• county
  • FIPS 30017
  • Largest town: Miles City

Custer County, Montana

Custer County had 11,964 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,783.3 square miles of land. It ranks 17th of 56 in Montana by population and 11th by land area.

Population
11,964
#17 of 56 in Montana · #2,283 in US
Area
3,783.3 sq mi
#11 of 56 in Montana · #132 in US
Density
3.2 / sq mi
#25 of 56 in Montana · #2,889 in US
Median household income
$58,850
#29 of 56 in Montana · #1,954 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Custer County within Montana. Pin: Helena.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Custer County

Custer County population, land area and income

Custer County had 11,964 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,783.3 square miles of land. It ranks 17th of 56 in Montana by population and 11th by land area. That works out to 3.2 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Montana has 7,814 residents; Custer County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $58,850 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

11,964

3144th1st

2283rd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

3,783 sq mi

3144th1st

132nd of 3,144 (US)

Density

3.2 / sq mi

3144th1st

2889th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$58,850

3143rd1st

1954th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Montana (56)

Population

11,964

56th1st

17th of 56 (MT)

Land area

3,783 sq mi

56th1st

11th of 56 (MT)

Density

3.2 / sq mi

56th1st

25th of 56 (MT)

Median household income

$58,850

56th1st

29th of 56 (MT)

How Custer County's population changed since 2020

Custer County gained 101 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.9%. That ranks 35th of 56 in Montana for growth. The median Montana county changed by +2.8%, and the state as a whole by +4.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Custer County recorded 521 births and 643 deaths, a natural change of -122. Net international migration added +7 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +211. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 211 people.

11.9k202012.0k202112.0k202212.0k202312.0k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
521
Deaths
643
Net international migration
+7
Net domestic migration
+211
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-49

Where Custer County is

The Census internal point of Custer County is at 46.261400, -105.550400. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades Montana's 56 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Custer County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Liberty County: -1.2%Golden Valley County: +5.1%Dawson County: -2.1%Flathead County: +9.2%Beaverhead County: +6.7%Prairie County: +2.0%Garfield County: +0.9%Lewis and Clark County: +5.5%Sweet Grass County: +2.4%Wheatland County: -0.7%Ravalli County: +8.5%Jefferson County: +9.6%Carter County: -0.6%Chouteau County: -0.6%Custer County: +0.9%Teton County: +3.1%Granite County: +9.0%Deer Lodge County: +4.1%Cascade County: +0.1%Powder River County: +2.4%Meagher County: +7.3%Daniels County: -1.7%Glacier County: -1.8%Wibaux County: -2.7%Fallon County: -2.7%McCone County: -0.7%Sheridan County: -2.5%Missoula County: +3.5%Toole County: +3.7%Sanders County: +11.5%Roosevelt County: -5.6%Rosebud County: -1.3%Treasure County: -2.5%Yellowstone County: +3.9%Blaine County: -1.4%Musselshell County: +14.8%Broadwater County: +21.0%Powell County: +2.6%Fergus County: +3.4%Phillips County: +0.1%Gallatin County: +6.2%Silver Bow County: +2.6%Madison County: +12.6%Richland County: -4.4%Lake County: +6.9%Valley County: -1.7%Judith Basin County: +4.3%Hill County: -1.2%Big Horn County: -2.2%Stillwater County: +5.0%Carbon County: +9.4%Mineral County: +13.7%Petroleum County: +4.6%Pondera County: +3.4%Park County: +4.9%Lincoln County: +12.4%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -1.4%
  2. < +0.9%
  3. < +3.9%
  4. < +7.3%
  5. ≥ +7.3%
no data

Orange pin: Custer County internal point. Dark pin: Helena.

Internal point

Decimal
46.261400, -105.550400
DMS
46°15'41.04"N 105°33'1.44"W
UTM
13N 457582.4E 5123238.7N
Geohash
c8hznjss1
Plus code
85RP7C6X+HR

Towns in Custer County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Custer County, 8,407 people together, or 70% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Custer County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Miles City with 8,407.

  1. 01Miles City8,407
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Custer County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Custer County. The most populous is Rosebud County, MT, with 8,194 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Helena and the nearest big city

Helena is 308.7 miles W of Custer County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Billings, MT (population 121,483), 147.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Sheridan, WY (population 19,813), 122.2 miles away.

Custer County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Custer County is 30017: state code 30 for Montana plus county code 017. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $58,850.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Custer County, Montana?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 11,964. That is up 101 people (0.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 11,863.

What is the FIPS code of Custer County?

30017. The first two digits (30) are Montana; the last three (017) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Custer County?

Miles City, with 8,407 residents inside Custer County in 2024.

Which counties border Custer County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Rosebud County, MT; Fallon County, MT; Powder River County, MT; Carter County, MT; Garfield County, MT; Prairie County, MT.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.