and 30-49 age groups, and has seen an increase in its residents with ages over 50 years.