Custer County, Montana: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+49%. Republican peak: R+49 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+49MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 11,9612024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,6052024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+39 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Stutsman County, ND · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Custer CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Custer County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −11.1% |
| 1896 | −3.3% |
| 1900 | −34.4% |
| 1904 | −47.2% |
| 1908 | −27.4% |
| 1912 | +11.6% |
| 1916 | +22.6% |
| 1920 | −33.5% |
| 1924 | −32.9% |
| 1928 | −28.6% |
| 1932 | +23.3% |
| 1936 | +38.5% |
| 1940 | +15.8% |
| 1944 | +5.3% |
| 1948 | +12.1% |
| 1952 | −25.5% |
| 1956 | −16.6% |
| 1960 | −10.3% |
| 1964 | +9.6% |
| 1968 | −22.0% |
| 1972 | −29.3% |
| 1976 | −12.3% |
| 1980 | −29.4% |
| 1984 | −32.0% |
| 1988 | −12.2% |
| 1992 | −2.4% |
| 1996 | −6.6% |
| 2000 | −33.7% |
| 2004 | −33.0% |
| 2008 | −14.3% |
| 2012 | −28.7% |
| 2016 | −47.8% |
| 2020 | −45.9% |
| 2024 | −48.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,385 | 4,208 | 5,797 | ||
| R | 1,514 | 4,205 | 5,860 | ||
| R | 1,176 | 3,657 | 5,185 | ||
| R | 1,833 | 3,373 | 5,365 | ||
| R | 2,267 | 3,047 | 5,452 | ||
| R | 1,630 | 3,297 | 5,048 | ||
| R | 1,501 | 3,156 | 4,905 | ||
| R | 2,115 | 2,467 | 5,329 | ||
| R | 1,968 | 2,105 | 5,611 | ||
| R | 2,343 | 3,007 | 5,462 | ||
| R | 1,982 | 3,879 | 5,919 | ||
| R | 1,822 | 3,533 | 5,816 | ||
| R | 2,425 | 3,120 | 5,647 | ||
| R | 1,875 | 3,486 | 5,506 | ||
| R | 1,760 | 2,831 | 4,876 | ||
| D | 2,790 | 2,302 | 5,101 | ||
| R | 2,393 | 2,943 | 5,351 | ||
| R | 2,317 | 3,240 | 5,557 | ||
| R | 2,050 | 3,461 | 5,535 | ||
| D | 2,359 | 1,845 | 4,263 | ||
| D | 2,038 | 1,830 | 3,897 | ||
| D | 2,782 | 2,017 | 4,834 | ||
| D | 3,196 | 1,381 | 4,713 | ||
| D | 2,729 | 1,675 | 4,528 | ||
| R | 1,386 | 2,503 | 3,906 | ||
| O | 412 | 1,654 | 3,778 | ||
| R | 1,127 | 2,347 | 3,637 | ||
| D | 2,602 | 1,615 | 4,359 | ||
| O | 1,068 | 695 | 3,203 | ||
| R | 531 | 967 | 1,594 | ||
| R | 285 | 824 | 1,141 | ||
| R | 477 | 980 | 1,464 | ||
| R | 676 | 723 | 1,404 | ||
| R | 537 | 680 | 1,291 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
26.9%
Irish
13.0%
English
10.9%
American
6.3%
Italian
3.4%
French
2.8%
Scottish
2.2%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 42.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$70,605
Custer County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Custer County$70,605
Montana$72,509
United States$80,734
Custer County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 185.8%
Working age (18–64)12.4%
Seniors (65+)15.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.9%
Other languages0.7%
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Custer County's economy runs on cattle, agriculture, and the regional services that Miles City provides to a sprawling rural hinterland. Presidential margins here have exceeded 40 points Republican in each of the last several cycles.
The Republican margin here reached forty-nine points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-nine points.
A population of 11,961, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,605 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Stutsman County and Roseau County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Custer County, Montana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/30017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Montana
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Custer County, Montana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Custer County, Montana voted Republican by 48.7 points (R+49), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,797 votes cast, 1,385 went Democratic and 4,208 went Republican.
What is Custer County, Montana's political typology?
Akashic places Custer County, Montana in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 25 times, and other 2 times.
When did Custer County, Montana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Custer County, Montana voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Custer County, Montana?
Custer County, Montana has a population of 11,961 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Custer County, Montana?
Median household income in Custer County, Montana is $70,605 — below the national median of $80,734. The Montana state median is $72,509.
What is the political history of Custer County, Montana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Custer County, Montana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.