Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Butler’s household incomes are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A−: better than 83% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #213 of 468 in New Jersey.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns · #151 of 468 in New Jersey.
Working residents average 30 minutes each way (New Jersey 31, U.S. 26). Only 6% work in Butler; the top destination outside it is Wayne Township (5%, 6 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.1 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Butler, in brief
Butler trades workers with the towns around it
Butler has about as many jobs (3,587) as working residents (3,895), but they are mostly different people: 3,651 residents leave for work each day while 3,343 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Butler are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Butler’s commute
The biggest draw, Wayne Township, gets only 5% of working residents, and 67% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Butler residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Butler
72% of Butler residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Butler pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Butler’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Butler is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #213 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Butler could be anywhere from B to A+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 3,651 residents head out to work, 244 work right here, and 3,343 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
5% of working residents work in Wayne Township
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Butler clocks in
5% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 3,587 jobs in Butler are
3,587 jobs are based in Butler. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Butler’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Butler, 2013 → 2023: 3,242 → 3,587. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
About 30 minutes each way, about the NJ average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Butler workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,989 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Butler commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Butler is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Butler is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #151 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Butler near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,687 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.6% of Butler households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Butler’s commuters take a bus or train.
Butler is 700th of 3,007 U.S. towns of 5,700 to 11,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Butler, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 698 | West Slope OR | 6,582 | $105K | 8.6% | 3.5% | 1% | A− |
| 699 | Whiteland IN | 5,884 | $97K | 9.3% | 2.3% | 4% | A− |
| 700 | Butler NJ | 8,184 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.1% | 6% | A− |
| 701 | Tipp City OH | 10,644 | $78K | 6.2% | 2.0% | 11% | A− |
| 702 | Braceville Township IL | 6,617 | $83K | 5.7% | 1.4% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,007 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Butler and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Riverdale (3%). Darker towns draw more of Butler’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Butler workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | – | A− | A+ | 30 min | $111,557 |
| Bloomingdale | under 3% | A− | A− | 29 min | $127,500 |
| Kinnelon | under 3% | A | B+ | 34 min | $187,438 |
| Riverdale | 3% | A+ | A | 28 min | $102,950 |
| Macopin | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| West Milford Township | under 3% | A− | B | 40 min | $132,114 |
Same-state neighbors only. Macopin: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Butler: questions
What is the median household income in Butler?
$111,557 (±$9,158) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Butler?
8.7%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Butler?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Butler work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wayne Township (5%, 6 mi), New York City (5%, 32 mi), Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Butler walkable?
Butler is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Butler without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Butler, from the people who make the trip.
More of Butler
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.