Pennsylvania · County property tax · ACS 2024
Butler County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Butler County pays $2,970 a year, an effective rate of 1.01%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,970
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.01%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +49%
- vs U.S. average
- #59 of 67
- rank in PA
The verdict
Homeowners in Butler County pay a median $2,970 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.01%, more affordable than 34% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,970
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.01%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2058 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +49%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($294,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Pennsylvania. Population: 197,254. Owner-occupied homes: 62,184.
The median annual property tax in Butler County is $2,970, which is 10% lower than the Pennsylvania state average and 49% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.01% on a median home value of $294,200. Property taxes represent 3.3% of the median household income in this county.
Butler County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Butler County's 1.01% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 34%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Butler County pay a median annual property tax of $2,970, well above the national median and notably lower than the Pennsylvania state median. On a $294,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.01% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Pennsylvania counties by effective rate
Butler County ranks #59 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania by effective rate (12% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Butler County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $89,843 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Butler County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Butler County's effective rate fell 16.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 35.6%, leaving the median bill 12.8% higher at $2,970. That rate move is larger than the one in 72% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,633 to $2,970, a gain of 13%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 30,092 of 62,184 owner-occupied homes (48.4%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Earnings are in the national top quarter and the rate is above the midpoint, so the median bill represents 3.3% of median household income. A headline bill conflates the dollar figure with the proportion; the two come apart here, and the ratio above is the second of them.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Butler County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Butler County homeowners, 30,092 of 62,184 owner-occupied homes (48.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.3% (4,527)
- $800 to $1,499 13.0% (8,067)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.8% (6,118)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.5% (12,101)
- $3,000 or more 48.4% (30,092)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,279 homes here (2.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Pennsylvania handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Butler County, mortgaged homeowners pay 28% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Butler County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Butler County's effective rate is higher than 12% of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania - ranking #59 of 67.
Where Butler County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.01% more affordable than 34% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. 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 · 2024
Butler County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Butler County | Pennsylvania Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.3% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Butler County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Pennsylvania counties.
Butler County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,970 +0.7% | 1.01% |
| 2023 | $2,950 +2.3% | 1.07% |
| 2022 | $2,883 +5.9% | 1.12% |
| 2021 | $2,722 +3.4% | 1.19% |
| 2020 | $2,633 | 1.21% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Butler County: tax-to-income at 3.3%
Counties near Butler County's effective rate
On effective rate, Butler County sits nearest Gilliam County (OR), Guernsey County (OH), Columbiana County (OH).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Eau Claire County (WI), Seward County (NE), Peoria County (IL).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Butler County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 5,550 of 98,900 returns from Butler County reported real estate taxes, averaging $6,000 - 43% of those reporters sat in the $200k+ AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Pennsylvania
Butler County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Butler County?
- Butler County, Pennsylvania scores F (27/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is housing pressure at F (3.27×). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- How does Butler County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Butler County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.01% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Butler County, Pennsylvania?
- The median annual property tax in Butler County is $2,970, an effective rate of 1.01% on a $294,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Butler County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Butler County climbed 12.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,633 to $2,970, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Butler County?
- Property taxes in Butler County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.3% of the $89,843 median household income.
What to do with Butler County's PAR rate
Butler County's $2,970 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Butler County ranks #59 of 67 Pennsylvania counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Pennsylvania overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Butler County's PAR effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.01%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,970/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Butler County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Butler County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Allegany County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,968/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 2.92% vs Butler County 1.01%.
Crook County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,972/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.64% vs Butler County 1.01%.
Orange County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,967/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.76% vs Butler County 1.01%.
Steele County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,964/yr (near-tied bill ABS $6); rate 1.21% vs Butler County 1.01%.
Pennsylvania county set
State ACS overview for every published Pennsylvania county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Butler County stamps PAR · MID - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Butler County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.