| Official Name: | New Boston, Illinois |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | Yellow Banks |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Label: | New Boston |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 41.1694°N -90.9967°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Illinois |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mercer |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Subdivision Name3: | New Boston |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Chris Defrieze |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 3.64 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.40 |
| Area Land Km2: | 2.44 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 0.94 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.20 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.46 |
| Elevation Ft: | 562 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 613 |
| Population Density Km2: | 251.50 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 651.43 |
| Timezone1: | CST |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -5 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 61272 |
| Area Code: | 309 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 17-52220 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
| Blank2 Info Sec2: | New Boston, Illinois |
New Boston is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States on the Mississippi River. The population was 613 at the 2020 census,[2] down from 683 in 2010.
New Boston was settled in the 1830s by "Yankee" migrants from Massachusetts.
New Boston is located on the western edge of Mercer County and the state of Illinois at 41.1694°N -90.9967°W (41.169570, -90.996709).[3] It sits on the east bank of the Mississippi River, at the mouth of Boston Bay and its inflow, Eliza Creek. Across the river is the state of Iowa and the mouth of the Iowa River,[4] while 5miles 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 1.4sqmi, of which 0.94sqmi are land and 0.46sqmi, or 32.98%, are water.[1]
Much of the natural area surrounding New Boston is part of the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge. The river valley at New Boston is surrounded on both sides by gently rolling bluffs interspersed with rich parcels of wetlands that provide critical wildlife habitat, especially for migratory birds.[5]
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 632 people, 269 households, and 177 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.6sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 317 housing units at an average density of 337.4sp=usNaNsp=us. 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.