diff --git a/src/maturin_import_hook/__main__.py b/src/maturin_import_hook/__main__.py
index 90fdbb4..6f9559d 100644
--- a/src/maturin_import_hook/__main__.py
+++ b/src/maturin_import_hook/__main__.py
@@ -3,12 +3,14 @@
 import json
 import platform
 import shutil
+import site
 import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from maturin_import_hook._building import get_default_build_dir
 from maturin_import_hook._site import (
     get_sitecustomize_path,
+    get_usercustomize_path,
     has_automatic_installation,
     insert_automatic_installation,
     remove_automatic_installation,
@@ -80,25 +82,30 @@ def _action_cache_clear(interactive: bool) -> None:
 
 def _action_site_info(format_name: str) -> None:
     sitecustomize_path = get_sitecustomize_path()
+    usercustomize_path = get_usercustomize_path()
 
     _print_info(
         {
-            "sitecustomize_exists": sitecustomize_path.exists(),
             "sitecustomize_path": str(sitecustomize_path),
-            "import_hook_installed": has_automatic_installation(sitecustomize_path),
+            "sitecustomize_exists": sitecustomize_path.exists(),
+            "sitecustomize_import_hook_installed": has_automatic_installation(sitecustomize_path),
+            "user_site_enabled": str(site.ENABLE_USER_SITE),
+            "usercustomize_path": str(usercustomize_path),
+            "usercustomize_exists": usercustomize_path.exists(),
+            "usercustomize_import_hook_installed": has_automatic_installation(usercustomize_path),
         },
         format_name,
     )
 
 
-def _action_site_install(preset_name: str, force: bool) -> None:
-    sitecustomize_path = get_sitecustomize_path()
-    insert_automatic_installation(sitecustomize_path, preset_name, force)
+def _action_site_install(*, user: bool, preset_name: str, force: bool) -> None:
+    module_path = get_usercustomize_path() if user else get_sitecustomize_path()
+    insert_automatic_installation(module_path, preset_name, force)
 
 
-def _action_site_uninstall() -> None:
-    sitecustomize_path = get_sitecustomize_path()
-    remove_automatic_installation(sitecustomize_path)
+def _action_site_uninstall(*, user: bool) -> None:
+    module_path = get_usercustomize_path() if user else get_sitecustomize_path()
+    remove_automatic_installation(module_path)
 
 
 def _ask_yes_no(question: str) -> bool:
@@ -149,23 +156,31 @@ def _main() -> None:
 
     site_action = subparsers.add_parser(
         "site",
-        help="manage installation of the import hook into site-packages/sitecustomize.py (so it starts automatically)",
+        help=(
+            "manage installation of the import hook into site-packages/sitecustomize.py "
+            "or usercustomize.py (so it starts automatically)"
+        ),
     )
     site_sub_actions = site_action.add_subparsers(dest="sub_action")
     site_info = site_sub_actions.add_parser(
-        "info", help="information about the current status of installation into sitecustomize"
+        "info", help="information about the current status of installation into sitecustomize/usercustomize"
     )
     site_info.add_argument(
         "-f", "--format", choices=["text", "json"], default="text", help="the format to output the data in"
     )
+
     install = site_sub_actions.add_parser(
-        "install", help="install the import hook into site-packages/sitecustomize.py so that it starts automatically"
+        "install",
+        help=(
+            "install the import hook into site-packages/sitecustomize.py "
+            "or usercustomize.py so that it starts automatically"
+        ),
     )
     install.add_argument(
         "-f",
         "--force",
         action="store_true",
-        help="whether to overwrite any existing managed import hook installation in sitecustomize.py",
+        help="whether to overwrite any existing managed import hook installation",
     )
     install.add_argument(
         "--preset",
@@ -173,7 +188,24 @@ def _main() -> None:
         choices=["debug", "release"],
         help="the settings preset for the import hook to use when building packages. Defaults to 'debug'.",
     )
-    site_sub_actions.add_parser("uninstall", help="uninstall the import hook from site-packages/sitecustomize.py")
+    install.add_argument(
+        "--user",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="whether to install into usercustomize.py instead of sitecustomize.py. "
+        "Note that usercustomize.py is shared between virtualenvs of the same interpreter version and is not loaded "
+        "unless the virtualenv is created with the `--system-site-packages` argument. Use `site info` to check "
+        "whether usercustomize.py is loaded the current interpreter.",
+    )
+
+    uninstall = site_sub_actions.add_parser(
+        "uninstall",
+        help="uninstall the import hook from site-packages/sitecustomize.py or site-packages/usercustomize.py",
+    )
+    uninstall.add_argument(
+        "--user",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="whether to uninstall from usercustomize.py instead of sitecustomize.py",
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
@@ -192,9 +224,9 @@ def _main() -> None:
         if args.sub_action == "info":
             _action_site_info(args.format)
         elif args.sub_action == "install":
-            _action_site_install(args.preset, args.force)
+            _action_site_install(user=args.user, preset_name=args.preset, force=args.force)
         elif args.sub_action == "uninstall":
-            _action_site_uninstall()
+            _action_site_uninstall(user=args.user)
         else:
             site_action.print_help()
     else:
diff --git a/src/maturin_import_hook/_site.py b/src/maturin_import_hook/_site.py
index c97f5bc..dadde46 100644
--- a/src/maturin_import_hook/_site.py
+++ b/src/maturin_import_hook/_site.py
@@ -13,13 +13,21 @@
 
