Custer County, Nebraska: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+72%. Republican peak: R+72 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+72MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 10,5182024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,9062024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+72 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Holt County, NE · 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 | +35.3% |
| 1896 | +24.9% |
| 1900 | +0.3% |
| 1904 | −48.2% |
| 1908 | +1.9% |
| 1912 | +23.3% |
| 1916 | +26.1% |
| 1920 | −26.6% |
| 1924 | −13.1% |
| 1928 | −53.6% |
| 1932 | +26.1% |
| 1936 | +5.7% |
| 1940 | −19.3% |
| 1944 | −23.2% |
| 1948 | −9.5% |
| 1952 | −54.3% |
| 1956 | −41.0% |
| 1960 | −41.7% |
| 1964 | −6.0% |
| 1968 | −47.6% |
| 1972 | −61.7% |
| 1976 | −31.6% |
| 1980 | −59.9% |
| 1984 | −62.4% |
| 1988 | −47.3% |
| 1992 | −35.3% |
| 1996 | −40.1% |
| 2000 | −60.4% |
| 2004 | −62.0% |
| 2008 | −55.7% |
| 2012 | −58.4% |
| 2016 | −71.7% |
| 2020 | −71.6% |
| 2024 | −72.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 786 | 5,042 | 5,909 | ||
| R | 786 | 5,090 | 6,010 | ||
| R | 641 | 4,695 | 5,652 | ||
| R | 1,083 | 4,296 | 5,498 | ||
| R | 1,192 | 4,301 | 5,578 | ||
| R | 1,040 | 4,518 | 5,612 | ||
| R | 976 | 4,245 | 5,414 | ||
| R | 1,293 | 3,453 | 5,383 | ||
| R | 1,126 | 3,180 | 5,820 | ||
| R | 1,496 | 4,203 | 5,726 | ||
| R | 1,090 | 4,749 | 5,867 | ||
| R | 1,011 | 4,563 | 5,934 | ||
| R | 1,985 | 3,935 | 6,175 | ||
| R | 1,147 | 4,836 | 5,983 | ||
| R | 1,407 | 4,325 | 6,133 | ||
| R | 3,475 | 3,916 | 7,391 | ||
| R | 2,350 | 5,716 | 8,066 | ||
| R | 2,425 | 5,798 | 8,223 | ||
| R | 2,113 | 7,143 | 9,256 | ||
| R | 3,356 | 4,057 | 7,413 | ||
| R | 3,321 | 5,330 | 8,651 | ||
| R | 4,238 | 6,269 | 10,507 | ||
| D | 5,907 | 5,250 | 11,495 | ||
| D | 6,844 | 3,953 | 11,086 | ||
| R | 2,506 | 8,379 | 10,967 | ||
| R | 2,575 | 3,833 | 9,595 | ||
| R | 2,739 | 4,974 | 8,387 | ||
| D | 3,609 | 2,047 | 5,978 | ||
| D | 2,395 | 1,051 | 5,776 | ||
| D | 2,898 | 2,788 | 5,931 | ||
| R | 509 | 2,658 | 4,459 | ||
| D | 2,159 | 2,145 | 4,541 | ||
| D | 2,494 | 1,484 | 4,051 | ||
| O | 1,810 | 263 | 4,384 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.2%
English
15.7%
Irish
14.5%
American
6.5%
French
4.1%
Polish
1.6%
Scottish
1.2%
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: 42.1 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
$67,906
Custer County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Custer County$67,906
Nebraska$76,475
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
7.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.0%
Working age (18–64)6.2%
Seniors (65+)8.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.1%
speak English only
Spanish2.2%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 44.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Custer County's sprawling ranch and farmland geography anchors an electorate that delivered a 72-point Republican margin in 2024, among the most lopsided results of any Nebraska county that cycle.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-two points in 2024. The 2024 margin was seventy-two points.
A population of 10,518, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,906 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Holt County and Casey 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, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31041/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Custer County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Custer County, Nebraska voted Republican by 72.0 points (R+72), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,909 votes cast, 786 went Democratic and 5,042 went Republican.
What is Custer County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Custer County, Nebraska in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Custer County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Custer County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1936.
How many people live in Custer County, Nebraska?
Custer County, Nebraska has a population of 10,518 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Custer County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Custer County, Nebraska is $67,906 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Custer County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Custer County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.