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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-BUTLER-MO · Butler, MO 4,594 pop · income 5th pct · 4 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Butler
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Butler on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ellisville · lowest
32,853
Ellisville · lowest
32,853 median HH income
40.1% of the leader · rank #1
Scottsville · near
36,259
Scottsville · near
36,259 median HH income
44.3% of the leader · rank #2
Opelousas · near
36,260
Opelousas · near
36,260 median HH income
44.3% of the leader · rank #3
Brookhaven · near
36,269
Brookhaven · near
36,269 median HH income
44.3% of the leader · rank #4
Butler · this city
36,276
Butler · this city
36,276 median HH income
44.3% of the leader · rank #5
Irvine · near
36,292
Irvine · near
36,292 median HH income
44.3% of the leader · rank #6
Holts Summit · highest
81,927
Holts Summit · highest
81,927 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Butler on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 4,594.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Butler - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Butler lands in the 5th percentile for household income and the 6th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
5th
percentile, household income
19th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
6th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Butler, MO
Butler is a small town in Missouri, home to 4,594 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Butler households earn a median of $36,276 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 26.4%. Home values in Butler run a median of $124,100, and the median resident age is 36.9 years. Educational attainment runs 11.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 39.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 4 residential building permits were authorized in Butler (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Butler's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 4217.4 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Butler's yearly average temperature at 55.6°F with 43.6 inches of precipitation per year and 9.5 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Missouri at 90.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $972 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Missouri's average monthly utility costs around $219 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 50.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Butler's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to schools and households to population change to reported crime to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Butler, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Butler?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Lexington (4,602 residents, $70,134 income); Hollister (4,608 residents, $57,778 income); Centralia (4,615 residents, $51,868 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Ellisville, MS (4,593 residents); New Boston, TX (4,593 residents); South Greeley, WY (4,596 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 11.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +94 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Butler?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4217.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 85% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
4217.4
Violent rate
1359.0
Property rate
2858.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 55.6°F, with 43.6 inches of precipitation and 9.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Missouri is 50.6 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
50.6
Annual precipitation
43.6 in
Mean temperature
55.6°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the journey to work look like in Butler?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 93.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Drive alone
93.2%
Work from home
1.5%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,358 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Butler?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 26.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.4×
Home value
$124,100
Household income
$36,276
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 26.4% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
F
City profile score · Butler, MO
20/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A-
90.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
26.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$36,276
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
1,359 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Butler profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.8%
Poverty rate: 4/100 (F) · 26.4%
Household income: 2/100 (F) · $36,276
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,359 /100k
Where Butler sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Butler's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Butler highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Butler, MO (this city): home $124,100, crime 4,217/100k
Ellisville, MS : home $97,000, crime 1,485/100k
New Boston, TX : home $99,000, crime 4,244/100k
Sauk Centre, MN : home $196,000, crime 1,189/100k
Lexington, MO : home $153,300, crime 1,337/100k
Hollister, MO : home $154,900, crime 1,428/100k
Centralia, MO : home $165,600, crime 1,087/100k
Holts Summit, MO : home $184,400, crime 127/100k
Charleston, MO : home $107,700, crime 2,361/100k
Mount Vernon, MO : home $175,000, crime 1,829/100k
How does Butler compare to other US cities?
Here's how Butler stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income5% higher than other cities
Home value19% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety6% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Missouri and the picture shifts: Butler ranks #203 of 234 Missouri cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Butler against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Butler near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Butler ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Butler only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#746 of 842
11th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#396 of 833
52nd percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#94 of 875
89th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#575 of 875
34th percentile in Missouri
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
5th percentile nationally for median household income · 6th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Butler's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Butler's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Butler's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$124,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 81% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Butler's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,661 of 15,516
More affordable than 44% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,021 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.4×, Butler sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,661 of 15,516 and #7,021 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$36,276Butler, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Butler, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Butler, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)26.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)39.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,594
Median Income
$36,276
Median Home Value
$124,100
Median Age
36.9
Poverty Rate
26.4%
Labor force participation
39.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4217.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1359.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2858.5
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
55.6°F
Annual Precipitation
43.6"
Annual Snowfall
9.5"
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Butler's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,223 residents
2021
4,230 residents
2022
4,239 residents
2023
4,263 residents
2024
4,302 residents
2025
4,317 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.0M
2020
2
2
0
$0.5M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.8M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
4
4
0
$0.6M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
93.2%
Carpool
3.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
1.5%
Other
2.1%
Based on 1,358 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Butler. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Butler is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Butler sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Butler compares to similar-size Missouri cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.