Custer County is a county in South Dakota, United States, on the western edge of the state in the southern Black Hills. It had a population of 8,318 at the 2020 census and covers 1,557 square miles (4,030 km2) of land, centred near 43\u00b040′N 103\u00b025′W.<\/p>\n
Custer is the county seat, and its postal code is 57730. The county has one city and four incorporated towns, plus a scatter of unincorporated communities and Forest Service sites; there are no organized civil townships in South Dakota. Custer County runs on Mountain time.<\/p>\n
Ten named places from the county’s historical roll survive today: one city (the county seat), four incorporated towns, and five unincorporated communities and named sites inside the Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park. “CDP” below marks a place with U.S. Census Bureau population data but no city or town government; “Unincorp.” marks a named place with no municipal government and no separately tabulated census count.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | 1,919<\/td>\n | 57730<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hermosa<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 382<\/td>\n | 57744<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Buffalo Gap<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 131<\/td>\n | 57722<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pringle<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 109<\/td>\n | 57773<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fairburn<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 60<\/td>\n | 57738<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dewey<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fourmile<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blue Bell<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Folsom<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sanator<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Vestal Springs<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Spokane<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Nihart<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Berne<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Argyle<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Junction Ranger Station<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| State Game Lodge<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sylvan Lake Resort<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n State Game Lodge and Sylvan Lake Resort are historic lodging sites inside Custer State Park rather than settlements with their own population counts; Junction Ranger Station is a Black Hills National Forest administrative site. None of the smaller places listed have their own ZIP code — mail for the unincorporated communities routes through Custer, Hermosa, or Pringle depending on location.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nThese five ZIP codes cover the entire county; addresses inside Custer State Park and the national forest typically carry the Custer or Hermosa ZIP depending on which side of the park they fall on.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nCuster County sits in the southern Black Hills, a forested, granite-cored range that rises abruptly out of the surrounding plains. Ponderosa pine forest, granite spires, and rolling grassland alternate across the county, and public land dominates: Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and a large share of the Black Hills National Forest all lie within its borders. The French Creek and Beaver Creek drainages cut through the park and forest land toward the Cheyenne River.<\/p>\n |