Public lands in the county also include the Wayne National Forest on the Ironton Ranger District.

The county jail, once in the courthouse, is now in a new facility at the site of the former Norfolk and Western rail depot, near U.S. 23.

Scioto County is the site of the state's Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, in Lucasville.

Scioto County's economy has been strongly based on that of Portsmouth after heavy industry replaced agriculture and river trade as most important.

Through the early 20th century and until the 1970s, heavy industry such as steel mills and shoe factories drove the county's economy.

In the early 21st century, the service industry and healthcare, such as the Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC), is the county's largest employer.

Much of the recent economic growth and change in the county is related to SOMC and Shawnee State University.

Recently Infra-Metals announced the development of a new steel shipping/fabrication site in New Boston, Ohio in the Bob Walton Industrial Park.

It began to support operational and administrative functions and perform external contract work.

USEC interests in the area remain strong, and the American Centrifuge Plant was constructed in the first decade of the 21st century in Piketon.

This commercial uranium enrichment facility was expected to employ up to 500 people and reach an initial annual production level of 3.5 million SWU by 2010.

[21] Graf Brothers Flooring and Lumber, the world's largest manufacturer of rift and quartered oak products,[22] has two satellite log yards in the county.

[citation needed] Shawnee State Community College used the former Ohio University buildings.

The curriculum and facilities were developed to a full four-year undergraduate program and graduate studies, being established in 1986 as Shawnee State University from the former Scioto County Technical College, Ohio's 13th and newest higher education institution.

These districts include Bloom-Vernon (South Webster), Clay, Green, Minford, New Boston, Northwest, Notre Dame (Catholic), Portsmouth, Scioto County Career Technical Center (serving both K–12 and post-secondary students), Sciotoville Community School/East HS (charter), Valley, Washington-Nile (Ports.

Norfolk Southern offers a railyard for long-distance shipping and is currently reopening the repair shops.

Local radio stations WIOI, WPYK, WNXT and WZZZ serve the county and surrounding areas.

Scioto County had a series of semi-pro football teams in the 1920s and 1930s, the most notable being the Portsmouth Shoe-Steels, whose roster included player-coach Jim Thorpe.

The Portsmouth Spartans also competed in the first professional football night game versus the Green Bay Packers in 1930.

Shawnee State University (SSU) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA-Division II).

The university's women's basketball team won an NAIA National Title in 1999 and finished in the final four in 1995.

The teams have made 60 trips to the Ohio High School Athletic Association championships, winning 19 state titles.

[citation needed] The Vern Riffe Arts Center, on the Shawnee State University campus, hosts many local and traveling performances, including Broadway plays and Miss Ohio pageants.

Scioto County is home to the Boneyfiddle Historical District (which is on the National Register of Historic Places), SSU's Clark Planetarium, the 1810 House, Greenup Locks & Dam, the Philip Moore Stone House, Roy Rogers' Memorabilia Exhibit, the Southern Ohio Museum, and Spartan Municipal Stadium.