Ushiku's border extends 15km from east to west and 10km from north to south. The whole area of the city is 58.89 square kilometers.

The JR Joban Line and the national road route 6 runs south to north through the western part of the city and national road route 408 runs east to west through the central city area. Besides Ushiku Station, "Hitachino- Ushiku Station" in the northern part of Ushiku City was opened to the public on March 14th 1998. In addition, in March of 2009, a division between Tsukuba Ushiku and Ami Higashi of the Metropolitan Inter-City Express way (Ken-O EXPWY) was completed, and Ushiku City is expected to develop into one of the major cities offering job opportunities and good living conditions to its people.

With its historical aspects, Ushiku Town was formed as a result of mergers in 1954 and 1955. Ushiku became a city on June 1st. 1986. It became the 19th city in Ibaraki prefecture.

The population as of 1990 was 60,000 and it rose to 70,000 as of August in 1997 and by November in 2009, the number of people living in Ushiku rose to 79,891. There are about 1,600 foreigners living in Ushiku.