Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area

The Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area is a United States metropolitan area that includes five counties in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. A July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 285,624. The MSA is nestled along the banks of the Ohio River within the Appalachian Plateau region. The area is most often referred to locally as the Tri-State region. Sometimes it is also referred to as the KYOVA area, an acronym that refers to the three states that make up the region. In addition, the three largest cities (Huntington, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky and Ironton, Ohio) are referred to locally as the River Cities.

Counties
In alphabetical order:

Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants

 * Athalia, Ohio
 * Bellefonte, Kentucky
 * Chesapeake, Ohio
 * Fort Gay, West Virginia
 * Hanging Rock, Ohio
 * Proctorville, Ohio

Demographics


As of the census of 2000, there were 288,649 people, 117,697 households, and 81,089 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 95.91% White, 2.42% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.68% of the population.

The median income for a household in the MSA was $29,970, and the median income for a family was $37,102. Males had a median income of $33,032 versus $21,543 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $16,514.

In 2008, an Associated Press article designated the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area as the unhealthiest in America, based on its analysis of data collected in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half the adults in this metropolitan area were obese.

Major highways



 * [[Image:I-64.svg|20px]] Interstate 64
 * [[Image:US 60.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 60
 * [[Image:US 23.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 23
 * [[Image:US 52.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 52
 * [[Image:WV-2.svg|20px]] West Virginia Route 2
 * [[Image:WV-10.svg|20px]] West Virginia Route 10
 * [[Image:WV-152.svg|20px]] West Virginia Route 152
 * [[Image:WV-527.svg|20px]] West Virginia Route 527
 * [[Image:Elongated circle 3.svg|20px]] Kentucky Route 3
 * [[Image:Elongated circle 10.svg|20px]] John Y. Brown Jr. AA Highway (KY 10)
 * [[Image:Elongated circle 67.svg|20px]] Industrial Parkway (KY 67)
 * [[Image:Elongated circle 180.svg|20px]] Kentucky Route 180
 * [[Image:OH-7.svg|20px]] Ohio State Route 7
 * [[Image:OH-93.svg|20px]] Ohio State Route 93
 * [[Image:OH-527.svg|20px]] Ohio Route 527

Area codes
The following prefixes are used for long-distance phone service dialing to the region within the MSA.
 * 304, 681 - West Virginia Counties
 * 606 - Kentucky Counties
 * 740 - Ohio

Higher education

 * Ashland Community and Technical College
 * Collins Career Center
 * Huntington Junior College
 * Marshall University
 * Morehead State University at Ashland
 * Ohio University Southern Campus
 * Robert C. Byrd Institute
 * Tri-State Bible College