Housing in Custer is rural and low-density, made up of single-family homes on larger lots, farmhouses, and small acreage parcels rather than dense subdivisions. The community's residential pattern reflects its agricultural and timber roots, with homes scattered along county roads among fields and berry farms. Because Custer is an unincorporated census-designated place, development is guided by Whatcom County rather than a municipal government. Buyers are typically drawn by the space, quiet, and rural character, along with proximity to Ferndale, Blaine, and Bellingham rather than by suburban amenities within Custer itself.

Custer reads as a single rural crossroads community rather than a set of distinct neighborhoods. The historic core near the old Great Northern rail line holds the community's civic and commercial traces, while farmsteads and acreage homes spread along the surrounding county roads. Berry fields, pastures, and small woodlots define the landscape between clusters of homes. Neighboring Ferndale, Blaine, and Lynden provide the suburban and small-town amenities that Custer itself does not, leaving Custer a quiet, spread-out residential and agricultural pocket at the center.

Life in Custer is rural and unhurried. Residents shop and dine in nearby Birch Bay Square, Ferndale, or Bellingham, and the community's own landmarks are modest: the Cascade Blueberry Farm, local art studios, and the Grandview Golf Course. The pace is shaped by the agricultural calendar and the coastal Northwest setting, with Birch Bay's shoreline and state park a short drive west. Custer offers a peaceful, country way of life while keeping the services of Bellingham, Blaine, and the Canadian border within easy reach.

Custer's public school students attend the Ferndale School District, which serves Ferndale, Custer, Lummi Island, and the Lummi Nation. The district operates elementary, middle, and high schools based in nearby Ferndale, a short drive from Custer. Whatcom County's broader school landscape also includes districts in Blaine and Lynden. For families, the draw is a well-established district serving the rural-suburban corridor between Bellingham and the Canadian border.

Custer sits in the rural corridor between Bellingham and the Canadian border. Interstate 5 runs to the west near Birch Bay and Blaine, linking the area south to Bellingham and Seattle and north to the Peace Arch border crossing. County roads provide local access through the farmland, and nearby Ferndale and Blaine anchor services. Most travel is by car; regional air and rail service is available in Bellingham, with Vancouver, British Columbia, a short distance north of the border.

Birch Bay State Park, on a cove between Bellingham and Blaine, is Custer's nearest major outdoor destination, with beach access, crabbing, clamming, camping, and views over the Strait of Georgia. The 18-hole Grandview Golf Course is the community's central recreation space and is open to the public. Cascade Blueberry Farm offers seasonal berry picking, and the surrounding farm roads are popular for cycling. The Mount Baker foothills and the Canadian border towns are within an easy drive.