Auto · County · Montana
Auto repair shops in Custer County, MT
How Custer County, MT compares with other counties and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,996 of 2,378 scored counties
#19 of 21 scored counties in Montana
- Listings
- 19
- 2 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $5.9M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,170 a household
- Spending per listing
- $310K
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 37.7
- 75% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 12,034
- +1.5% since 2020
See the auto repair shops around any address in Custer County
The site report maps the auto repair shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Custer County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for auto repair shops in Custer County is 31 (lower middle), #1,996 of 2,378 scored counties and #19 of 21 scored counties in Montana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 auto repair shops in Custer County. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 11%, against 16% across the U.S. That is 37.7 per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 21.5.
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Custer County comes to about $5.9M a year: $1,170 per household, 22% above the U.S. average. That is about $310K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 30% below the U.S. figure of $445K. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which auto repair shops share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Custer County in 2023. That is one for every 504 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Custer County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Custer County compares
The same measures for Montana and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the auto repair shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Custer County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 37.7 | 26.1 | 21.5 |
| Spending per listing | $310K | $443K | $445K |
| Households per official establishment | 504 | 609 | 955 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.7% | +2.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,170 | $1,157 | $958 |
| Median household income | $70,605 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9 → 10
- Employees, 2023
- 53
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 18Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 192 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Custer County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Custer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 12,034+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 5,038
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 3,783 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $70,605+33.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,295
- Median home value
- $219,100
- Jobs located here
- 5,790
- Daytime population
- 11,387Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Custer County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the auto repair shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Custer County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardAuto repair shops across Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Montana for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Montana, with Custer County marked.
Top counties in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson County, MT | 96 | 7 | 14.0 | $1.1M | +9.8% | #1 of 2,378 |
| 2Sanders County, MT | 84 | 10 | 18.3 | $650K | +12.9% | #62 of 2,378 |
| 3Lake County, MT | 72 | 20 | 15.9 | $777K | +6.9% | #282 of 2,378 |
| 4Big Horn County, MT | 69 | 5 | 13.1 | $869K | −2.5% | #359 of 2,378 |
| 5Carbon County, MT | 66 | 11 | 23.6 | $559K | +9.1% | #493 of 2,378 |
| 6Gallatin County, MT | 63 | 126 | 24.6 | $498K | +7.7% | #618 of 2,378 |
| 7Glacier County, MT | 57 | 9 | 21.0 | $487K | −2.0% | #858 of 2,378 |
| 8Fergus County, MT | 55 | 14 | 26.4 | $446K | +3.1% | #964 of 2,378 |
| 9Ravalli County, MT | 55 | 54 | 28.9 | $429K | +9.4% | #972 of 2,378 |
| 10Missoula County, MT | 53 | 115 | 21.8 | $486K | +4.4% | #1,051 of 2,378 |
| 19Custer County, MT | 31 | 19 | 37.7 | $310K | +1.5% | #1,996 of 2,378 |
Other business types in Custer County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many auto repair shops are in Custer County, MT?
There are 19 auto repair shops on map listings in Custer County as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023. Official counts also show 18 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Custer County, MT spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $5.9M a year, or $1,170 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $310K per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,038 households in Custer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Custer County, MT compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?
Custer County has 37.7 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 75% above the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $310K, 30% below the U.S. figure of $445K. At the national ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Custer County would have about 13, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 504 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S.
How fast is Custer County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Custer County at 12,034 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,038 households. The median household income in Custer County is $70,605 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.3% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Custer County scores 31 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #1,996 of 2,378 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Custer County. It maps the auto repair shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for auto repair shops · All 56 business types in Custer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Custer County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Custer County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.