Custer County, South Dakota
Precinct data
Results by precinct
20 precincts · 6,001 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -BEAR ROCK #9BEAR ROCK #9 | 400 | 1,068 | 28 | 1,496 | 26.7% | 71.4% | R+44.7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -HERMOSA #1HERMOSA #1 | 265 | 975 | 23 | 1,263 | 21.0% | 77.2% | R+56.2 |
| Precinct -SENTINEL HILL #5SENTINEL HILL #5 | 205 | 560 | 17 | 782 | 26.2% | 71.6% | R+45.4 |
| Precinct -PRINGLE #4PRINGLE #4 | 134 | 487 | 8 | 629 | 21.3% | 77.4% | R+56.1 |
| Precinct -CUSTER CITY #8 WARD IIICUSTER CITY #8 WARD III | 189 | 303 | 5 | 497 | 38.0% | 61.0% | R+22.9 |
| Precinct -CUSTER CITY #6 WARD ICUSTER CITY #6 WARD I | 154 | 259 | 20 | 433 | 35.6% | 59.8% | R+24.2 |
| Precinct -CUSTER CITY #7 WARD IICUSTER CITY #7 WARD II | 94 | 181 | 6 | 281 | 33.5% | 64.4% | R+31.0 |
| Precinct -BUFFALO GAP #3BUFFALO GAP #3 | 62 | 155 | 3 | 220 | 28.2% | 70.5% | R+42.3 |
| Precinct -ELK MOUNTAIN #10ELK MOUNTAIN #10 | 37 | 176 | 3 | 216 | 17.1% | 81.5% | R+64.4 |
| Precinct -FAIRBURN #2FAIRBURN #2 | 27 | 149 | 8 | 184 | 14.7% | 81.0% | R+66.3 |
| VTD Custer City precinct 6 ward 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD Custer City precinct 7 ward 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD Custer City precinct 8 ward 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct Bear RockBR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct Buffalo GapBG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct Elk MountainEM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct FairBurnFB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct HermosaHE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct PringlePR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct SenthillSE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −33.0% |
| 1896 | +9.1% |
| 1900 | −7.5% |
| 1904 | −37.7% |
| 1908 | −6.0% |
| 1912 | +45.9% |
| 1916 | +10.3% |
| 1920 | −31.1% |
| 1924 | −38.2% |
| 1928 | −34.2% |
| 1932 | +22.2% |
| 1936 | +5.3% |
| 1940 | −21.9% |
| 1944 | −28.8% |
| 1948 | −14.0% |
| 1952 | −45.1% |
| 1956 | −27.9% |
| 1960 | −27.2% |
| 1964 | +1.5% |
| 1968 | −20.2% |
| 1972 | −29.6% |
| 1976 | −15.7% |
| 1980 | −45.7% |
| 1984 | −43.3% |
| 1988 | −20.6% |
| 1992 | −10.2% |
| 1996 | −18.4% |
| 2000 | −43.1% |
| 2004 | −38.3% |
| 2008 | −31.8% |
| 2012 | −38.2% |
| 2016 | −46.0% |
| 2020 | −42.4% |
| 2024 | −45.8% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 20.2%1,017 | 74.5%3,756 | 5,040 |
| 2020 | R | 27.2%1,483 | 72.8%3,973 | 5,456 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 7.8 points more Republican.
8,148 registered voters · 2026
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+122 net domestic migration · 2025
Net +1,927 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $107,786 in average income, against $85,464 for residents who stayed — 26% higher. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+32.1 on average — 14 points more Democratic-leaning than Custer County, SD itself (R+45.8).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Pennington County, SD93R+26.4
- Fall River County, SD31R+49.3
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Pennington County, SD96
- Fall River County, SD23
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 | +78 |
| 2012 | −8 |
| 2013 | +104 |
| 2014 | +21 |
| 2015 | +36 |
| 2016 | +191 |
| 2017 | +83 |
| 2018 | +71 |
| 2019 | +183 |
| 2021 | +357 |
| 2022 | +364 |
| 2023 | +98 |
| 2024 | +227 |
| 2025 | +122 |
Custer County's economy revolves around tourism, forestry, and ranching in the Black Hills, producing one of South Dakota's most lopsided Republican presidential margins — a pattern consistent across the past several election cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 45.9 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 46.0 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 3.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 45.8 points.
A population of 8,892, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $84,112 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Meagher County and Custer 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, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46033/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.