Photo: Mvincec. Original uploader was Mvincec at en.wikipedia · Public domainOn violent crime, Butler has a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 5.7 violent crimes and 15.5 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 2.9 and 17.5 in the rest of Pennsylvania. Its letter overall is C− (#535 of 578 graded towns in Pennsylvania): more crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns, from crimes its police reported through 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of PA” is every other Pennsylvania city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What’s behind Butler’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its property rate (15.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Butler | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 6.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Butler’s police reported 222 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Butler per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Butler property | Rest of Pennsylvania property | Butler violent | Rest of Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12.4 | 19.1 | 5.8 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 16.1 | 17.4 | 5.0 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 17.9 | 16.0 | 6.4 | 2.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Pennsylvania.
313 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
82 violent and 231 property, as reported to the FBI by Butler’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Butler’s roads in 2019–2023
Butler had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 1 was a cyclist.
That is about what is typical for Pennsylvania towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Butler’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Butler’s own rate (3.0) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Butler and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | C− | 5.7 | 15.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Pennsylvania towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | C− | 5.7 | 15.5 |
| North Middleton Township | A− | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| Emmaus | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Lower Pottsgrove Township | B | 1.4 | 9.4 |
| Pottsville | C+ | 2.9 | 11.3 |
| Sharon | C− | 5.8 | 14.5 |
The five graded Pennsylvania towns closest to Butler’s population (12,879), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Butler. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Butler’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,894 in 2025); our figure for Butler is 12,879 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Butler
Is Butler, PA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Butler reports more crime per resident than 82% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #535 of 578 in Pennsylvania. Its police reported 5.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Butler?
5.7 violent and 15.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Pennsylvania reports 2.9 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Who polices Butler?
Butler’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Butler”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Butler.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.