Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Measured against area pay, Custer costs less to live in than 55% of U.S. towns
About the same as a year ago, 49% above the South Dakota typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Rapid City, SD metro area ($75K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 3 sales in September 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Rapid City metro earn ($75K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 3.1 years of metro income, and 31% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $474Ktypical home, 49% above the South Dakota typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,170a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 89prices across the Rapid City metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 73)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$75K, Rapid City-area income
- 15%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 31%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across South Dakota: 40%Census 2020–24
- 27%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Custer’s housing numbers say
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Custer lost 148 residents while 44 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Custer’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Custer is more affordable than 55% of U.S. towns. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Values have outpaced South Dakota: the typical Custer home is up 28.6% in five years, against 23.4% statewide (Zillow).
Up 28.6% in five years
Faster than South Dakota (23.4%).
Show as a table
| January | Custer | South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $234,000 | $183,000 |
| 2018 | $242,000 | $192,000 |
| 2019 | $263,000 | $201,000 |
| 2020 | $290,000 | $212,000 |
| 2021 | $325,000 | $232,000 |
| 2022 | $388,000 | $269,000 |
| 2023 | $439,000 | $293,000 |
| 2024 | $448,000 | $297,000 |
| 2025 | $467,000 | $308,000 |
| 2026 | $479,000 | $316,000 |
| September 2026 | $474,000 | $318,000 |
A typical Custer home worth $230K in October 2016 is worth about $474K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A year’s rent takes 15% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Custer’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $187K short of a typical Custer home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,170 a month here, $1,720 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Custer’s typical property tax (1.03% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,170
Renters already here pay a median of $968, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Rapid City, SD HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
13 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 13 new homes in Custer in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $4.6 million to build. That's 5.6 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of South Dakota as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Custer has permitted 67 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Custer's population fell by 148 even though 44 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across South Dakota: 1.6 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 9 | 9 | 0 | $3.3 million |
| 2025 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2024 | 14 | 10 | 4 | $4.9 million |
| 2023 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2022 | 10 | 6 | 4 | $3.6 million |
| 2021 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $238,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $675,000 |
| 2018 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2017 | 8 | 6 | 2 | $2.2 million |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $47,000 |
| 2015 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $448,000 |
| 2014 | 8 | 4 | 4 | $1.4 million |
| 2013 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $661,000 |
| 2012 | 9 | 5 | 4 | $1.5 million |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $75,000 |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2009 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $723,000 |
| 2008 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2007 | 18 | 12 | 6 | $2.5 million |
| 2006 | 19 | 7 | 12 | $2.4 million |
| 2005 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2004 | 26 | 10 | 16 | $2.5 million |
| 2003 | 26 | 10 | 16 | $2.1 million |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $315,000 |
| 2001 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $551,000 |
| 2000 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $1.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the South Dakota norm
The median bill is $2,430 (South Dakota: $2,724), 1.03% of a home’s value a year, against 1.06% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Custer
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Rapid City, SD metro area, or South Dakota. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 89 | SD 89 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 95 | SD 95 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 79 | SD 80 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 92 | SD 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Custer and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custer | B− | $474K | $236K | 1.03% | $1,170 |
Questions about the cost of living in Custer
Is Custer expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Custer costs less than 55% of U.S. towns: a B− for cost of living. The typical home costs 3.1 years of the median household income of the Rapid City, SD metro area ($75K).
How much does a house cost in Custer?
About $474K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.4% in a year. The South Dakota typical home is $318K.
What salary do you need to live in Custer?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $124,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,890 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $47,000.
How much is rent in Custer?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,170 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $968 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Custer?
The median bill is $2,430 a year, 1.03% of the median home value (South Dakota: $2,724, 1.06%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Custer going up?
Barely: up 0.4% in the past year and 28.6% in five years, against 23.4% across South Dakota (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Custer buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.