Rich Hill was platted in 1880. The city was named in 1871 by C.W. Ratekin and used the slogan "The Town That Coal Built". The town experienced a rapid population expansion during the late 1800s, until mining efforts began to decline and eventually ended in 1906. The mining effort was renewed by Peabody Energy in the 1950s. The Prairie View Stock Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Geography
Rich Hill is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,396 people, 567 households, and 351 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 701 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White, 0.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 567 households of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couplesliving together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.1% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age in the city was 41 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.8% were from 25 to 44; 27.2% were from 45 to 64; and 17% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,461 people, 617 households, and 391 families living in the city. The population density was 1,064.8 people per square mile. There were 727 housing units at an average density of 529.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.33% White, 0.14% African American, 1.37% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population. There were 617 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,964, and the median income for a family was $28,938. Males had a median income of $25,476 versus $15,978 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,356. About 16.0% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over.
The city featured heavily in Rich Hill, a 2014 documentary about three teenage boys struggling with family, poverty, and looming adulthood. The film won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
