Relocation

Compare Black Hills Communities

25 towns and unincorporated communities. Pick two to four and the full table appears underneath. Commutes are driving times to the Ellsworth main gate and downtown Rapid City. Median sold prices, where we have them, come from the MLS over the trailing twelve months with the source, window and sale count printed under each figure. Typical price bands are practical search ranges, not medians, and are labelled separately.

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1 of 25 communities

Under $400k Close to Ellsworth Close to Rapid City Short commute New construction available Acreage available City water and sewer Smaller market More rural Established housing Newer housing Clear filters Clear everything

Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.

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The five facts that decide a shortlist

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Selected, 3 of 4

Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Everything within about twenty five minutes of downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth main gate, where most of the newer inventory, the shortest commutes and the jurisdiction questions about city versus county service are.

Rapid City
Typical price
$300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
City water and sewer inside the limits
School district
Rapid City Area Schools 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between Belle Fourche, St. Onge, Spearfish

The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.

County: Belle FourcheButte CountySt. OngeLawrence CountySpearfishLawrence County
Jurisdiction: Belle FourcheNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.St. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.SpearfishNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Corridor: Belle FourcheUS-85 and SD-34St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at WhitewoodSpearfishI-90
To downtown Rapid City: Belle FourcheAbout 55 to 60 minutesSt. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesSpearfish53 min, 47.8 mi
To Ellsworth AFB: Belle FourcheAbout an hourSt. OngeAbout 45 milesSpearfish68 min, 57.0 mi
Winter driving: Belle FourcheOut on the acreage the question is who maintains the road in winter, and it is worth asking in writing.St. OngeHighway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.SpearfishChinook winds off the hills are a genuine feature of winter in this corridor.

Side by side

Belle Fourche, St. Onge, Spearfish

Rows marked as differing are the ones where these do not read alike. Rows without the mark sit on a quiet background because they say the same thing in every column.

The selected Black Hills communities compared on location, housing, utilities, schools, daily errands, mapped subdivisions and the trade each one asks for
Attribute	Northern Hills and I-90Belle Fourche	Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge	Northern Hills and I-90Spearfish
Where it sits
Region	Northern Hills and I-90	Northern Hills and I-90	Northern Hills and I-90
Countydiffers	Butte County	Lawrence County	Lawrence County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.	Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Corridordiffers	US-85 and SD-34	SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood	I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	About 55 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About an hourDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	Out on the acreage the question is who maintains the road in winter, and it is worth asking in writing.	Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.	Chinook winds off the hills are a genuine feature of winter in this corridor.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	$275k to $375kMedian sold $300,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 113 closed sales.	No figure published. St. Onge is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so a zero here would be a gap in the data rather than a fact about the market.	$400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	Older homes in town, newer construction on the edges	An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.	Older stock in the middle, edge subdivisions built 1996 to 2023
New constructiondiffers	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	New construction remains active on the edges of town, including areas such as Sky Ridge and other newer developments.
Acreagediffers	Larger lots and acreage become more common around the edges of Belle Fourche and in nearby rural subdivisions.	Acreage parcels are common here	Acreage is available around Spearfish, primarily on surrounding Lawrence County ground rather than in the city core.
Typical lotdiffers	Generous in town, acreage out past it	Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it	Mostly private well and septic	City water and sewer are typical inside city-served areas. Acreage outside the city can use wells, septic systems or other service arrangements, so utilities should be confirmed by address.
Waterdiffers	Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.	The Saint Onge Sewer and Water Company serves about 78 connections around the townsite, with a clean compliance record. Parcels outside that system are on private wells. There is no rural water district covering this area.	City water inside the Spearfish limits. Acreage outside the limits runs on a private well or a rural water district.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
Sewerdiffers	City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.	The water company's name implies sewer service, but I have not been able to verify from the public record which parcels it reaches. Assume private septic outside the townsite and confirm the rest before closing.	City sewer inside the Spearfish limits, private septic on acreage outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
Short term rentalsdiffers	General zoning and state rules do the work in Belle Fourche. Confirm the lodging use category with city hall for the address before you count on rental income.	Unincorporated Lawrence County, so no municipal ordinance applies. Note that unincorporated Lawrence County declined to require a vacation home rental permit, so there is no county permit to obtain either.	The city studied rules in 2023 and 2024 and maintains an official short term rental page. Verify the current ordinance first.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Belle Fourche School District 9-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Spearfish 40-2 at the townsite, with Belle Fourche 09-1 to the north and Meade 46-1 to the east. Parcel specific.Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Full-service grocery options in town include Lueders Food Centers and Lynn's Dakotamart.	Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.	Full-service grocery options in town include Walmart, Safeway and Lueders Food Centers.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche. Hospital-level care is available in Spearfish.	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital and outpatient clinics are in town.
Recreationdiffers	The Geographic Center of the Nation monument, the Tri-State Museum, and the Black Hills Roundup rodeo every Fourth of July week since 1918.	Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.	D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, Black Hills State University events, and Terry Peak and Deadwood a short drive south.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	25 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	A ranching hub with a working main street, mature trees and a rodeo the whole town turns out for.	An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.	A university town with a walkable middle, growing fast enough that new construction has moved to the edges.
What you gaindiffers	A $300,000 median across 113 trailing twelve month sales, under Spearfish, Sturgis and Deadwood, with acreage out past town.	The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.	A downtown you can walk across, Black Hills State and Spearfish Canyon out the back door, on city water and sewer.
What you give updiffers	Rapid City is 55 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth about an hour, so this is a commute you pick on purpose.	A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.	The highest median sold price of the region's higher volume markets at $475,000 across 199 sales, and Rapid City is 53 minutes on the interstate with the Ellsworth gate 68.

