• county
  • FIPS 31041
  • Largest town: Broken Bow

Custer County, Nebraska

Custer County had 10,487 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 2,575.5 square miles of land. It ranks 24th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 2nd by land area.

Population
10,487
#24 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,379 in US
Area
2,575.5 sq mi
#2 of 93 in Nebraska · #209 in US
Density
4.1 / sq mi
#65 of 93 in Nebraska · #2,823 in US
Median household income
$65,151
#47 of 93 in Nebraska · #1,360 in US

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

Custer County within Nebraska. Pin: Lincoln.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Custer County

Custer County population, land area and income

Custer County had 10,487 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 2,575.5 square miles of land. It ranks 24th of 93 in Nebraska by population and 2nd by land area. That works out to 4.1 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Nebraska has 6,103 residents; Custer County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $65,151 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

10,487

3144th1st

2379th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

2,575 sq mi

3144th1st

209th of 3,144 (US)

Density

4.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

2823rd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$65,151

3143rd1st

1360th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Nebraska (93)

Population

10,487

93rd1st

24th of 93 (NE)

Land area

2,575 sq mi

93rd1st

2nd of 93 (NE)

Density

4.1 / sq mi

93rd1st

65th of 93 (NE)

Median household income

$65,151

93rd1st

47th of 93 (NE)

How Custer County's population changed since 2020

Custer County lost 5 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.0%. That ranks 40th of 93 in Nebraska for growth. The median Nebraska county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by +2.1%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Custer County recorded 565 births and 558 deaths, a natural change of +7. Net international migration added +5 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -57. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 57 people.

10.5k202010.5k202110.5k202210.6k202310.5k2024
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
565
Deaths
558
Net international migration
+5
Net domestic migration
-57
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-125

Where Custer County is

The Census internal point of Custer County is at 41.393900, -99.726900. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Nebraska's 93 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.

York County: +1.9%Boone County: -0.1%Grant County: -7.0%Saline County: +0.2%Adams County: +0.1%Clay County: -0.1%Logan County: -3.3%Hamilton County: +1.7%Thomas County: -5.9%Lancaster County: +3.0%Sherman County: -0.1%Lincoln County: -3.5%Stanton County: -1.1%Dawes County: -1.9%Madison County: +0.1%Perkins County: -2.9%Arthur County: -2.1%Deuel County: +3.2%Banner County: -1.9%Dundy County: -4.2%Garfield County: -5.4%Wheeler County: +4.3%Seward County: +0.9%Johnson County: -1.4%Wayne County: +1.7%Hayes County: -0.4%Gosper County: -4.6%Blaine County: +6.1%Valley County: -0.6%Keith County: -2.1%Antelope County: +1.3%Hooker County: -1.3%Hitchcock County: -6.1%Box Butte County: -1.1%Morrill County: -1.6%Chase County: -3.2%Howard County: +1.3%Holt County: +0.1%Phelps County: +0.7%Cuming County: -0.7%Jefferson County: -1.7%Garden County: -4.5%Dodge County: +2.1%Buffalo County: +1.9%Butler County: +1.0%Fillmore County: -1.0%Boyd County: -5.7%Nuckolls County: +0.1%Loup County: -3.8%Sioux County: -3.7%Thayer County: -3.1%Cheyenne County: +1.2%Rock County: -1.9%Nance County: -3.9%Greeley County: +0.8%Hall County: +0.1%Brown County: -0.9%Dakota County: -1.0%Kearney County: +0.9%Webster County: -1.9%Nemaha County: -0.6%Franklin County: -2.5%Furnas County: -3.5%Sarpy County: +7.1%Platte County: +3.5%Kimball County: -3.0%Polk County: +1.0%Dixon County: -1.1%Knox County: -1.0%Thurston County: -1.8%Douglas County: +2.7%Scotts Bluff County: -0.9%Pierce County: -0.1%Burt County: +0.0%Merrick County: +2.3%Sheridan County: -3.5%Washington County: +1.6%Frontier County: +1.3%Colfax County: +2.6%Cass County: +3.3%Pawnee County: -0.8%Richardson County: -2.5%Cedar County: -1.3%Gage County: +0.2%Dawson County: +2.0%Keya Paha County: +7.8%Cherry County: +1.9%McPherson County: -5.1%Otoe County: +4.3%Red Willow County: -2.6%Custer County: -0.0%Harlan County: -1.2%Saunders County: +4.6%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.0%
  2. < -1.1%
  3. < +0.1%
  4. < +1.7%
  5. ≥ +1.7%
no data

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

Internal point

Decimal
41.393900, -99.726900
DMS
41°23'38.04"N 99°43'36.84"W
UTM
14N 439231.8E 4582740.1N
Geohash
9z356xt0f
Plus code
86H297VF+H6

Towns in Custer County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Custer County, 3,491 people together, or 33% 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 Broken Bow with 3,491.

  1. 01Broken Bow3,491
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Custer County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 9 neighbors for Custer County. The most populous is Buffalo County, NE, with 51,156 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Lincoln and the nearest big city

Lincoln is 162.7 miles ESE of Custer County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lincoln, NE (population 300,619), 163.9 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Lexington, NE (population 11,205), 42.6 miles away.

Custer County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Custer County is 31041: state code 31 for Nebraska plus county code 041. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $65,151.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Custer County, Nebraska?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 10,487. That is down 5 people (0.0%) from the July 2020 estimate of 10,492.

What is the FIPS code of Custer County?

31041. The first two digits (31) are Nebraska; the last three (041) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Custer County?

Broken Bow, with 3,491 residents inside Custer County in 2024.

Which counties border Custer County?

9 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Buffalo County, NE; Lincoln County, NE; Dawson County, NE; Valley County, NE; Sherman County, NE; Garfield County, NE; Logan County, NE; Loup County, NE; Blaine County, NE.

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.