Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Montana

Grocery stores in Custer County, MT

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery stores in Custer County, MT, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 2.

Listings
2
1 chain location (50%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$28.7M
On groceries · $5,698 a household
Spending per listing
$14.4M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
4.0
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
12,034
+1.5% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Custer County

The site report maps the grocery stores 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 card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $5,698 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Custer County spend about $28.7M a year on groceries. That works out to $14.4M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

There are 2 grocery stores on map listings in Custer County as of September 2026. That is 4.0 per 10,000 households.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for supermarkets and grocery stores in Custer County, since they leave out counts under 3.

Population estimates put the population change in Custer County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 2 grocery stores on map listings, Custer County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

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 groceries by the grocery stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Grocery stores in Custer County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasureCuster CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.07.66.8
Spending per listing$14.4M$7.8M$9.3M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,7652,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.6%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,698$5,881$6,319
Median household income$70,605$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored26

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
21 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 supermarkets and grocery stores 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 grocery stores 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 card

Grocery stores across Montana

Every Montana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Montana for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Montana, with Custer County marked.

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yellowstone County, MT83284.0$15M+4.5%#132 of 2,070
2Missoula County, MT68315.9$10.1M+4.4%#461 of 2,070
3Lewis and Clark County, MT66154.8$12.6M+5.8%#501 of 2,070
4Cascade County, MT64164.5$12.7M+0.7%#560 of 2,070
5Flathead County, MT62255.7$10.5M+10.1%#619 of 2,070
6Gallatin County, MT61367.0$9.1M+7.7%#660 of 2,070
7Silver Bow County, MT5863.9$14.1M+2.6%#737 of 2,070
8Lake County, MT40108.0$7.1M+6.9%#1,355 of 2,070
9Ravalli County, MT40189.6$6M+9.4%#1,367 of 2,070
10Carbon County, MT38715.0$4M+9.1%#1,445 of 2,070
Custer County, MTNot scored24.0$14.4M+1.5%

Other business types in Custer County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Custer County, MT?

As of September 2026, map listings count 2 grocery stores in Custer County. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. No official count is published for supermarkets and grocery stores in Custer County: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in Custer County, MT spend on groceries?

About $28.7M a year, or $5,698 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $14.4M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade. 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 grocery stores?

Custer County has 2 grocery stores on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Custer County would have about 3, against 2 on map listings.

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 has no market score for grocery stores: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 2.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Custer County. It maps the grocery stores 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 grocery stores · 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.