Housing data for Custer, SD
Custer, SD has an estimated 2,341 residents and 1,383 homes (US Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey).
It is a city in Custer County.
30.5% of households rent.
The median gross rent is $968 a month.
Figures last updated on .
- Residents
- 2,341 (±323)
- Housing units
- 1,383 (±173)
- Households that rent
- 30.5%
- Median gross rent
- $968
- Residents since 2015–2019
- +2.6%
What stands out in Custer
Households that rent: 30.5% (±8.8 points) in Custer, higher than in Custer County (14.4%).
Homes in buildings of 5 or more units: 15.5% (±6.8 points) in Custer, higher than in Custer County (4.6%).
Median home value: $235,600 (±$39,643) in Custer, lower than in Custer County ($372,100).
Homes built before 1980: 59.8% (±12.5 points) in Custer, higher than in Custer County (38.7%).
Housing in Custer at a glance
- Median rent: $968 median gross rent a month
- Rent by bedrooms: $920 median gross rent, 2 bedrooms
- Rent burden: 31.2% of renters pay 30% or more of income
- Renters and owners: 30.5% of households rent
- Income and affordability: $78,369 median household income
- Home values: $235,600 median home value
- Homeowner costs: $1,444 median monthly cost with a mortgage
- Property taxes: $2,430 median real estate taxes a year
- Types of homes: 15.5% of homes are in buildings of 5 or more units
- Bedrooms: 47.7% of homes have 3 or more bedrooms
- Age of homes: 59.8% of homes were built before 1980
- Vacancy rate: 10.6% rental vacancy rate (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- Heating fuel: 45.7% heat with electricity
- Commute and cars: 18.7 minutes average trip to work
- Growth: +2.6% residents since 2015–2019
- How long people stay: 26.1% moved in since 2020
- Crowding and facilities: 3.8% of homes have more than 1 person per room (Small sample: wide margin of error)
Custer against Custer County, its state and the nation
| Custer | Custer County | South Dakota | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 2,341 (±323) | 8,892 (exact) | 907,428 (exact) | 334,922,499 |
| Housing units | 1,383 (±173) | 5,291 (±186) | 408,584 (±422) | 143,775,355 |
| Households that rent | 30.5% (±8.8 points) | 14.4% (±3.6 points) | 31.4% (±0.5 points) | 34.8% |
| Median gross rent | $968 (±$159) | $1,112 (±$219) | $946 (±$11) | $1,413 |
| Median household income | $78,369 (±$11,105) | $84,112 (±$3,932) | $75,081 (±$888) | $80,734 |
| Median home value | $235,600 (±$39,643) | $372,100 (±$47,295) | $257,400 (±$3,051) | $332,700 |
| Median real estate taxes (a year) | $2,430 (±$423) | $2,879 (±$350) | $2,724 (±$28) | $3,119 |
| Built before 1980 | 59.8% (±12.5 points) | 38.7% (±5.9 points) | 49.8% (±0.7 points) | 49.7% |
| Average commute | 18.7 minutes (±6.2) | 29.5 minutes (±4.1) | 17.8 minutes (±0.2) | 26.4 minutes |
| Households with broadband | 90.2% (±4.4 points) | 87.8% (±4.0 points) | 89.6% (±0.3 points) | 91.0% |
| Median age of residents | 51.2 years (±10.5) | 57.6 years (±1.0) | 38.0 years (±0.2) | 38.9 years |
Custer covers 2.6 square miles of land, about 916 residents per square mile (Census Bureau Gazetteer).
How Custer has changed since 2015–2019
| 2015–2019 | 2020–2024 | Amount of change | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 2,282 (±290) | 2,341 (±323) | +2.6% | Not a measurable change |
| Housing units | 1,297 (±141) | 1,383 (±173) | +6.6% | Not a measurable change |
| Median gross rent | $703 (±$81) | $968 (±$159) | +37.7% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Median home value | $139,400 (±$18,720) | $235,600 (±$39,643) | +69.0% | Up after inflation |
| Median household income | $50,345 (±$7,965) | $78,369 (±$11,105) | +55.7% | Up after inflation |
| Median owner cost with a mortgage | $1,195 (±$109) | $1,444 (±$183) | +20.8% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Median real estate taxes | $1,927 (±$188) | $2,430 (±$423) | +26.1% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Households that rent | 34.8% (±7.9 points) | 30.5% (±8.8 points) | −4.3 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
| Rental vacancy rate | 11.1% (±11.7 points) | 10.6% (±10.9 points) | −0.5 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.
Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.
The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.
Crime reported to police in Custer County
Custer has no police department of its own in the FBI’s figures, so this is the figure for Custer County as a whole.
In 2025, the police departments that report for Custer County recorded 104 violent and 344 property crimes per 100,000 residents.
