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.

82out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 3% of 1,255 counties85
SchoolsTop 3% of 973 counties90
GrowthTop 16% of 1,226 counties68
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 1,255 counties97
Climate919th of 1,254 counties61
Physical resilienceTop 11% of 1,255 counties88
AccessTop 44% of 1,255 counties84
Economic stabilityTop 22% of 1,255 counties81
The quick read

Butler County ranks in the top 3% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $89,843.

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

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Butler County in the top 11% for physical resilience.

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
Pittsburgh, PA
Nearest major airport
PIT
33 mi · Pittsburgh Intl
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 83% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 2.3% over the past year, to 99,086 employed residents.

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

Household income is higher than at least 91% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,409$89,843Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,342$49,125Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.1%Bottom 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.2 minTop 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher39.4%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment99,086Top 26%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.4%Top 37%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.3%Top 5%June 2026
Labor force102,566Top 26%June 2026
Labor force participation62.5%Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.5%Bottom 16%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 17%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.82.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in June 2026. 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

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.

43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 65% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
39
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
42.8%
Top 10% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
65.1%
Top 3% in Pennsylvania
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Seneca Valley HSSeneca Valley SD2,28213.3
Butler Area SHSButler Area SD1,95617.5
Butler Area IHSButler Area SD1,29112.026%56%
Ryan Gloyer MSSeneca Valley SD1,15711.824%66%
Mars Area SHSMars Area SD1,04411.0
Mars Area El SchMars Area SD88016.067%79%
Ehrman Crest El SchSeneca Valley SD83714.960%69%
Haine El SchSeneca Valley SD79113.050%67%
Connoquenessing Valley El SchSeneca Valley SD71414.357%72%
Knoch HSKnoch SD70415.6
Karns City Area El SchKarns City Area SD64516.129%46%
Karns City Jr/Sr HSKarns City Area SD64214.322%42%

36.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,041 takes 14% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.3 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
13.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,041
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.27Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate76.9%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±10987,382Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$35$1,041Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,907$294,200Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income13.9%Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.5%Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
68/ 100
Top 16% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2022 to 2025.

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.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 12% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,176
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 24% 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.
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 precipitation43.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall34.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding and winter weather.

Inland floodingModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, strong wind, tornado, hurricane, ice storm, earthquake, heat wave, wildfire, hail, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Butler County records 2.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.6 per 100,000 residents in Butler County.

Homicide
2.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
17.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
20.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Butler County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Butler County rather than Butler County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 33 miles away.

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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
82
Your Score

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

Cities in Butler County, PA