Butler County, PA

County Profile

197,254 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Butler County, PA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

79out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 5% of 1,463 counties measured83
SchoolsTop 4% of 1,377 counties measured89
GrowthTop 17% of 1,453 counties measured68
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 1,462 counties measured81
Climate1,071st of 1,463 counties measured61
Physical resilienceTop 10% of 1,463 counties measured88
AccessTop 43% of 1,463 counties measured84
Economic stabilityTop 21% of 1,463 counties measured80
The quick read

Butler County ranks in the top 5% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $89,843.

Public schools test above most of the state: 63% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.

1,176 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 12% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
197,254
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,843
Top 9% nationally
Density
250/sq mi
789.5 sq mi of land
Median age
43.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Butler County
Pennsylvania
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PIT
33 mi · Pittsburgh Intl
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.3%, lower than in 81% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 2.1% over the past year, to 99,197 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $89,843 is higher than in 91% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$93,23790th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$92,24094th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,4092024 ACS 5-Year$89,843Top 9%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3422024 ACS 5-Year$49,125Top 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$73,068Top 14%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.2 minBottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year39.4%Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year74.1%29th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202699,197Top 23%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.8%Top 40%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.1%Top 11%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026102,59277th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year80.6%Top 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%61st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Top 13%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.3%Top 19%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%91st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.12.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.3% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202490k77k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $89,843 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.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 78% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher across 38 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
39
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across 38 of them
Math proficiency
63.4%
Top 9% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
77.5%
Top 3% in Pennsylvania
The 12 largest of 39 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Seneca Valley HSSeneca Valley SD2,28213.380%86%
Butler Area SHSButler Area SD1,95617.579%80%
Butler Area IHSButler Area SD1,29112.039%66%
Ryan Gloyer MSSeneca Valley SD1,15711.848%73%
Mars Area SHSMars Area SD1,04411.081%91%
Mars Area El SchMars Area SD88016.074%87%
Ehrman Crest El SchSeneca Valley SD83714.970%78%
Haine El SchSeneca Valley SD79113.072%85%
Connoquenessing Valley El SchSeneca Valley SD71414.375%84%
Knoch HSKnoch SD70415.669%79%
Karns City Area El SchKarns City Area SD64516.137%60%
Karns City Jr/Sr HSKarns City Area SD64214.358%70%

32.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

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 $2,970 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.01% 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 25% above the $1,041 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 58% of the median household income here of $89,843.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,041 a month.

A median home at $294,200 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $105,450, 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
26.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,299
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,041
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Butler County’s median household income of $89,843, 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 figure202394.7Bottom 47%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+36.7%21st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+78.9%27th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 37%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%63rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1092024 ACS 5-Year87,38289th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,077Bottom 37%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,661Bottom 40%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,299Bottom 37%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$1,041Bottom 27%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,9072024 ACS 5-Year$294,20080th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$2,97085th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,1662024 ACS 5-Year$105,450Top 10%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year1.01%66th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year26.4%Top 36%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2332024 ACS 5-Year1,00774th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%28th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%28th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6052024 ACS 5-Year6,55885th percentileof 3,2222024 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

68/ 100
Top 17% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 199,341 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 1,197 units authorized in 2025, up 21% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 199,341 residents in 2024, up 0.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 1,176 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 12% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Butler County 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 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
1,176
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 23% nationally
Year over year
+12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
11.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024199k194k
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 rising 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420251k911
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+31%).

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, 5.0 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

88 / 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 90% of measured US counties.

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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

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.

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 Butler County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 33 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year90.6%Top 22%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle33 miTop 47%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 25%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Pittsburgh IntlPIT33 mi11,500 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG46 mi9,003 ft
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE52 mi8,222 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
79
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

Cities in Butler County, PA