Custer County leans heavily Republican by roughly 32 points: about 34% of voters vote Democratic and 66% Republican.
About 84% of adults in Custer County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Custer County, ~28% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~17% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Custer County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Custer County is the most Republican-leaning.
Custer County runs about 44 points more Republican than Colorado as a whole. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while Custer County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Custer County. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+45) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+16), a spread of about 29 points.
Why Custer County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Custer County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 3% of residents in Custer County live in densely developed areas, about 32 points below the Colorado average of 35%. Custer County runs against the grain of Colorado, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Custer County, CO sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Custer County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Custer County is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 65%, about 5 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 86% of households in Custer County own their home, above 97% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Custer County have completed high school, above 93% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Fremont County, CO R+25
- Saguache County, CO D+5
- Pueblo County, CO Even
- Huerfano County, CO R+7
- Alamosa County, CO R+3
- Chaffee County, CO D+6
- Teller County, CO R+23
- Costilla County, CO D+19
- Rio Grande County, CO R+22
- El Paso County, CO R+7
Counties with Similar Populations
- Scotland County, MO R+64
- Putnam County, MO R+68
- Musselshell County, MT R+64
- Crane County, TX R+48
- Republic County, KS R+62
- Calhoun County, AR R+61
- Ringgold County, IA R+50
- Furnas County, NE R+70
- Hot Springs County, WY R+57
- Washington County, CO R+70
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Colorado Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.