According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.90 square miles (15.28 km2), all land.

[4] Webster Groves is bounded to the east by Shrewsbury, on the north by Maplewood, Brentwood and Rock Hill, to the west by Glendale, Oakland, and Crestwood, and on the south by Affton and Marlborough.

Webster Groves is approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of the St. Louis city limits, and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of downtown St. Louis, in an area known to fur trappers and Missouri, Osage and Dakota indigenous people, until 1802, as the Dry Ridge.

[citation needed] In the early 19th century, this region, once a part of the Louisiana Territory, was changing from Spanish to French ownership, and a system of land grants was inaugurated to promote immigration.

During the early period of Spanish rule, officials gave land to settlers as a check against the English.

[citation needed] As part of this program, in 1802, Grégoire Sarpy was granted 6,002 acres (2,429 ha) by Charles de Hault Delassus, the last Spanish lieutenant governor of the Illinois Country.

Webster Groves' location on the Pacific Railroad line led to its development as a suburb.

In 1892 the developers of Webster Park, an early housing subdivision, promoted the new community as the "Queen of the Suburbs", offering residents superb housing options in a country-like atmosphere, as well as a swift commute to downtown St. Louis jobs.

As a suburban municipality, Webster Groves has its origins as five separate communities along adjacent railroad lines.

[5] Since then, Webster Groves' tree-lined streets and abundance of single family homes have continued to attract people to the area as a "great place to live, work and play", not solely for the wealthy commuter suburb that early developers envisioned but for families that cut across all socioeconomic lines.

According to Franzen, it depicted Webster Groves High School, which he attended only a few years after the documentary's broadcast, as being "ruled by a tiny elite of 'soshies' who made life gray and marginal for the great majority of students who weren’t 'football captains,' 'cheerleaders' or 'dance queens'"; the school was depicted as having a "student body obsessed with grades, cars and money."

Franzen thought "the Webster Groves depicted in it bears minimal resemblance to the friendly, unpretentious town I knew when I was growing up.

In the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Webster Groves High School was again profiled, this time in Time, which described Webster Groves as a "pretty town of old elms and deep porches" and a "mix of $90,000 cottages and $750,000 homes, young marrieds and old-line families and transient middle managers assigned to a stint in the St. Louis office who are looking for a comfortable place to settle and keep their kids on the track toward prosperity.

Citizens and businesspeople in the area volunteer for these boards and commissions to advise the City Council on community issues.

A full list of these boards and commissions with links to pages describing the purpose and application procedures can be found on the official website of Webster Groves.

[10] The 2020 United States census[12] counted 24,010 people, 9,239 households, and 5,858 families in Webster Groves.

Notable people who have lived in Webster Groves include: (Dates in parentheses indicate lifespan, not years of residence.)