With hybrid work and daily commutes into New York City the norm, a borough like Butler, 40 miles northwest of Manhattan, is a convenient choice for many homebuyers who work in the New York metro area. “New Jersey Transit buses pick up several times a day in Butler and take passengers to the Port Authority in New York City,” says Seema Wu, a Realtor with Keller Williams Metropolitan Realty who lived in Butler for a decade when her children were little and has sold homes in the area for six years. “Butler is affordable and known for its recreational areas, especially Stonybrook Pool.” With shopping centers, holiday celebrations and well-used resources like the Butler Public Library, Butler attracts families and commuters.
With hybrid work and daily commutes into New York City the norm, a borough like Butler, 40 miles northwest of Manhattan, is a convenient choice for many homebuyers who work in the New York metro area.
Butler is very well connected with New Jersey Transit buses picking up passengers several times a day and dropping them off at the Port Authority in New York City.
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Commuter and health care resources for Butler residents
The NJ Transit Route 194 bus picks up passengers on Route 23 at Kiel Avenue in the Meadtown Shopping Center or on High Street at Park Place in Butler. The ride to Manhattan takes about an hour and 15 minutes. “The bus from Butler is not an express, but commuters can drive to Wayne, 6 miles away, for one that is,” Wu says. Route 23 goes through Butler, and nearby interstates 287 and 80 also take drivers into New York City. The closest hospital is Clinton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, 6 miles south, which features the region's only combined pediatric emergency and hospital care center.
Lower-priced homes for the NJ/NY market
The median home price in Butler is around $525,000, about 30 percent higher than the national median, yet well under the million-dollar price tags of many residences in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. Most homes in Butler are colonial-style houses built as early as 1900 or as late as 2010. Craftsman bungalows, ranch-style homes, raised ranch styles and split-levels offer midcentury choices in this hilly borough with well-manicured lawns and mature trees. Newer condos and townhouses are also available near the shopping districts on Route 23 and Main Street. “Butler is low on inventory like the rest of the country,” Wu says. “Home prices have gone up by 68 percent since COVID. But Butler real estate still is not as high as Kinnelon next door, and they share the same zip code.”
Craftsman bungalows, ranch-style homes, raised ranch styles and split-levels offer midcentury choices in Butler with well-manicured lawns and mature trees.
Newer condos and townhouses are available near Butler's bustling shopping districts on Route 23 and Main Street.
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Above-average schools with winning athletic programs
The Butler Public School District serves the borough and receives an overall B from Niche. The district features the Aaron Decker School for pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, the Richard Butler School for fifth through eighth grades, and Butler High School. Butler Bulldogs athletic teams have been state champions, and the football team now plays on a new $2 million artificial turf field that's distinctively blue and gold, the school's colors. The project also included a resurfacing of the field’s gray running track. The high school is the setting for Butler Day in October, a festival with food trucks, music and carnival rides.
For graduates, Passaic County Community College is 3 miles away in Haskell and offers over 80 degrees; it maintains agreements with four-year colleges and universities for a smooth transfer process.
Butler High School's Butler Bulldogs athletic teams have been state champions, and the football team now plays on a new $2 million artificial turf field that's distinctively blue and gold.
Richard Butler Middle School, in Butler, NJ, serves about 300 students in grades 5-8.
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Shopping and dining on Main Street and Route 23
Butler has two commercial districts. Butler’s Main Street shopping district offers dozens of eateries like Butler Family Restaurant and Diner. The area is getting a roadway and sidewalk update for nearly $900,000 to improve the entire length of Main, Short and Plane streets. The work will include the installation of new ADA-compliant curb ramps. A brick warehouse from the former American Hard Rubber Co. plant is now filled with a mix of businesses, including High Point Brewing Co., which specializes in German wheat beer.
Route 23 is the main retail strip in Butler, with local and regional grocers like Cogman’s Creek, a butcher shop and deli, and Green Life Market, which also features a deli, plus organic produce and a garden center. Shoppers will find more essentials at the Meadtown Shopping Center farther west on 23 and at the Kinnelon Mall off 23 on Kinnelon Road. South of town on 23, there are also big-box stores and more restaurant choices, such as Blu Alehouse, an upscale sports bar with curated dishes to match.
Butler’s Main Street shopping district offers dozens of delicious eateries like the stalwart local favorite, Butler Family Restaurant and Diner.
A brick warehouse from the former American Hard Rubber Co. plant in downtown Butler is now filled with a mix of businesses, including a gym, brewery and various manufacturing operations.
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Stonybrook Swim Club and other areas of recreation and reflection
Butler is known for the Stonybrook Swim Club, a recreational area with a large concrete-bottomed pool that draws water from Stone House Brook and the Butler Reservoir. “Sometimes you find a fish swimming next to you,” Wu says. The club also has a manmade beach and areas to play volleyball, basketball and horseshoes. Children can enjoy the club’s playground, and families can barbecue and picnic along the beach.
Park Place and Sloan Park are small green spaces beside creeks that help to make them less about recreation and more about contemplation. Both feature memorials to those lost in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, with iron girders on display as reminders. Park Place is central to Main Street and gets decorated with Christmas lights or flags depending on the holiday, and Sloan Park features live music, food, craft vendors, and kid-friendly activities during the Sloan Park Festival in early June.
The Butler Library is off Kiel Avenue near Main Street and features movie nights, yoga classes, crafting workshops and landscaping demonstrations. The library has a large outdoor playground; inside, children can enjoy story time, candy hunts, bingo and STEAM projects. “In Morris County, you only need one library card,” Wu says. “My kids would spend time there and at the library in Kinnelon — also very nice.”
Butler is known for the Stonybrook Swim Club, a recreational area with a large concrete-bottomed pool that draws water from Stone House Brook and the Butler Reservoir.
The Butler Library is off Kiel Avenue near Main Street and features movie nights, yoga classes and crafting workshops, as well as understanding
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Increasing crime and average climate numbers in Butler
According to New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reporting data, the number of violent and property crimes in Butler rose in 2023, continuing a trend of small increases after a five-year low in 2019.
Butler has a humid continental climate and experiences all four seasons. The average wintertime low is 23 degrees with an annual snowfall of 4 inches, and the average summertime high is 85 degrees with 44 inches of precipitation.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
