[3] The county partly overlaps with the reservation of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The reservation of the Bad River Chippewa Band is partially located in the county.

30.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[14] Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Ashland County residence in 2017.

It has voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since 1932, with the exceptions of 1952 and 1956 when it backed Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower's two successful bids for the presidency.

Despite Ashland County's Democratic leanings, three consecutive district attorneys of Ashland County in the 1990s and early 2000s, each elected as Republicans, went on to hold major positions in state or federal politics.

Van Hollen's successor as district attorney, Michael Gableman, who served from 1999 to 2002, was later a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 2008 to 2018.

Gableman's successor as district attorney, Sean Duffy, who served from 2002 to 2010, served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2019 and is the current United States Secretary of Transportation.