Boyd county is in the Eastern Coal Field region of Kentucky. The elevation in the county ranges from 515 to 1140 feet above sea level.
It was formed in 1860 from Carter, Greenup, and Lawrence counties. The county seat is Catlettsburg.
In 2020 the county population was 48,261 in a land area of 159.86 square miles, an average of 301.9 people per square mile.
The equine population was 1,200 in the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey.
Boyd county is in the Huntington-Ashland metro statistical area and the Fivco Area Development District. It is in the Appalachian region according to the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Boyd county was named for Linn Boyd, congressman and lieutenant governor. The county seat is Catlettsburg, but the largest city in the county is Ashland.
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