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Custer County
Custer County
County
	Custer County Courthouse
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
	South Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 43°41′N 103°28′W / 43.68°N 103.46°W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1875 (created); 1877 (organized)
Named for	George Armstrong Custer
Seat	Custer
Largest city	Custer
Area
• Total	1,559 sq mi (4,040 km2)
• Land	1,557 sq mi (4,030 km2)
• Water	2.1 sq mi (5 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,318
• Estimate (2023)	9,117
• Density	5.3/sq mi (2.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.custercountysd.com

Custer County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,318.^[1] Its county seat is Custer.^[2] The county was created in 1875, and was organized in 1877.^[3] It was named after General George Armstrong Custer.

Custer County is home to two of the three longest caves in the United States: Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park.

Geography

Custer County lies on the west line of South Dakota. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Wyoming. The Cheyenne River flows northeastward along the upper portion of the county's east boundary. Battle Creek flows southeastward in the upper eastern part of the county, discharging into Cheyenne River along the county's northeastern boundary line. Spring Creek flows northeastward through the upper eastern part of the county, discharging into the river just north of the county border. The county terrain is mountainous, especially its western portion.^[4] The terrain slopes to the east; its lowest point is its NE corner at 2,461 ft (750 m) above sea level (ASL). Its highest point is a mountain crest along the north boundary line, at 6,657 ft (2,029 m) ASL.^[5]

Custer County has a total area of 1,559 square miles (4,040 km²), of which 1,557 square miles (4,030 km²) is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Black Hills National Forest (part)
- Black Elk Wilderness (part)
Buffalo Gap National Grassland (part)
Custer State Park
Jewel Cave National Monument
Wind Cave National Park

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	995		—
1890	4,891		391.6%
1900	2,728		−44.2%
1910	4,458		63.4%
1920	3,907		−12.4%
1930	5,353		37.0%
1940	6,023		12.5%
1950	5,517		−8.4%
1960	4,906		−11.1%
1970	4,698		−4.2%
1980	6,000		27.7%
1990	6,179		3.0%
2000	7,275		17.7%
2010	8,216		12.9%
2020	8,318		1.2%
2023 (est.)	9,117	^[7]	9.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010-2020^[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 8,318 people, 3,794 households, and 2,552 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 5.3 inhabitants per square mile (2.0/km²). There were 4,837 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,216 people, 3,636 households, and 2,427 families in the county. The population density was 5.3 inhabitants per square mile (2.0/km²). There were 4,628 housing units at an average density of 3.0 units per square mile (1.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% white, 2.9% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 42.1% were German, 13.1% were Irish, 11.4% were English, 10.8% were Norwegian, and 7.9% were American.

Of the 3,636 households, 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.65. The median age was 50.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,743 and the median income for a family was $58,253. Males had a median income of $39,194 versus $29,375 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,353. About 4.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Custer (county seat)

Towns

Buffalo Gap (Population: 131)
Fairburn (Population: 60)
Hermosa (Population: 382)
Pringle (Population: 109)

Unincorporated communities

Townships

The county is divided into two areas of territory:

East of Custer State Park
West of Custer State Park

Politics

Custer County voters are strongly Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

United States presidential election results for Custer County, South Dakota^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,313	71.87%	1,567	26.11%	121	2.02%
2020	3,852	70.11%	1,522	27.70%	120	2.18%
2016	3,293	69.75%	1,121	23.74%	307	6.50%
2012	3,062	67.74%	1,335	29.54%	123	2.72%
2008	2,909	64.54%	1,475	32.73%	123	2.73%
2004	2,922	67.89%	1,272	29.55%	110	2.56%
2000	2,495	69.83%	955	26.73%	123	3.44%
1996	1,740	51.83%	1,122	33.42%	495	14.75%
1992	1,422	42.28%	1,078	32.05%	863	25.66%
1988	1,806	59.49%	1,180	38.87%	50	1.65%
1984	2,183	71.27%	858	28.01%	22	0.72%
1980	2,057	69.61%	708	23.96%	190	6.43%
1976	1,373	57.09%	995	41.37%	37	1.54%
1972	1,476	64.48%	798	34.86%	15	0.66%
1968	1,143	55.38%	727	35.22%	194	9.40%
1964	1,142	49.27%	1,176	50.73%	0	0.00%
1960	1,533	63.58%	878	36.42%	0	0.00%
1956	1,514	63.96%	853	36.04%	0	0.00%
1952	1,725	72.57%	652	27.43%	0	0.00%
1948	1,217	56.66%	917	42.69%	14	0.65%
1944	1,288	64.40%	712	35.60%	0	0.00%
1940	1,796	60.94%	1,151	39.06%	0	0.00%
1936	1,365	46.88%	1,519	52.16%	28	0.96%
1932	977	38.05%	1,548	60.28%	43	1.67%
1928	1,464	66.85%	715	32.65%	11	0.50%
1924	833	53.36%	236	15.12%	492	31.52%
1920	784	60.82%	383	29.71%	122	9.46%
1916	392	42.11%	488	52.42%	51	5.48%
1912	0	0.00%	419	45.89%	494	54.11%
1908	487	49.39%	428	43.41%	71	7.20%
1904	536	65.53%	228	27.87%	54	6.60%
1900	483	53.37%	415	45.86%	7	0.77%
1896	429	45.30%	515	54.38%	3	0.32%
1892	503	49.27%	166	16.26%	352	34.48%