Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Butler gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $253K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades C overall, 911th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $44K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line, and its crime rate is higher than 82% of U.S. towns, with 82 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. Butler’s violent crime rate is 6.4 per 1,000 residents, against 0.7 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Only 159 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score lower on health. Its National Register listings include Elm Court and Butler Armory.
Where Butler beats most towns.
Butler County Courthouse
Census counts: 225 in 1820, a peak of 24,477 in 1940, 13,502 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Butler is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Butler, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Butler.
Butler is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Pennsylvania rate and has poverty well above the Pennsylvania rate.
Violent crime runs at 6.4 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Pennsylvania rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
The property crime rate in Butler is 17.9 per 1,000 residents. Butler reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 82% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by Butler Area SD. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Brittain El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 255 | C |
| First Baptist Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 102 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Against the 3,739 U.S. towns with household incomes like Butler’s, it is healthier than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Butler beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 20% of adults report frequent mental distress in Butler.
| Butler | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Butler | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.4% | 14.5% |
| More smokers | 21.3% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Butler has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Butler’s average trip to work is 22 minutes. Most working residents leave Butler for work: only 14% work in town. 7.6% of Butler workers work from home.
| Butler | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Memorial Park, at 70 acres.
| Butler | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 70 |
| 2. Ritts Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Father Marinaro Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $1,639, against $3,311 across Pennsylvania, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Butler home is worth about $253,000, up 2.4% in a year, 12% below the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Butler | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $818 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 95 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Butler.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Butler
About 3 of every 100 Butler residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
6 places in Butler on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Butler.
City in Pennsylvania, US
Butler is a city in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is 35 miles (56 km) north of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,502. Butler is named after Major General Richard Butler, who died in the 1791 Battle of the Wabash. Settled in 1803 by John and Samuel Cunningham, it became a borough in 1817 and a city in 1918. Initially populated by Irish and Scottish immigrants, Butler saw a large influx of German settlers in the early 19th century. It contributed to the Steel Belt manufacturing region as home to the Standard Steel Car Company, which produced early all-steel railcars, and the American Bantam …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Butler.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | #911 | C | A− | C− | B− | C− |
| Homeacre-Lyndora | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Meadowood | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Homeacre-Lyndora and Meadowood aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Butler with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Butler grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #911 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
45 notable people were born here, including Bret Michaels and Big John Studd.