Northern Hills and I-90Belle Fourche
Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Northern Hills and I-90Spearfish

Where it sits

Region

Belle Fourche: Northern Hills and I-90
St. Onge: Northern Hills and I-90
Spearfish: Northern Hills and I-90

Countydiffers

Belle Fourche: Butte County
St. Onge: Lawrence County
Spearfish: Lawrence County

Jurisdictiondiffers

City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.

Belle Fourche: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
St. Onge: Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
Spearfish: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.

Corridordiffers

Belle Fourche: US-85 and SD-34
St. Onge: SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
Spearfish: I-90

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Belle Fourche: About 55 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
St. Onge: About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Spearfish: 53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Belle Fourche: About an hourDriving time and distance, off peak.
St. Onge: About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Spearfish: 68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

Belle Fourche: Out on the acreage the question is who maintains the road in winter, and it is worth asking in writing.
St. Onge: Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
Spearfish: Chinook winds off the hills are a genuine feature of winter in this corridor.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Belle Fourche: $275k to $375kMedian sold $300,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 113 closed sales.
St. Onge: No figure published. St. Onge is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so a zero here would be a gap in the data rather than a fact about the market.
Spearfish: $400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.

Housing agediffers

Belle Fourche: Older homes in town, newer construction on the edges
St. Onge: An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
Spearfish: Older stock in the middle, edge subdivisions built 1996 to 2023

New constructiondiffers

Belle Fourche: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
St. Onge: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Spearfish: New construction remains active on the edges of town, including areas such as Sky Ridge and other newer developments.

Acreagediffers

Belle Fourche: Larger lots and acreage become more common around the edges of Belle Fourche and in nearby rural subdivisions.
St. Onge: Acreage parcels are common here
Spearfish: Acreage is available around Spearfish, primarily on surrounding Lawrence County ground rather than in the city core.

Typical lotdiffers

Belle Fourche: Generous in town, acreage out past it
St. Onge: Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
Spearfish: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.

Belle Fourche: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
St. Onge: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Spearfish: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Belle Fourche: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
St. Onge: Mostly private well and septic
Spearfish: City water and sewer are typical inside city-served areas. Acreage outside the city can use wells, septic systems or other service arrangements, so utilities should be confirmed by address.

Waterdiffers

Belle Fourche: Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
St. Onge: The Saint Onge Sewer and Water Company serves about 78 connections around the townsite, with a clean compliance record. Parcels outside that system are on private wells. There is no rural water district covering this area.
Spearfish: City water inside the Spearfish limits. Acreage outside the limits runs on a private well or a rural water district.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.

