Population Highlights

• From 1990 to 2000, Custer County gained 1096 residents which is a 17.7% increase from 1990.  Custer County’s increase was the second greatest on the West side of the river.

• From 1990 to 2000, Custer County gained 1121 residents to in-migration.  

• 16.04% of Custer County’s population is aged 65+.

• Custer County’s sex ratio is 104.41, which means there are 104 males for every 100 females.  However, from the population pyramid, we can tell that there are a greater percentage of young men compared with young women.  This may be due to the tourism industry attracting male workers more than female workers.

• Custer County’s dependency ratio is 49.41, which is lower than both Fall River and Pennington.  This means that fewer people are at the dependent ages (under age 15 and over age 65) in Custer County compared with the other two counties.

• Custer County’s fertility rate is 56.8, which is slightly lower than both Fall River and Pennington Counties.

• Custer County’s median age is 43.2 This is younger than Fall River, but older than Pennington.

Race/Ethnicity in Custer County

Custer County Agriculture in 2002

• Custer County had 303 farms in 2002, which was a 11.4 decrease from 1997.

• Custer County’s average farm size was 1,944 acres.  This average is smaller than Fall River, but larger than Pennington.

• Custer County’s average income per farm was $7,058.  This is much lower than Fall River, but slightly greater than Pennington. 

Custer County Economics in 2000

• The per capita income for Custer County was $17,945.  This is slightly higher than Fall River, but slightly lower than Pennington.

• The median household income for Custer County was $36,303. 

• 24.4% of Custer County’s population had completed a B.S. or higher.  This is comparable with Pennington County, but higher than Fall River County. 

• 9.43% of Custer County’s population is below the official poverty line.  This compares with 13.59% for Fall River and 11.53% for Pennington.  The state average is 13.18%.

• 14.45% of Custer County’s children age 5 and under are living at or below the official poverty line.  This compares with 22.59% for Fall River and 21.58% for Pennington County.  The state average is 19.77%.

• 32.7% of Custer County’s workers commute to work from the county.  This is by far the greatest commuting rate of the other counties located in the Southwestern portion of the state. 

Custer County Employment by Industry

Income Distribution

Data compiled by:

W. Trevor Brooks

Rural Life and Census Data Center

South Dakota State University

Sources:

South Dakota Data Center (Vermillion, SD)

South Dakota Labor Market

U.S. Census of Agriculture (2002)

U.S. Census Bureau (2000)