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Custer is a small town of 2,341 people in Custer County, South Dakota. It's about 28 miles from Rapid City, SD and 284 miles from Denver, CO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 37°F, with about 58 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $236k and rent runs about $968 a month.
2,341people
$236kTypical home
$968/moRent
80° / 37°Summer / winter
58"Snow
254Sunny days
96Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 2,341
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 916 people per sq mi
- 284 mi to Denver, CO
- 28 mi to Rapid City, SD
- 28 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $236k (≈$1,486/mo)
- Median rent $968/mo
- Median household income $78k
- Property tax about 1.0% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 80°F
- Winter highs around 37°F
- Dry summers (dew point 47°F)
- 254 sunny days a year (80 totally clear)
- 111 cloudy days a year
- 35 of 90 winter days are gray
- 96 days a year with rain or snow
- 58" of snow a year
- 18 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 36 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (112 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (371 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 51
- 22% of households have kids
- 35% are 65 or older
- 27% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 33 mi to RAP airport
- 276 mi to DEN (major hub)
- 243 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 69% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1971
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 5,312 ft
- 937 mi to the ocean
- 105 mi to a big lake
- 6 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 12 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 4 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 46 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 5 bars within 25 mi
- 12 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 14 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 29 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 44% of South Dakota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 50 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 27 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 29 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Custer County: R+46 in 2024
- South Dakota: R+29 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk