County · Pennsylvania
Butler County, Pennsylvania
Butler County, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 95 out of 100 (very high), ranking #148 of 3,143 US counties. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #2 of 67 counties. It ranks best on poor or fair health (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), hospital quality rating (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #148 of 3,143 counties
- Pennsylvania
- #2 of 67 in PA
- Population
- 200,169 (2025)
- Land area
- 789 mi²
- Density
- 253.5 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 42019
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.
- Safety90#318/3,096
- Economy87#401/3,143
- Housing75#786/3,140
- Health89#362/3,144
- Healthcare92#246/3,143
- Environment49#1,579/3,108
- Education98#50/3,144
- Infrastructure74#812/3,144
- Community92#242/3,144
- Leisure & amenities61#1,216/3,143
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Butler County, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Poor or fair health · low12.9%
- High school diploma or higher · high95.7%
- Reading scores · high3.50
- Physical inactivity · low18.2%
- Child poverty rate · low7.0%
- Mental health care shortage · low0.0
Weaknesses
- Time spent in the emergency room · high194 min12/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Hospital quality rating · low2.0
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.6 µg/m³15/100Pennsylvania 8.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
- Public libraries · low0.4 /10k
- High ozone days · high1 days23/100Pennsylvania 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drinking water violationsImproving
1 (2020) → 0 (2024)
−100%4 years
- Access to exercise opportunitiesImproving
73.3% (2010 & 2021) → 84.6% (2022 & 2024)
+11 pts3 yearsUS 79.8% → 84.5%
- New business applicationsImproving
6.4 /1k (2020) → 9.6 /1k (2025)
+51%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- Mental health providersImproving
181 /100k (2021) → 265 /100k (2025)
+46%4 yearsUS 282 /100k → 348 /100k
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
33.5 /100k (2021) → 18.6 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−44%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Child care cost burdenWorsening
22.7% (2020 & 2021) → 31.6% (2023 & 2024)
+8.9 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Counties like Butler County, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Butler County, Pennsylvania in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.
Pay in the Pittsburgh, PALocal businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
Representation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
Metro area
The metro or micro area Butler County belongs to. A county is in at most one.
Cities and towns in Butler County
Places whose residents live mostly in Butler County, largest first.
- Butler13,212
- Homeacre-Lyndora6,783
- Shanor-Northvue5,125
- Meridian3,837
- Zelienople3,827
- Slippery Rock3,495
- Seven Fields2,884
- Slippery Rock University2,853
- Meadowood2,644
- Oak Hills2,513
- Evans City2,074
- Mars1,285
- Nixon1,251
- Harmony1,232
- Saxonburg1,202
- Prospect1,157
- East Butler916
- Harrisville901
- Chicora876
- Connoquenessing687
- Unionville644
- Valencia550
- Callery458
- Forestville381
Neighboring counties
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar counties
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Westmoreland County, PA88Alike on High school+, Uninsured, Math
- Medina County, OH94Alike on Reading, Child poverty, Some college
- Washington County, PA88Alike on Reading, Math, Dry days
- Cumberland County, PA97Alike on Mental distress, Bachelor's+, Poverty
- Geauga County, OH92Alike on Dry days, Food environment, Work from home
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-06
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
