Photo: Mvincec. Original uploader was Mvincec at en.wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in Butler earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Butler is better than 13% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A). 21.4% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania. 8% of workers have no commute at all (Pennsylvania 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Butler, in brief
Butler draws workers from far and wide
The 7,322 jobs in Butler are filled from a wide area. Butler’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Butler is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Butler
Job access by car holds Butler’s grade up (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($44,247, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Butler could be anywhere from D to C.
12% of working residents work in Butler Township
Where Butler clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
In Butler, services account for most jobs
7,322 jobs are based in Butler.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Butler, 2013 → 2023: 7,671 → 7,322. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Butler’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Butler for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,228 residents head out to work, 817 work right here, and 6,505 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Butler on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 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.
About 22 minutes to work from Butler
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Butler workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,488 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Half of Butler commutes less than 16 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Butler
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,937 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 24.0% of Butler households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Butler’s commuters take a bus or train.
Butler and other U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,183 | Washington Township IN | 10,430 | $59K | 19.4% | 6.0% | 28% | D |
| 2,184 | Fredonia NY | 9,283 | $50K | 25.2% | 5.1% | 18% | D |
| 2,185 | Butler PA | 12,879 | $44K | 21.4% | 8.2% | 14% | D |
| 2,186 | East Cleveland OH | 13,229 | $22K | 40.7% | 18.4% | 4% | D |
| 2,187 | McKeesport PA | 16,907 | $34K | 32.0% | 11.5% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Butler, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Butler
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Butler workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | – | D | A | 22 min | $44,247 |
| Homeacre-Lyndora | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Meadowood | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Homeacre-Lyndora and Meadowood: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Butler’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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?
$44,247 (±$4,007) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Butler?
21.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Butler?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Butler work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Butler Township (12%, 2 mi), Pittsburgh (11%, 29 mi), Cranberry Township (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Butler walkable?
Butler is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Butler without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 24% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.