Custer County, Montana
Precinct data
Results by precinct
12 precincts · 5,797 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -HIGHLAND PARKHIGHLAND PARK | 361 | 972 | 56 | 1,389 | 26.0% | 70.0% | R+44.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -JEFFERSONJEFFERSON | 271 | 799 | 55 | 1,125 | 24.1% | 71.0% | R+46.9 |
| Precinct -CCDHSCCDHS | 313 | 691 | 27 | 1,031 | 30.4% | 67.0% | R+36.7 |
| Precinct -WASHINGTONWASHINGTON | 259 | 649 | 44 | 952 | 27.2% | 68.2% | R+41.0 |
| Precinct -KINSEYKINSEY | 62 | 326 | 5 | 393 | 15.8% | 83.0% | R+67.2 |
| Precinct -NAT'L GUARDNAT'L GUARD | 34 | 275 | 5 | 314 | 10.8% | 87.6% | R+76.8 |
| Precinct -KIRCHERKIRCHER | 76 | 216 | 6 | 298 | 25.5% | 72.5% | R+47.0 |
| Precinct -SY SCHOOLSY SCHOOL | 7 | 133 | 3 | 143 | 4.9% | 93.0% | R+88.1 |
| Precinct -SPRING CREEK SCHSPRING CREEK SCH | 0 | 58 | 1 | 59 | 0.0% | 98.3% | R+98.3 |
| Precinct -KNOWLTON SCHKNOWLTON SCH | 2 | 37 | 1 | 40 | 5.0% | 92.5% | R+87.5 |
| Precinct -ISMAY CHURCHISMAY CHURCH | 0 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 0.0% | 100.0% | R+100.0 |
| Precinct -RIVERVIEW SCHOOLRIVERVIEW SCHOOL | 0 | 24 | 1 | 25 | 0.0% | 96.0% | R+96.0 |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 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% |
U.S. Senate
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
| Year | Total registered |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 7,134 |
| 2018 | 6,971 |
| 2020 | 7,142 |
| 2022 | 7,092 |
| 2024 | 7,533 |
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+49 net domestic migration · 2025
Net −105 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $51,522 in average income, against $70,925 for residents who stayed — 27% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+27.1 on average — 22 points more Democratic-leaning than Custer County, MT itself (R+48.7).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Yellowstone County, MT39R+27.1
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Yellowstone County, MT44
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | +54 |
| 2012 | +44 |
| 2013 | +55 |
| 2014 | +108 |
| 2015 | +44 |
| 2016 | −259 |
| 2017 | −111 |
| 2018 | −136 |
| 2019 | −171 |
| 2021 | +141 |
| 2022 | +93 |
| 2023 | +22 |
| 2024 | −38 |
| 2025 | +49 |
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 38.5 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 48.7 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 2.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 48.7 points.
A population of 11,961, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,605 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Benton County and Stillwater County.
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Browse places by community — income, education, race & ethnicity, language — all community cuts →
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 →
Custer County, Montana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/30017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.