New Boston is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States on the Mississippi River. The population was 613 at the 2020 census, while upstream on the Mississippi is Lock and Dam No. 17.

Illinois Route 17 has its western terminus in New Boston and leads east to Aledo, the Mercer county seat. The closest road crossing of the Mississippi is to the north at Muscatine, Iowa.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, New Boston has a total area of , of which are land and , or 32.98%, are water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, New Boston has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in New Boston was on July 28, 2011, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 31, 2019.

|source 2 = National Weather Service

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 632 people, 269 households, and 177 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 317 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.53% White, 0.16% African-American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.32% of the population.

There were 269 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,231, and the median income for a family was $36,875. Males had a median income of $32,361 versus $17,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,593. About 6.4% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

  • Henry Asp, Oklahoma lawyer
  • Paul G. Blazer, first president and CEO of Ashland Inc.
  • Robert M. Danford, U.S. Army major general

References

  • Panorama of New Boston