County food-access profile · Ohio
Butler County, OH
Butler County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 42.7%
- low-access pop.
- 19
- food-desert tracts
- 9.8%
- on SNAP
- 393K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
42.7% of Butler County residents live in a low-access area, and 19 of its 80 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 55
- low-access tracts
- 35K
- food-desert residents
- 4.7%
- households, no vehicle
- 11.8%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Butler County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 42.7% is well above the national share. 55 of the county's 80 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 157,041 people. 19 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 34,714 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Butler County compares nationally
Butler County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 42.7% low-access share outpaces 90% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #327 most-affected nationwide.
Butler County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 80 census tracts in Butler County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Butler County vs. other Ohio counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Ohio
- Butler
Butler County, OH
42.7 % low-access
- Adams
Adams County, OH
22 % low-access
- Allen
Allen County, OH
17.4 % low-access
- Ashland 5
Ashland County, OH
5 % low-access
- Ashtabula
Ashtabula County, OH
21.9 % low-access
- Athens 17
Athens County, OH
17 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 80 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 368,130 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 55 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 19 |
| Low-Access Population | 157,041 |
| Low-Access Share | 42.7%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 34,714 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 392,876 |
| Median Household Income | $81,590 |
| Poverty Rate | 11.8%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 14,429 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 9.8%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.7%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.8% |
About 9.8% of Butler County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 42.7% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 9.8% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 14,429 households here.
- 4.7% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 19 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Butler County
well above the national share
19 of Butler County's 80 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 23.8% of all its tracts.
A further 36 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 55.
An estimated 157,041 residents, roughly 42.7% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 34,714 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 25 tracts (31.3%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Butler County
Butler County has 304 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 7 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 159 locations (52% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 159
- 18 millville operations llc, hamilton
- a one shop n/a, oxford
- ag market, fairfield township
- alem brothers llc, middletown
- ameristop, fairfield
- ameristop food mart, west chester
- amir retailers inc 0, hamilton
- amoco middletown, middletown
- bp, hamilton
- blue ball shell, middletown
- bp dixie, fairfield
- bp express, middletown
- casey's 3668, trenton
- casey's 3847, fairfield township
- casey's 4031, hamilton
- carniceria el camino, fairfield
- central supermarket, middletown
- certified oil corp 400436, hamilton
- circle k 4705216, fairfield
- circle k 4705220, liberty twp
- circle k 4705223, west chester
- circle k 4705485, oxford
- colony food mart, oxford
- dabbelts market, hamilton
- das foods llc, hamilton
- das mart, hamilton
- das petroleum, hamilton
- davey's food mart, middletown
- dixie food mart, fairfield
- dixie marathon, hamilton
- eaton market, hamilton
- fair food mart, hamilton
- fairfield food mart, fairfield
- fairfield shell, fairfield
- fillnsip, hamilton
- food mart, fairfield
- friendly express food mart, fairfield
- gas and go grub, middletown
- gas depot, fairfield
- gp monroe llc, monroe
- grab n go fairfield, fairfield
- hamilton bp, hamilton
- hamilton quick shop, fairfield township
- harry and sons holdings, hamilton
- high street food mart, hamilton
- highland food mart, middletown
- hiral enterprises llc, west chester
- jamies market, hamilton
- jays food mart, fairfield
- jiffy mart, fairfield
- johnson's grocery, hamilton
- jp food mart llc, hamilton
- lefferson food mart, middletown
- maggard's grocery & carry out, hamilton
- ma sunoco, hamilton
- madison food mart, middletown
- main st marathon, hamilton
- main street bp, hamilton
- main street marathon, monroe
- marathon, okeana
- maruti 101 corporation, fairfield
- max mart, middletown
- megan's grocery & deli, somerville
- meijer gas station 135, hamilton
- meijer gas station 147, west chester
- miami party supplies, hamilton
- middletown eaton sunoco 40, middletown
- middletown food mart, middletown
- middletown food mart, middletown
- middletown quick stop, middletown
- midtown- carryout drive-thru, middletown
- millville bp, hamilton
- millville food mart, hamilton
- minnick'a drive thru 15, hamilton
- minnick's drive thru 12, hamilton
- minnick's drive thru 16, hamilton
- minnick's drive thru 17, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 01, fairfield
- minnicks drive thru 02, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 03, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 04, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 05, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 06, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 07, fairfield
