Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-BUTLER-NJ · Butler, NJ 8,072 pop · income 83rd pct
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
Crestwood · lowest
38,396
Crestwood · lowest
38,396 median HH income
24.4% of the leader · rank #1
Armada · near
110,345
Armada · near
110,345 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #2
Lowry Crossing · near
110,357
Lowry Crossing · near
110,357 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #3
North Decatur · near
110,366
North Decatur · near
110,366 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #4
Butler · this city
110,375
Butler · this city
110,375 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #5
Lago Vista · near
110,388
Lago Vista · near
110,388 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #6
Sunnyvale · highest
157,500
Sunnyvale · highest
157,500 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: 8,072.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Butler - the verdict
Nationally, Butler sits in the 83rd percentile for household income and the 83rd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
83rd
percentile, household income
79th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
83rd
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, NJ
Butler is a small town in New Jersey, home to 8,072 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Butler brings in $110,375 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 4.5%. Typical homes in Butler are valued around $425,900, and the median resident age is 40.9 years. About 45.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 69.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 2 residential building permits were authorized in Butler (Construction Slowdown), down 87% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Butler reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 539.2 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts New Jersey at 108.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,132 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New Jersey run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 out of 100 (Very High).
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 population change to reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Butler, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
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 New Jersey, the closest population matches are Atco (8,037 residents, $101,976 income); Fort Dix (8,034 residents, $98,259 income); Spotswood (8,112 residents, $101,388 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bermuda Dunes, CA (8,074 residents); Sunnyvale, TX (8,069 residents); Albertville, MN (8,066 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +179 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Butler?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 539.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 76% lower 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.
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 3.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Butler?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.1%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Drive alone
72.1%
Work from home
16.3%
Public transit
5.7%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,621 workers age 16+.
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 3 public schools within the city match. 45.1% 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.
Poverty estimate
4.5%
Bachelor's degree+
45.1%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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.
Violent crime A
36 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income A-
$110,375
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A-
45.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B-
4.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
108.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Butler profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 88/100 (A) · 36 /100k
Household income: 81/100 (A-) · $110,375
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.1%
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.5%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
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 26 peers.Read the chart values
Butler, NJ (this city): home $425,900, crime 539/100k
Sunnyvale, TX : home $540,500, crime 1,277/100k
Brazil, IN : home $105,900, crime 2,492/100k
Wyoming, MN : home $328,900, crime 626/100k
Spotswood, NJ : home $359,000, crime 874/100k
Raritan, NJ : home $449,200, crime 892/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
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 income83% higher than other cities
Home value79% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety83% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to New Jersey alone, Butler ranks #60 of 238 New Jersey cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Butler against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Jersey only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Jersey-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Butler near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey 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
#295 of 659
55th percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#295 of 672
56th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#257 of 680
61st percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#315 of 686
54th percentile in New Jersey
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 New Jersey only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
83rd percentile nationally for median household income · 83rd 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+)
$425,90021st percentilemore affordable than 21% 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: 3.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,249 of 15,516
More affordable than 34% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,073 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.9×, Butler sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,249 of 15,516 and #8,073 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
$110,375Butler, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Butler, NJ 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, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,072
Median Income
$110,375
Median Home Value
$425,900
Median Age
40.9
Poverty Rate
4.5%
Labor force participation
69.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
539.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
35.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
503.2
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.
Schools
Total Schools
3
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
8,005 residents
2021
8,111 residents
2022
8,105 residents
2023
8,160 residents
2024
8,161 residents
2025
8,184 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
16
16
0
$2.8M
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
2
2
0
$2.7M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
3
3
0
$1.6M
2024
2
2
0
$0.3M
Permit volume decreased 87% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.1%
Carpool
4.9%
Public Transit
5.7%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
16.3%
Other
0.7%
Based on 4,621 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Jersey statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Jersey at $275 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are New Jersey 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
New Jersey's BEA cost-of-living index is 108.8 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Butler is $2,132/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Jersey statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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, 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.