Groundwork

Food and drink · County · South Dakota

Restaurants and cafes in Custer County, SD

The restaurants and cafes in Custer County, SD, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
54
11 chain locations (20%)
Official establishments
28
+3.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$17.8M
On food away from home · $3,996 a household
Spending per listing
$329K
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
121.3
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,431
+13.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Custer County

The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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 $3,996 per household (2% below the U.S. average), households in Custer County spend about $17.8M a year on food away from home. That is about $329K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Custer County has 54 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 11 of them (20%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 121.3 for every 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 28 businesses with payroll in Custer County classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 159 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $141K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Custer County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Custer County grew 13.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Custer County compares

The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Restaurants and cafes in Custer County, SD compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureCuster CountySouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households121.3106.8109.8
Spending per listing$329K$361K$371K
Households per official establishment159232209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.7%+6.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+13.2%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,996$3,849$4,070
Median household income$84,112$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored56

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
27 → 28+3.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
243
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5411 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
48The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$141K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places 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
9,431+13.2% since 2020
Households
4,451
Median age
57.3
Homes lived in by their owners
86%
Vehicles per household
2.4
Land area
1,557 sq. mi.
People per square mile
6
Median household income
$84,112
Average household income
$110,413
Median home value
$372,100
Jobs located here
2,110
Daytime population
7,755Residents 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 restaurants and cafes 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

Restaurants and cafes across South Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Custer County marked.

Top counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lincoln County, SD9418265.3$694K+17.5%#6 of 2,405
2Union County, SD816791.7$471K+3.3%#128 of 2,405
3Meade County, SD759982.7$469K+2.7%#249 of 2,405
4Minnehaha County, SD55892105.2$377K+7.6%#982 of 2,405
5Brown County, SD5314387.8$425K−1.7%#1,045 of 2,405
6Oglala Lakota County, SD511965.0$431K−2.3%#1,127 of 2,405
7Beadle County, SD517396.9$369K+2.4%#1,156 of 2,405
8Hughes County, SD4977106.2$374K−0.9%#1,237 of 2,405
9Brookings County, SD49160116.0$324K+9.6%#1,252 of 2,405
10Lake County, SD4749103.9$374K−0.2%#1,314 of 2,405
Custer County, SDNot scored54121.3$329K+13.2%

Other business types in Custer County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Funeral services

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Custer County, SD?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 54 restaurants and cafes in Custer County. 11 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Custer County, SD spend on food away from home?

About $17.8M a year, or $3,996 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 54 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $329K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,451 households in Custer County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Custer County, SD compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Custer County has 121.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $329K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Custer County would have about 48, against 54 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 159 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Custer County, SD growing?

Population estimates put Custer County at 9,431 people in 2025, up 13.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 4,451 households. Median household income in Custer County is $84,112, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Custer County. It maps the restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · 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.

Run a site report See plans
Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Screening many markets at once? Talk to us

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.