Butler, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

13,212 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Butler, in Butler County.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 25% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 31% of 4,199 cities measured66
SchoolsTop 12% of 4,162 cities measured80
Growth3,434th of 4,224 cities measured34
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate3,437th of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 15% of 4,226 cities measured86
Access2,996th of 4,226 cities measured86
Economic stability4,108th of 4,226 cities measured21
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.3% and median household income $44,247, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 63% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 12% of published profiles for schools. Math proficiency is published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

0 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 12% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The change in permitting is published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
13,212
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$44,247
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
4,859/sq mi
2.7 sq mi of land
Median age
38.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PIT
31 mi · Pittsburgh Intl
Median home value
$108,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, is 3.3%, lower than in 87% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, grew 2.1% over the past year, to 99,197 employed residents.

Median household income of $44,247 is lower than in 85% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsButler County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$93,23777th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftButler County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$92,24077th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,0072024 ACS 5-Year$44,247Bottom 15%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1032024 ACS 5-Year$30,500Bottom 38%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.0%Bottom 21%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.5 minTop 38%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year23.0%Top 44%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.6%32nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentButler County, PA’s figureJuly 202699,197Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Butler County, PA’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 33%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Butler County, PA’s figureJuly 2026+2.1%Top 8%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceButler County, PA’s figureJuly 2026102,59257th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year66.7%Bottom 21%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,230Bottom 33%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,650Bottom 38%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Butler County, PA’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateButler County, PA’s figureJuly 20263.3%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%50th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202444k37k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $44,247 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Pittsburgh, PA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides37,200$29,250
General and Operations Managers31,020$100,840
Registered Nurses29,360$82,370
Retail Salespersons28,700$30,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,460$28,250
Cashiers20,950$29,470

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Butler County, PA, which contains this city.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 78% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
13.6
Math proficiency
63.4%
Top 20% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
77.5%
Top 18% in Pennsylvania

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Butler County, PA: too few schools in Butler reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area is up 37% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,639 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,299, some 59% above the $818 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,299 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $52,000 a year, about 118% of the median household income here of $44,247.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $818 a month.

A median home at $108,100 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $72,328, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
94.7

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,299
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$818
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$108,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Butler’s median household income of $44,247, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure202394.7Top 25%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+36.7%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+78.9%26th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year1.5Top 15%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year46.1%7th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3312024 ACS 5-Year7,30892nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,077Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,661Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,299Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$818Top 31%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,8342024 ACS 5-Year$108,10022nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1902024 ACS 5-Year$1,63946th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,5792024 ACS 5-Year$72,328Bottom 41%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.25%2024 ACS 5-Year1.52%79th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±802024 ACS 5-Year8187th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year15.2%80th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2082024 ACS 5-Year1,19296th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

34/ 100
Ranks 3,434 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 13,010 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 0 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 12% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Butler County, PA, which contains Butler, rather than for Butler alone.

Federal tax returns show Butler County, which contains Butler, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $93,237, close to the $92,240 of households that moved out.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
+12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
11.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k13k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
31%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$93,237
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$92,240
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Allegheny County, PA 2,910 people · 39% of arrivals
  2. Beaver County, PA 397 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  3. Lawrence County, PA 253 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  4. Westmoreland County, PA 248 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Armstrong County, PA 245 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Allegheny County, PA 1,713 people · 25% of departures
  2. Beaver County, PA 501 people · 7.3% of departures
  3. Lawrence County, PA 337 people · 4.9% of departures
  4. Armstrong County, PA 274 people · 4.0% of departures
  5. Mercer County, PA 245 people · 3.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Butler County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−100%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 17°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.2 inches, including 34.9 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BUTLER 2 SW, 1.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals34.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

86 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 87% of it. Tornado and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 85% of measured US cities.

Inland floodingModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, strong wind, tornado, hurricane, ice storm, earthquake, heat wave, wildfire, hail, cold wave, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
636
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,792
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Butler's police department reported 636 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,792.

Butler County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.6 per 100,000 residents in Butler County.

Homicide
2.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Butler’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Butler (Butler County) rather than Butler itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Pittsburgh Intl at 31 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.3%Bottom 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle31 miBottom 26%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Pittsburgh IntlPIT31 mi11,500 ft
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE48 mi8,222 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG49 mi9,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
66
Your Score
—

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Other cities in Pittsburgh, PA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PittsburghAllegheny County304,75969Pittsburgh vs Butler
Bethel ParkAllegheny County32,88178Bethel Park vs Butler
MonroevilleAllegheny County28,29571Monroeville vs Butler
PlumAllegheny County26,72373
Allison ParkAllegheny County22,04580
New CastleLawrence County21,57948
BaldwinAllegheny County21,05771
MurrysvilleWestmoreland County20,81778
West MifflinAllegheny County19,19061
McKeesportAllegheny County17,38055
Franklin ParkAllegheny County15,23580
WhitehallAllegheny County14,81166

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Butler side by side with a similar place.

Butler vs New KensingtonButler vs Indiana

Moving to Butler from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.