By 1900, the town had a population of 762. It grew slowly until the late 1920s, when a short-lived boom raised the population from 869 in 1925 to 1,300 in 1929. The population fell to 949 by 1931. During World War II, the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and the Red River Army Depot were constructed just southeast of New Boston. The two massive military installations were probably responsible for the town's rapid growth in the 1940s. The population grew from 1,111 in 1940, then to 2,688 in 1950. In 1980, it reached 4,628. Although an International Paper mill, the Barry Telford state prison and a few smaller factories provided some industrial base for the town, New Boston depends heavily on the two military installations for its continued prosperity. The town had 5,057 residents in 1990 and 4,550 residents in 2010.