Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

Metro Area Profile

370,729 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metropolitan area.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 8% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity307th of 379 published metros40
Growth553rd of 821 published metros39
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 published metros100
ClimateTop 18% of 822 published metros75
Physical resilience725th of 822 published metros23
Access787th of 822 published metros34
Economic stability683rd of 822 published metros27
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places Huntington-Ashland in the bottom 19%.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding.

The nearest major airport is 99 miles away, which is farther than most measured US metros.

At a glance

Population
370,729
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,078
Bottom 27% nationally
Density
127/sq mi
2915.5 sq mi of land
Median age
41.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
Nearest major airport
ILN
99 mi · Wilmington Air Park
Median home value
$154,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.1% is lower than 19% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 150,788 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,323$60,078Bottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$723$33,619Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.6%Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.7 minTop 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher23.5%Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment150,788Top 41%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.3%Top 37%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.2%Top 36%June 2026
Labor force158,914Top 41%June 2026
Labor force participation54.0%Bottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$56,110Bottom 22%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,600Bottom 18%2025 OEWS
Metro employment140,740Top 41%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 47%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.1%Top 19%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.03.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses5,580$81,010
Retail Salespersons4,290$28,220
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,620$28,740
Cashiers3,510$27,080
General and Operations Managers3,310$77,350
Cooks, Fast Food3,070$22,610

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $884 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.6 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
17.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$884
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$154,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.57Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate73.6%Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±132173,725Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$18$884Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,991$154,700Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.7%Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.4%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
39/ 100
Ranks 553 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, reaching 366,920 in 2024.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
458
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 23% nationally
Year over year
+26%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024376k367k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.1 inches, including 19.8 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HUNTINGTON TRI STATE AP, 1.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation45.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall19.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing42°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

23 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding.

Inland floodingHigh

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, ice storm, wildfire, winter weather, lightning, earthquake, hurricane, strong wind, hail, tornado, drought, cold wave, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 99 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wilmington Air ParkILN99 mi10,701 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK102 mi11,902 ft
John Glenn Columbus IntlCMH115 mi10,114 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.