Eurybia compacta, commonly known as the slender aster, is an herbaceous perennial native to the eastern United States from New Jersey to Georgia.

While it is not considered to be in high danger of extinction, it is of conservation concern and has most likely been extirpated from much of its original range.

The slender aster was for a long time considered to be a variety of E. surculosa, but Guy Nesom's recent research within the genus has shown that it is distinct enough to be treated as a species.

Eurybia compacta is a perennial up to 70 cm (28 inches) tall, the stem becoming woody with age.

[6] When Guy Nesom[7] decided to transfer many of the North American plants within the genus Aster to Eurybia, the plant needed to receive a new name as a Eurybia gracilis had already been used for an Australian species named by George Bentham in 1837, and now called Camptacra gracilis.