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.
15 of 25 communities
Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.
The five facts that decide a shortlist
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.
- Typical price
- $375k to $575kMedian sold $425,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 127 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 36 min from the Prairie Haven side, closer to 51 from the plats highest up the foothillsDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 26 minutes from the Prairie Haven side, longer from the upper platsDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- 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.
Northern Hills and I-90
The Sturgis to Belle Fourche side of the Hills, with its own hospitals, schools and employers, so a job in Spearfish or Sturgis does not have to mean a Rapid City commute.
- Typical price
- $275k to $375kMedian sold $300,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 113 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About an hourDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 55 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Belle Fourche School District 9-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- $320k to $500kMedian sold $385,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 117 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 55 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 50 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- School district
- Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- No figure published. Newell is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so any count from that feed is a floor rather than this town's price level.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- $400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- 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.
- School district
- Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- 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.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mostly private well and septic
- School 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.
- Typical price
- $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- School district
- Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Central and Southern Hills
In the timber and on the far southern edge, where lots get larger, well and septic get common, and the drive to a full service hospital becomes part of the decision.
- Typical price
- One single family sale shows in the Black Hills MLS over 24 months, at $80,000. One closing is a sample of one rather than a price level, so read it that way.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- About $155,000 average sold, 13 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $155,285. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- About $650,000 average sold, 28 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $648,229. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 28 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- Median sold $315,150Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 24 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About an hour and fifteen minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- School district
- Hot Springs School District 23-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- About $618,000 average sold, but only 9 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $618,449. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 9 closed sales, small sample.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Prairie and Badlands
East of the Hills on the open prairie, where lots run larger, water is often a private well, services are thinner and the wind and the drive are the tradeoffs.
- Typical price
- About $320,000 average sold, 20 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $319,585. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 20 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 11 miles, exit 78 to the main gate at exit 67ADistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 18 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- About $270,000 average sold, 19 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $270,435. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 19 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 50 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
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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