Greater Wichita Partnership > Data & Resources > Region Snapshot > Butler
Butler County
As Kansas’ largest county by land area, Butler County features rolling grass covered hills with broad river valleys winding through them. The county’s diverse economy includes industries ranging from petroleum production and refining, farming, ranching and manufacturing.
A key feature of the county is El Dorado lake, which has the capacity to supply up to 30 million gallons of water per day to the majority of Butler County.
Butler County’s largest community is El Dorado, which is also the county seat. In addition to the county government, Butler County contains 29 townships, 13 cities, 11 rural water districts, 11 watershed districts, 9 unified school districts, 13 fire districts, and 1 community college. Located in El Dorado, Butler Community College is the second largest community college in the state with more than 13,000 students ranging in age from sophomores and juniors in high school to grandparents seeking new career opportunities. Butler students have access to more than 90 different academic programs across 24 learning sites which includes numerous high schools in the area.
Butler County provides a wide array of transportation opportunities for businesses:
- Interstate 35 runs directly through the heart of the county, providing multiple access points throughout.
- Three airports in Butler County serve personal and business aircraft: El Dorado, Augusta and Benton. Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, the largest airport in Kansas, is conveniently accessible in Wichita allowing for access to anywhere in the country.
- Butler County is well served by rail, through an industrial lead line from Wichita. Multiple rail served sites and spurs operated by two Class I railroads, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific, are available. The facility has the ability to provide daily service to customers.