Taking the place of the industrial base that once supported Ashland is the service sector. King's Daughters Medical Center has expanded from a relatively small medical facility to the largest employer west of Charleston, West Virginia and east of Lexington. In the past ten years alone, the footprint of the hospital has been more than doubled. Although the city proper has declined in population, this was mainly the result of the city not annexing surrounding areas as they have developed and new commercial developments replacing former residential zones.