- minnicks drive thru 08, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 09, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 10, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 11, hamilton
- minnicks drive thru 13, hamilton
- mit oil llc, middletown
- monroe iga express, monroe
- multinicks drive thru 14, fairfield
- murphy usa 6754, hamilton
- namaste curry house, fairfield
- new miami quick stop, hamilton
- north end market, hamilton
- nvs petroleum inc., middletown
- oxford sunoco sunoco, middletown
- p&g food mart, middletown
- platinum developers llc, hamilton
- power pump gas llc, trenton
- quiktrip 7095, west chester
- riverview food mart, hamilton
- roosevelt bp, middletown
- ross marathon, fairfield
- s & a convenience store, middletown
- seven star eleven hamilton, hamilton
- shell 1208, west chester
- shell 1209, liberty twp
- shell 1212, west chester
- shell 1219, fairfield
- shell 1224, monroe
- shell dixie, fairfield
- shiva 2 llc, middletown
- shree aarju llc, hamilton
- skyview best stop, hamilton
- sloans market, middletown
- snack shack na, oxford
- speedway 1197, west chester
- speedway 1218, middletown
- speedway 1251, oxford
- speedway 3389, fairfield
- speedway 3405, west chester
- speedway 3428, hamilton
- speedway 5010, fairfield
- speedway 5276, middletown
- speedway 5405, middletown
- speedway 6336 6336, middletown
- speedway 7048, monroe
- speedway 8016, middletown
- speedway 8019, trenton
- speedway 9367, west chester
- speedway 9383, monroe
- speedway 9390, hamilton
- speedway 9608, hamilton
- speedway 9609, fairfield
- speedway 9781, cincinnati
- star one drive thru, middletown
- star's sales llc, hamilton
- sunoco, west chester
- sunoco food mart, middletown
- sunrise sunoco, middletown
- taj foodtown llc, hamilton
- thorntons #442559 442559, hamilton
- thorntons 442562, monroe
- thorntons 550, fairfield
- thorntons 552, west chester
- thorntons 75, hamilton
- trentondkaf llc, trenton
- verity discount smoke & carry out, middletown
- verity drive thru, middletown
- verity fuel services llc, middletown
- wawa store 7203, liberty township
- wawa store 7205, fairfield
- wawa store 7213, fairfield
- winton food mart, fairfield
- woodside sunoco, hamilton
- yankee drive thru, middletown
- zip drive thru, middletown
Combination Grocery/Other · 80
- cvs 2342, west chester
- cvs 5433, hamilton
- cvs 6080, fairfield
- cvs 6083, hamilton
- cvs 6084, oxford
- cvs 6954, middletown
- cvs pharmacy 6137, middletown
- dollar general 1241, oxford
- dollar general 1450, trenton
- dollar general 18685, middletown
- dollar general 3468, hamilton
- dollar general 4015, middletown
- dollar general 7402, fairfield
- dollar general 8206, west chester
- dollartree 10358, hamilton
- dollartree 9261, liberty twp
- dollartree 9927, middletown
- dollar general 10437, middletown
- dollar general 10810, hamilton
- dollar general 12741, middletown
- dollar general 14484, hamilton
- dollar general 15406, middletown
- dollar general 16484, hamilton
- dollar general 20996, hamilton
- dollar general 21562, hamilton
- dollar general 22403, hamilton
- dollar general 22993, middletown
- dollar general 23244, hamilton
- dollar general 25431, fairfield
- dollar general 3045, fairfield
- dollar general 31489, middletown
- dollar general store 17315, oxford
- dollar tree 1920, hamilton
- dollar tree 3305, fairfield
- dollar tree 4414, oxford
- dollar tree 5526, west chester
- dollar tree 6991, hamilton
- dollar tree 7279, fairfield township
- dollar tree 8286, hamilton
- dollar tree 9186, hamilton
- dollar tree 9242, west chester
- el oaxaqueno llc, hamilton
- family dollar 0752, fairfield
- family dollar 11917, hamilton
- family dollar 9326, fairfield
- family dollar store 1093, middletown
- family dollar store 4229, monroe
- family dollar store 4660, hamilton
- family dollar store 4933, middletown
- family dollar store 6284, middletown
- family dollar store 7782, trenton
- hammanns butcher shop deli, fairfield
- himalayan spice, hamilton
- india bazar, west chester
- super mercado garcia, hamilton
- united dairy farmers 015, west chester
- united dairy farmers 038, hamilton
- united dairy farmers 058, fairfield
- united dairy farmers 080, west chester
- united dairy farmers 106, oxford
- united dairy farmers 138, fairfield
- united dairy farmers 162, hamilton
- united dairy farmers 163, hamilton
- united dairy farmers 164, middletown
- united dairy farmers 171, middletown
- united dairy farmers 172, west chester
- united dairy farmers 182, fairfield
- united dairy farmers 24, west chester
- united dairy farmers 245, trenton
- walgreens 06471, middletown
- walgreens 05196, fairfield
- walgreens 05203, hamilton
- walgreens 05762, west chester
- walgreens 06682, west chester
- walgreens 07046, fairfield
- walgreens 07239, hamilton
- walgreens 09520, liberty twp
- walgreens 09577, west chester
- walgreens 11511, trenton
- walgreens 13635, liberty township
Large Grocery Store · 5
- al couch supermarket, hamilton
- baladna butchery and market 1, west chester
- casablanca, west chester
- el valle verde ii, hamilton
- las palmas supermercado llc, fairfield
Medium Grocery Store · 3
- allen's market, hamilton
- asafo african food distributors, fairfield
- aseda markets llc, west chester
Farmers' Market · 1
- oxford farmers market association, oxford
Fruits/Veg Specialty · 1
- la palmita, monroe
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- special t meats, hamilton
Showing 250 of 304 authorized retailers, largest categories first.
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Ohio
Compare Butler County vs Adams County → · All Ohio counties →
Food access nationally, Ohio in context
Butler County sits inside Ohio (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Butler County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Butler County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Butler County? ▼
Is Butler County a food desert? ▼
What share of Butler County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.