The city of Custer, county seat of Custer County, is considered the oldest American town in the Black Hills. In 2010, Custer was home to 2,105 residents. The economy is overwhelmingly centered on tourism and retirement. Major attractions include nearby Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Jewel Cave National Memorial.

Custer is a growing retirement community for Baby Boomers seeking a high standard of living and low cost of living. While roughly 13 percent of Americans are over the age of 65, the percentage in Custer County is over 20 percent. According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey, 88.6 percent of Custer residents over the age of 25 have a high school diploma, 33.8 percent have a college degree. The median household income is $35,122, while per capita income is $23,064. Of all community residents, 11.1 percent  live below the poverty line. The median value of owner occupied houses is $111,000.

Demographics

With a median age of 48, the population of Custer is growing. Between 2000 and 2010, the city's population increased 11.1 percent. In the city of Custer, there are 826.8 people per square mile.

The majority (94.8 percent) of people in Custer are white. American Indians constitute 2.6 percent of Custer’s population and 2.6 percent are Hispanic. In 2010, 1.4 percent of the population reported belonging to more than one race.

Popular community links for the City of Custer, can be found here.

In the summer of 1874 traces of gold were discovered in French Creek, near the site of present day Custer, by miners attached to the U.S. Army Black Hills Expedition. A flood of illegal gold miners entered the Black Hills after the announcement of the gold discovery. Among the first settlers were 20 members of the Gordon Party. The settlers built a stockade and spent the winter in the Hills. The Army evicted the illegal settlers in April, 1875, but before they left, the group staked out the town of Custer, a one square mile district laid out by Thomas Hooper with a picket rope and pocket compass. Within months of their eviction by the Army, the settlers had stolen their way back into the Hills. As news of the gold discovery circulated, Custer grew quickly to 10,000 residents . After gold was discovered in May, 1876 in Deadwood Gulch fifty miles to the north, miners moved north and almost overnight Custer became a ghost town. For more information on the community's history, click here.

Custer County has 8,216 residents and a population density of 5.3 people per square mile as of the 2010 Census. Since 2000, the population of Custer County has grown by 12.9 percent, second only to Pennington County in the region.

Race

Custer County is predominantly white, with a 94.2 percent white population. Of the remainder, 2.9 percent are Native American and 2.2 percent are Hispanic. Custer County’s poverty rate of 10.9 percent is the lowest in the region.

Poverty

The Custer School District includes the Custer High School, Custer Middle School, and Custer Elementary School as well as 3 rural elementary schools:  Hermosa, Fairburn, and Spring Creek.  To find out more about the Custer School District click here.  To receive regular updates on the latest school events including game schedule changes, contact Jennie.Anderson@k12.sd.us to sign up for the CSD Tidbits e-mail newsletter.

Students in the Custer School District take the annual Dakota STEP test to ensure that the district is making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading and math. According the State of South Dakota's report card, Custer students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011, except for middle school students with disabilities. Custer's high school graduation rate was 86.8 percent in 2011, higher than the 81.5 percent rate posted in 2010 and above the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Custer School District's fall enrollment was 890 in grades K-12. With a 1.3 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 72 students. Thirty-six students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 22.3. To compare Custer School District ACT scores with other Black Hills districts, click here. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Custer School District.

The City of Custer is governed by an Aldermanic form of government. The city is divided into three wards with two council persons elected from each ward. The mayor runs at large and is elected by all of city's registered voters. To see a message from the Mayor, click here. To meet the Custer City Council Members, click here. City Council Minutes are posted  here.

The mission of the Custer City Council is: "To provide positive and progressive leadership that promotes smart growth, economic prosperity and cultural diversity while preserving core and family values and a high quality of life that preserves our small town atmosphere."

Custer County ranked 36th among 59 South Dakota counties scored on the basis of health outcome in 2012, which is up from 2011 primarily because the number of premature deaths per  100,000 dropped below state and national averages.  The county ranked 22nd when health factors were reviewed. Data does not indicate health behaviors deviate significantly from state averages, though the percentage of the adults who smoke or drink excessively exceeds national averages, and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections is also high when compared to national statistics. Clinical care indicators note that more than one-fifth of the population is uninsured. Approximately one in five children live in poverty and one in four live in single-parent homes. This information was compiled by the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To compare Custer County to other counties, go to: County Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health.

The Custer County Office of Community Health Services and Public Health Alliance provides public health services to all ages. The office manages various primary and preventive programs that help residents develop and maintain a healthier lifestyle and higher quality of life. Professional nursing and nutrition staff provide advice to individuals, families and communities. The office also provides a wide range of services to infants, children, pregnant and postpartum women and adults.