Custer County, South Dakota Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Custer County
U.S. county
Custer County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
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 (2021)	8,609
• Density	5.3355/sq mi (2.0600/km²)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Custer County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,318. Its county seat is Custer. The county was created in 1875, and was organized in 1877.

Geography
Demographics
- 2010 census
Communities
Images for kids
See also

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 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. Wind Cave National Park is located within the county, as is Jewel Cave National Monument. South Dakota's own Custer State Park is also located in the county.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 16
U.S. Highway 385
U.S. Highway 16A
South Dakota Highway 36
South Dakota Highway 40
South Dakota Highway 79
South Dakota Highway 87
South Dakota Highway 89

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

State protected area

Custer State Park

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
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%
2021 (est.)	8,609	4.8%
US Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States 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 per square mile (1.2/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: 126)
Fairburn (Population: 85)
Hermosa (Population: 398)
Pringle (Population: 112)

Unincorporated communities

Townships

The county is divided into two areas of territory:

East of Custer State Park
West of Custer State Park

Images for kids

Custer County sign on US16/US385

Custer County, South Dakota facts for kids

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