Custer is a city of 3,560 in Custer County, about 30 miles southwest of downtown Rapid City · Updated November 2026
Is Custer, SD safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Custer: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 94% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Custer grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 973 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Custer as a whole, and 6% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Custer scores 973.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Custer, SD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Custer, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Custer
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. Custer draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 25.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Crime rates and types in Custer
CrimeGrade™ estimates Custer has about 19 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 49% less than the US as a whole and 50% less than South Dakota.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Custer, about 57% of everything reported.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Custer
The Custer County Sheriff's Office polices Custer, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Custer compares with nearby cities
Custer has less crime than 2 of its 4 nearest cities; only Sanator and Hermosa have less.
Two things set Custer apart: it has 25.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 3.8 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.25.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 75% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 61% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.45% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Custer: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Custer on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Custer
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Custer about $538 a year per household, 55% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $3.6 million a year, or $1,001 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$360,000
$101
Rape
$33,000
$9
Robbery
$2,400
$1
Assault
$210,000
$58
Burglary
$20,000
$6
Theft
$200,000
$56
Vehicle theft
$19,000
$5
Arson
$7,800
$2
Vandalism
$31,000
$9
Total
$880,000
$247
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Custer means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Custer, SD average a SchoolGrade of B: 51% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Custer on SchoolGrade