 MANAGED_INSTALLATION_PRESETS = {
     "debug": dedent("""\
-        import maturin_import_hook
-        maturin_import_hook.install()
+        try:
+            import maturin_import_hook
+        except ImportError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            maturin_import_hook.install()
     """),
     "release": dedent("""\
-        import maturin_import_hook
-        from maturin_import_hook.settings import MaturinSettings
-        maturin_import_hook.install(MaturinSettings(release=True))
+        try:
+            import maturin_import_hook
+            from maturin_import_hook.settings import MaturinSettings
+        except ImportError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            maturin_import_hook.install(MaturinSettings(release=True))
     """),
 }
 
@@ -36,54 +44,62 @@ def get_sitecustomize_path() -> Path:
     return Path(site_packages[0]) / "sitecustomize.py"
 
 
-def has_automatic_installation(sitecustomize: Path) -> bool:
-    if not sitecustomize.is_file():
+def get_usercustomize_path() -> Path:
+    user_site_packages = site.getusersitepackages()
+    if user_site_packages is None:
+        msg = "could not find usercustomize.py (user site-packages not found)"
+        raise FileNotFoundError(msg)
+    return Path(user_site_packages) / "usercustomize.py"
+
+
+def has_automatic_installation(module_path: Path) -> bool:
+    if not module_path.is_file():
         return False
-    code = sitecustomize.read_text()
+    code = module_path.read_text()
     return MANAGED_INSTALL_START in code
 
 
-def remove_automatic_installation(sitecustomize: Path) -> None:
-    logger.info(f"removing automatic activation from '{sitecustomize}'")
-    if not has_automatic_installation(sitecustomize):
+def remove_automatic_installation(module_path: Path) -> None:
+    logger.info(f"removing automatic activation from '{module_path}'")
+    if not has_automatic_installation(module_path):
         logger.info("no installation found")
         return
 
-    code = sitecustomize.read_text()
+    code = module_path.read_text()
     managed_start = code.find(MANAGED_INSTALL_START)
     if managed_start == -1:
-        msg = f"failed to find managed install start marker in '{sitecustomize}'"
+        msg = f"failed to find managed install start marker in '{module_path}'"
         raise RuntimeError(msg)
     managed_end = code.find(MANAGED_INSTALL_END)
     if managed_end == -1:
-        msg = f"failed to find managed install start marker in '{sitecustomize}'"
+        msg = f"failed to find managed install start marker in '{module_path}'"
         raise RuntimeError(msg)
     code = code[:managed_start] + code[managed_end + len(MANAGED_INSTALL_END) :]
 
     if code.strip():
-        sitecustomize.write_text(code)
+        module_path.write_text(code)
     else:
         logger.info("module is now empty. Removing file.")
-        sitecustomize.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        module_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
 