A county-wide figure describes the whole county, not this place; crime varies from one community to the next.
Places near Custer
| Place | Distance | Median gross rent | Median home value | Households that rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pringle | 11 mi | — | — | 9.2% |
| Hill City | 12 mi | $1,345 | $286,200 | 26.1% |
| Keystone | 12 mi | $546 | $263,900 | 29.9% |
| Fairburn | 20 mi | — | $85,000 | 30.0% |
| Hermosa | 21 mi | $1,264 | $148,800 | 30.1% |
| Colonial Pine Hills | 22 mi | — | $406,500 | 1.3% |
| Buffalo Gap | 24 mi | — | $100,000 | 4.0% |
| Hot Springs | 25 mi | $897 | $202,600 | 37.7% |
Places in South Dakota most like Custer
| Place | Median gross rent | Median home value | Median household income | Households that rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre | $983 | $230,700 | $77,672 | 31.4% |
| Chamberlain | $818 | $224,300 | $76,761 | 31.8% |
| Beresford | $914 | $234,400 | $78,793 | 19.6% |
| Groton | $981 | $190,600 | $89,861 | 26.9% |
| Onida | $939 | $178,600 | $70,000 | 19.9% |
| Watertown | $942 | $229,400 | $69,600 | 34.7% |
Matched on rent, home value, income, the share who rent, the age of the homes, the share in apartment buildings and the commute, each measured against the spread across South Dakota.
HUD Fair Market Rent for Custer, fiscal year 2027
| Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $865 | $949 | $1,242 | $1,720 | $2,076 |
HUD income limits for Custer, fiscal year 2026
| Household size | Extremely low (30%) | Very low (50%) | Low (80%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $21,700 | $36,150 | $57,800 |
| 2 people | $24,800 | $41,300 | $66,050 |
| 3 people | $27,900 | $46,450 | $74,300 |
| 4 people | $33,000 | $51,600 | $82,550 |
| 5 people | $38,680 | $55,750 | $89,200 |
| 6 people | $44,360 | $59,900 | $95,800 |
| 7 people | $50,040 | $64,000 | $102,400 |
| 8 people | $55,720 | $68,150 | $109,000 |
These are the limits HUD sets for its housing programs in the Custer County, SD HUD Metro FMR Area, where HUD’s median family income for fiscal year 2026 is $103,200.
A program can use its own limits; tax-credit and local programs often do.
Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.
Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.
What you can do on Seayora in Custer
One account for renting, owning, managing and fixing homes, with these figures beside you.
Own or manage a rental?
List it, sign the lease and collect rent online, with the figures for Custer beside you.
Create a landlord account · See what landlords get
Looking for a place to rent?
Browse homes for rent near Custer, save the ones you like and apply online.
Browse rentals · Create a renter account
Do repairs, renovations or maintenance?
Get found by owners and renters near Custer, and send estimates and invoices from your phone.
Questions about Custer
What is the average rent in Custer, SD?
The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Custer is $968 (±$159) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.
How much is a one-bedroom apartment in Custer?
The median gross rent for a one-bedroom home in Custer, SD is $798 (±$180) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Are renters in Custer rent-burdened?
31.2% of renting households in Custer pay 30% or more of their income in gross rent, the share housing researchers usually call rent-burdened (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
How many renters are there in Custer?
Custer has an estimated 356 (±116) renting households, 30.5% of its occupied homes (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the median household income in Custer?
The median household income in Custer is $78,369 (±$11,105) a year (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the average home value in Custer, SD?
The Census Bureau publishes the median: $235,600 (±$39,643) for owner-occupied homes in Custer (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Is Custer growing?
In Custer, the number of residents went from 2,282 in 2015–2019 to 2,341 in 2020–2024 (+2.6%), not a measurable change.
Sources
- Demographic and Housing Estimates (DP05), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Selected Housing Characteristics (DP04), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Selected Economic Characteristics (DP03), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Median Real Estate Taxes Paid by Mortgage Status (B25103), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Selected Social Characteristics (DP02), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Total Population (B01003), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- Median Gross Rent (B25064), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Custer city, South Dakota
- HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal year 2027: Custer County, SD HUD Metro FMR Area
- HUD Income Limits, fiscal year 2026: Custer County, SD HUD Metro FMR Area
- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, all items, US Bureau of Labor Statistics: annual averages 2019 and 2024
- US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files
To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Custer city, South Dakota (place:15140, in state:46).
Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).
The 2015–2019 figures are B01003_001E, B01003_001M, B25064_001E, B25064_001M from the 2019 release.
The API needs a free key.
DP05_0001E, DP05_0001M, DP04_0001E, DP04_0001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP03_0062E, DP03_0062M, DP04_0089E, DP04_0089M
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.
Figures last updated on .