Butler County, Missouri Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Butler County, Missouri, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Butler County, Missouri. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Butler County, Missouri. The estimated population of Butler County, Missouri is 42,314 people, with a median age of 40.4.

We can look at the total population in Butler County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
42,314
 -0.6% -1.20%
2020
42,570
 -0.2% -
2019
42,656
 -0.18% -
2018
42,733
 -0.22% -
2017
42,826
 - -

Population of Butler County, Missouri by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
87.8%
89%
 -1.35%
Black/African American
5.8%
5.4%
 +7.41%
Native
0.4%
0.5%
 -20.00%
Hispanic
2.3%
2%
 +15.00%
Asian
0.3%
0.7%
 -57.14%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
3.2%
2.4%
 +33.33%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Butler County, Missouri by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 40.4 -1.94% 37.7 -1.31% 43 -0.23%
2020 41.2 -0.24% 38.2 -2.3% 43.1 +0.7%
2019 41.3 +2.99% 39.1 +2.36% 42.8 +2.39%
2018 40.1 -0.5% 38.2 -1.29% 41.8 +0.48%
2017 40.3 - 38.7 - 41.6 -

The median age of Butler County, Missouri gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,630 -4.73% 2,857 -7.87% 2,500 2,634
10 to 19 2,952 +14.03% 2,606 -8.66% 3,379 2,384
20 to 29 2,586 -10.17% 2,507 -3.58% 2,331 2,414
30 to 39 2,558 +0.92% 2,611 +5.08% 2,560 2,721
40 to 49 2,430 -1.15% 2,637 -5.38% 2,378 2,491
50 to 59 2,782 -7.75% 3,276 -21.03% 2,567 2,632
60 to 69 2,658 +2.74% 2,680 +20.61% 2,725 3,242
70+ 2,139 +9.07% 2,917 +3.63% 2,335 3,021

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Butler County, Missouri is $44,842.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Butler County.

  • Under 25
    $33,258.00
  • 25 to 44
    $49,668.00
  • 45 to 64
    $49,695.00
  • 65 and over
    $33,504.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Butler County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Butler County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Butler County, Missouri is currently $57,923.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

1.73% of households in Butler County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Butler County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    29.54%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    27.15%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.63%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.75%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    8.98%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3.21%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.73%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Butler County is $23,203.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Butler County by the total population of Butler County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Butler County, Missouri, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Butler County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.66%
  • Bachelor's degree
    14.80%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    13.68%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    61.49%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.37%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Butler County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Butler County over the age of 16 is 33,779.

Of those people, a total of 54.30% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Butler County is 50.60%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 2,362 40.30% 31.00%
20 to 24 years 2,164 80.40% 12.70%
25 to 29 years 2,581 73.70% 10.40%
30 to 34 years 2,817 82.70% 6.70%
35 to 44 years 4,692 76.90% 4.60%
45 to 54 years 5,476 69.40% 4.00%
55 to 59 years 2,364 63.20% 1.30%
60 to 64 years 3,349 42.50% 0.30%
65 to 74 years 4,654 18.00% 0.00%
75 years and over 3,320 7.20% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Butler County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 30,439 55.00% 5.70%
Black or African American 2,000 41.90% 18.50%
American Indian and Alaska Native 189 30.70% 0.00%
Asian 107 27.10% 100.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 31 100.00% 0.00%
Other 120 73.30% 0.00%
Two or more races 893 58.90% 13.90%
Hispanic or Latino 627 76.40% 20.90%
Not Hispanic or Latino 29,987 54.60% 5.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Butler County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Butler County is 17,082, with median earnings of $30,283.00.

Women in Butler County, Missouri earning approximately 68.80% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 17,082 $30,283.00
Male 9,010 $35,919.00
Female 8,072 $24,712.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,157 $71,356.00
Business and Financial 511 $36,523.00
Computer and Mathematical 71 $43,403.00
Architecture and Engineering 55 $41,989.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 20 $0.00
Community and Social Service 393 $32,844.00
Legal 79 $21,830.00
Educational and Library 981 $38,750.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 39 $40,982.00
Healthcare Practitioners 985 $47,049.00
Healthcare Support 1,005 $22,655.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 64 $4,924.00
Law Enforcement 74 $44,479.00
Food Preparation and Serving 980 $17,680.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 525 $19,776.00
Personal Care and Service 227 $19,875.00
Sales 2,288 $21,139.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,940 $25,858.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 196 $30,669.00
Construction and Extraction 1,106 $36,692.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 695 $44,283.00
Production 1,665 $29,632.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,085 $30,866.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 773 $61,133.00 384 $79,412.00
Business and Financial 133 $41,699.00 378 $32,027.00
Computer and Mathematical 71 $43,403.00 0 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 55 $41,989.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 10 $0.00 10 $0.00
Community and Social Service 159 $33,025.00 234 $32,656.00
Legal 32 $0.00 47 $0.00
Educational and Library 279 $45,184.00 702 $33,281.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 21 $0.00 18 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 269 $59,539.00 716 $42,056.00
Healthcare Support 81 $6,841.00 924 $22,920.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 31 $0.00 33 $0.00
Law Enforcement 67 $44,115.00 7 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 390 $15,702.00 590 $18,293.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 374 $26,159.00 151 $10,938.00
Personal Care and Service 23 $56,442.00 204 $18,000.00
Sales 953 $33,634.00 1,335 $14,107.00
Office and Administrative Support 475 $28,281.00 1,465 $24,864.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 196 $30,669.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 1,077 $36,720.00 29 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 652 $45,099.00 43 $0.00
Production 1,188 $30,873.00 477 $27,813.00
Transportation and Material Moving 939 $31,283.00 146 $28,173.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 16,031 households in Butler County, with an average household size of 2.58 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 10,226 families in Butler County with an average family size of 3.2 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 7,150 1,022 2,054 5,805
Average Household Size 3.15 3.96 3.7 1.24
Total Families 7,150 1,022 2,054 0
Average Household Size 3.11 3.35 3.41 0

Poverty

Of the 10,226 families in Butler County, 14.50% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Butler County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 19,375 housing units in Butler County, Missouri.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 16,031 82.74%
Vacant 3,344 17.26%

26.85% of the total 19,375 housing units in Butler County are rental units. This is approximately 5,203 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 10,544 are occupied by the owner - or 54.42% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Butler County is $690.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Butler County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    284
  • Less than $500
    1,376
  • $500 to $999
    2,992
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    776
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    59
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Butler County is $117,000.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Butler County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    1,615
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    2,577
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,813
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,663
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,103
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    592
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    105
  • $1,000,000 or more
    76

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Butler County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Butler County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,431
  • 1940 to 1949
    700
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,413
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,960
  • 1970 to 1979
    4,106
  • 1980 to 1989
    3,190
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,609
  • 2000 to 2009
    2,750
  • 2010 to 2013
    1,175
  • 2014 or later
    41

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Butler County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,346
  • 1 vehicle available
    5,548
  • 2 vehicles available
    5,946
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,191

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Butler County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Butler County that commute to work in a particular way.

19.2 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Butler County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    838
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,821
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,079
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    2,546
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    2,021
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    808
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,561
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    213
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    63
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    428
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    425
  • 90 or more minutes
    383

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Butler County, Missouri in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Butler County, Missouri

We have data for 15 places in Butler County, Missouri. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.