 
-def insert_automatic_installation(sitecustomize: Path, preset_name: str, force: bool) -> None:
+def insert_automatic_installation(module_path: Path, preset_name: str, force: bool) -> None:
     if preset_name not in MANAGED_INSTALLATION_PRESETS:
         msg = f"Unknown managed installation preset name: '{preset_name}'"
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
-    logger.info(f"installing automatic activation into '{sitecustomize}'")
-    if has_automatic_installation(sitecustomize):
+    logger.info(f"installing automatic activation into '{module_path}'")
+    if has_automatic_installation(module_path):
         if force:
             logger.info("already installed, but force=True. Overwriting...")
-            remove_automatic_installation(sitecustomize)
+            remove_automatic_installation(module_path)
         else:
             logger.info("already installed. Aborting install")
             return
 
     parts = []
-    if sitecustomize.exists():
-        parts.append(sitecustomize.read_text())
+    if module_path.exists():
+        parts.append(module_path.read_text())
         parts.append("\n")
     parts.extend([
         MANAGED_INSTALL_START,
@@ -92,4 +108,5 @@ def insert_automatic_installation(sitecustomize: Path, preset_name: str, force:
         MANAGED_INSTALL_END,
     ])
     code = "".join(parts)
-    sitecustomize.write_text(code)
+    module_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    module_path.write_text(code)
diff --git a/src/maturin_import_hook/project_importer.py b/src/maturin_import_hook/project_importer.py
index acdcdb1..7f3367c 100644
--- a/src/maturin_import_hook/project_importer.py
+++ b/src/maturin_import_hook/project_importer.py
@@ -641,3 +641,7 @@ def uninstall() -> None:
         with contextlib.suppress(ValueError):
             sys.meta_path.remove(IMPORTER)
         IMPORTER = None
+
+
+def is_installed() -> bool:
+    return IMPORTER is not None and IMPORTER in sys.meta_path
diff --git a/src/maturin_import_hook/rust_file_importer.py b/src/maturin_import_hook/rust_file_importer.py
index 92e4bb0..c50d0fd 100644
--- a/src/maturin_import_hook/rust_file_importer.py
+++ b/src/maturin_import_hook/rust_file_importer.py
@@ -420,3 +420,7 @@ def uninstall() -> None:
         with contextlib.suppress(ValueError):
             sys.meta_path.remove(IMPORTER)
         IMPORTER = None
+
+
+def is_installed() -> bool:
+    return IMPORTER is not None and IMPORTER in sys.meta_path
diff --git a/tests/test_import_hook/test_site.py b/tests/test_import_hook/test_site.py
index da2e5f6..bc8a915 100644
--- a/tests/test_import_hook/test_site.py
+++ b/tests/test_import_hook/test_site.py
@@ -38,8 +38,12 @@ def test_automatic_site_installation(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     # <maturin_import_hook>
     # the following commands install the maturin import hook during startup.
     # see: `python -m maturin_import_hook site`
-    import maturin_import_hook
-    maturin_import_hook.install()
+    try:
+        import maturin_import_hook
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+    else:
+        maturin_import_hook.install()
     # </maturin_import_hook>
     """)
 
@@ -99,9 +103,13 @@ def test_automatic_site_installation_force_overwrite(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     # <maturin_import_hook>
     # the following commands install the maturin import hook during startup.
     # see: `python -m maturin_import_hook site`
-    import maturin_import_hook
-    from maturin_import_hook.settings import MaturinSettings
-    maturin_import_hook.install(MaturinSettings(release=True))
+    try:
+        import maturin_import_hook
+        from maturin_import_hook.settings import MaturinSettings
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+    else:
+        maturin_import_hook.install(MaturinSettings(release=True))
     # </maturin_import_hook>
     """)
 
@@ -124,8 +132,12 @@ def test_automatic_site_installation_empty(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     # <maturin_import_hook>
     # the following commands install the maturin import hook during startup.
     # see: `python -m maturin_import_hook site`
-    import maturin_import_hook
-    maturin_import_hook.install()
+    try:
+        import maturin_import_hook
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+    else:
+        maturin_import_hook.install()
     # </maturin_import_hook>
     """)