Sewerdiffers

Belle Fourche: City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
St. Onge: The water company's name implies sewer service, but I have not been able to verify from the public record which parcels it reaches. Assume private septic outside the townsite and confirm the rest before closing.
Spearfish: City sewer inside the Spearfish limits, private septic on acreage outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.

Short term rentalsdiffers

Belle Fourche: General zoning and state rules do the work in Belle Fourche. Confirm the lodging use category with city hall for the address before you count on rental income.
St. Onge: Unincorporated Lawrence County, so no municipal ordinance applies. Note that unincorporated Lawrence County declined to require a vacation home rental permit, so there is no county permit to obtain either.
Spearfish: The city studied rules in 2023 and 2024 and maintains an official short term rental page. Verify the current ordinance first.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Belle Fourche: Belle Fourche School District 9-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
St. Onge: Spearfish 40-2 at the townsite, with Belle Fourche 09-1 to the north and Meade 46-1 to the east. Parcel specific.Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Spearfish: Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Belle Fourche: Full-service grocery options in town include Lueders Food Centers and Lynn's Dakotamart.
St. Onge: Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Spearfish: Full-service grocery options in town include Walmart, Safeway and Lueders Food Centers.

Healthcarediffers

Belle Fourche: Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche. Hospital-level care is available in Spearfish.
St. Onge: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
Spearfish: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital and outpatient clinics are in town.

Recreationdiffers

Belle Fourche: The Geographic Center of the Nation monument, the Tri-State Museum, and the Black Hills Roundup rodeo every Fourth of July week since 1918.
St. Onge: Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
Spearfish: D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, Black Hills State University events, and Terry Peak and Deadwood a short drive south.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Belle Fourche: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
St. Onge: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Spearfish: 25 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Belle Fourche: A ranching hub with a working main street, mature trees and a rodeo the whole town turns out for.
St. Onge: An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
Spearfish: A university town with a walkable middle, growing fast enough that new construction has moved to the edges.

What you gaindiffers

Belle Fourche: A $300,000 median across 113 trailing twelve month sales, under Spearfish, Sturgis and Deadwood, with acreage out past town.
St. Onge: The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
Spearfish: A downtown you can walk across, Black Hills State and Spearfish Canyon out the back door, on city water and sewer.

What you give updiffers

Belle Fourche: Rapid City is 55 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth about an hour, so this is a commute you pick on purpose.
St. Onge: A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
Spearfish: The highest median sold price of the region's higher volume markets at $475,000 across 199 sales, and Rapid City is 53 minutes on the interstate with the Ellsworth gate 68.

Where this comes from

Commute figures are driving times off peak, from the community guide each card links to. Median sold prices come from the MLS, and each figure carries its own source, window and closing count, because Sturgis, Spearfish and the northern hills report through a different MLS than Rapid City. Under five closings there is no median, and the price row says so. Five to nine closings carries a small sample note. School districts follow the official boundary for the address, and the district office is the only place to confirm an assignment. Short term rental lines are summaries. Read the guide and the current ordinance before you count on rental income.

The filters use these definitions: under $400k is the MLS sold figure for the town, a median where one is published and otherwise the average sold, comes in under $400,000; close to ellsworth is 25 minutes or less to the Ellsworth main gate; close to rapid city is 20 minutes or less to downtown Rapid City; short commute is 15 minutes or less to either downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth gate; new construction available is the guide establishes active or limited new construction; acreage available is acreage is common or present in the guide; city water and sewer is city water and sewer across the community; smaller market is fewer than 100 closed single family sales in the trailing twelve months; more rural is acreage is common, or water and sewer are not municipal throughout; established housing is the guide classifies the housing stock as established, meaning largely pre 2000; newer housing is the guide classifies a meaningful share of the housing stock as 2000s or later.

Every row here is a townwide summary and a single parcel can read differently. Buyer due diligence should include verifying water and sewer service, school assignment, recorded covenants and HOA obligations, rental rules, legal access, insurance availability and which jurisdiction inspects and permits the work, for the exact address. Confirm with the city or county, the utility or district, the school district office, the title company and your insurer as applicable.

Last updated August 2026

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ComparingBelle Fourche, St. Onge, Spearfish

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