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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-BUTLER-WI · Butler, WI 2,003 pop · income 28th 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
Dundee · lowest
44,250
Dundee · lowest
44,250 median HH income
38.4% of the leader · rank #1
Hollywood · near
55,573
Hollywood · near
55,573 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #2
Amargosa Vall… · near
55,573
Amargosa Vall… · near
55,573 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #3
Butler · this city
55,577
Butler · this city
55,577 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #4
Belle Rive · near
55,577
Belle Rive · near
55,577 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #5
St. Joseph · near
55,578
St. Joseph · near
55,578 median HH income
48.3% of the leader · rank #6
Hanson · highest
115,109
Hanson · highest
115,109 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: 2,003.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Butler - the verdict
Butler ranks in the 28th percentile for household income and the 34th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
28th
percentile, household income
47th
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
34th
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, WI
Butler is a small town in Wisconsin, home to 2,003 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Butler households earn a median of $55,577 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Home values in Butler run a median of $216,300, and the median resident age is 45.0 years. 30.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 65.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits). Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1932.9 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Wisconsin at 94.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,097 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Wisconsin's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 out of 100 (Moderate).
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 reported crime to population change 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, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, 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 Wisconsin, the closest population matches are Eagle (2,016 residents, $109,545 income); Chetek (2,017 residents, $59,554 income); Schofield (2,020 residents, $65,478 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wellsville, KS (2,003 residents); Dundee, NY (2,003 residents); Hanson, MA (2,002 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Butler?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1932.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 15% 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -32 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
What does the journey to work look like in Butler?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 88.2%. 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.
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.
Housing and income
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 4.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.9×
Home value
$216,300
Household income
$55,577
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
C-
City profile score · Butler, WI
54/100
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.
Poverty rate B
4.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living B-
94.1 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 C
30.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime C-
171 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$55,577
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Butler profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 59/100 (C) · 30.4%
Violent crime: 53/100 (C-) · 171 /100k
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,577
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, WI (this city): home $216,300, crime 1,933/100k
Wellsville, KS : home $166,100, crime 780/100k
Hanson, MA : home $490,700, crime 325/100k
Lexington, OK : home $84,500, crime 736/100k
Roberts, WI : home $270,300, crime 281/100k
Clinton, WI : home $172,300, crime 628/100k
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?
Butler measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value47% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety34% 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 Wisconsin alone, Butler ranks #172 of 202 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Wisconsin-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Butler near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin 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
#594 of 753
21st percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#262 of 754
65th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#449 of 761
41st percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#201 of 761
73rd percentile in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
28th percentile nationally for median household income · 34th 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+)
$216,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 53% 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
#10,370 of 15,516
More affordable than 33% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,148 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.9×, Butler sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,370 of 15,516 and #8,148 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
$55,577Butler, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Butler, WI 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, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)30.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,003
Median Income
$55,577
Median Home Value
$216,300
Median Age
45.0
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
65.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1932.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
170.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1762.4
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.
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
1,784 residents
2021
1,779 residents
2022
1,767 residents
2023
1,767 residents
2024
1,765 residents
2025
1,752 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
1
1
0
$0.2M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
88.2%
Carpool
4.0%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
5.5%
Other
1.1%
Based on 1,110 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Wisconsin statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Wisconsin at $225 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.1 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Butler is $1,097/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Wisconsin statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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, 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.