Custer County, Montana

Custer County has a population of 11,961 and has grown 1.5% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $219,100, about 3.1 times the county's median household income of $70,605.

Home price
$219,100
Income
$70,605
Population
11,961
Unemployment
3.4%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$219,100county
Median gross rent$893county
Median year homes here were built1965county
Share of homes built before 198075.1%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile12.5%county
Share of homes that are vacant12.9%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented30.1%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use2.7%county
Typical monthly rent$1,654(statewide)
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,608county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,226county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,154county
Home insurance / yr$3,215(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living95.5(statewide)
Median household income$70,605county
Family health premium / yr$22,294(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$12,778(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$4.238(statewide)
Poverty rate11.3%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home5.0%county
Unemployment rate3.4%county
Share of adults in the labor force65.5%county
Share of workers who are self-employed10.7%county
Share of workers employed by government21.4%county
Share of workers in the largest industry25.8%county
Economic output per resident$58,157county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.03%county
Top state income tax5.65%(statewide)
Capital gains tax4.10%(statewide)
Combined sales tax0.00%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time13.0 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service118 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport3183county
Miles to nearest general aviation field3.9 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station117 micounty
Households without a vehicle5.1%county
Traffic deaths33.4county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-1.2(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher27.0%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher95.7%county
Public schools in the county12county
Public school enrollment1560county
Students per full-time teacher13.2county
Free lunch eligible39.7%county
Elementary schools8county
Middle schools2county
High schools2county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above0county
Share of local colleges that are public100.0%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution136 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians67county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county1county
Hospitals here with an emergency department1county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here5county
Fine particulate matter5.8 µgcounty
Without health insurance7.7%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year11.6%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year8.3%county
Frequent mental distress16.5%county
No leisure-time physical activity25.5%county
Diagnosed diabetes9.9%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population11,961county
Land area in square miles3,783county
People per square mile of land3.2county
Supermarkets and grocery stores0county
Convenience stores0county
Share living far from a food store28.1%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract14.6%county
Population change since 2020+1.5%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents0county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents0county
Median age42.7 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1819.8%county
Share of residents 65 and over20.8%county
Share of households that are one person32.4%county
Share of residents born outside the United States1.3%county
Second languages2.8%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls39.7%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents177county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents4county
Households that moved in289county
Households that moved away298county
Average income of arriving households$51,522county
Average income of departing households$60,074county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes1county
Housing units authorised in the latest year4county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings48.7%(statewide)
Violent crime rate424(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature46.9°Fcounty
Annual precipitation17.1 incounty
Annual snowfall31.8 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.02 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F30 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing171 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 4acounty
Frost-free days137 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMay 13county
Average first fall frostSep 27county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$98county
Electric utilities serving this county1county
Electricity price per kWh12.9¢county
Household electricity use760 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$9.99(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity22.4%county
Homes heated by utility gas61.9%county
Homes heated by propane12.9%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.2%county
Homes heated by wood1.0%county
Households with broadband88.4%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk38.3county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk26.9county
Landslide risk59.0county
Hail risk47.6county
Earthquake risk31.4county
Tornado risk16.2county
Tropical cyclone risk0.0county
Extreme heat risk38.3county
Winter weather risk86.0county
Strong wind risk60.6county
Wildfire risk85.4county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Custer County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Montana figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

Similar counties in Montana

Compare Custer with anywhere else

Put this county side by side with any other in the country, or weight the factors that matter to you and rank all 50 states.

Open Custer in the map