Custer County: next door to a boom.

• Author: Polzin, Paul E.
• Position: Statistical data

If Rip Van Winkle were an economist, he would marvel at the changes in the Custer County economy since he went to sleep for 20 years. What was once a regional center for state and federal agencies and businesses serving area farms and ranches has now evolved into a trade and finance center and, most recently, home to firms serving the Bakken oil fields.

Over the past decade, Miles City has evolved into a trade and health care center, with merchants and professionals serving people from throughout Eastern Montana as well as eliminating trips to Billings or elsewhere to obtain goods and services not available locally. A drive down South Haynes Avenue quickly reveals that this growth in not just "big box" stores.

The financial sector of Custer County's economy has grown as a local bank is successfully managing an aggressive statewide expansion. Their remodeled facility has brought new vitality to downtown Miles City.

Most recently, the Custer County economy has been the indirect beneficiary of the Bakken oil boom, hundreds of miles to the east on the Montana-North Dakota border. The lack of nearby housing has led workers to commute from Miles City and other communities. In addition, firms serving the oil and gas industry have located to Custer County. Technically, these companies are classified in the oil and gas industry. In fact, the energy services industry has become the largest component of Custer County's economic base.

The impact of growth in finance and energy services is reflected in the economic data. Both of these industries have above average pay. Average wages and salaries per worker in Custer County have risen from roughly 89 percent of the statewide average to about 96 percent in the last decade.

The current plummeting of oil prices is reverberating throughout the energy industry...