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.
6 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
- Unincorporated, so closings report under Rapid City and Meade County rather than a Black Hawk median. Lot size and outbuildings move the price more than the street does.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 6 miles northwestDistance 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
- Split between Douglas 51-1 and Rapid City Area 51-4. Address specific.Assignment 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.
- Typical price
- About $350,000 average sold, 274 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $349,971. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 274 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 22 min, 10.4 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 11 min, 5.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Utility service varies by address. Rapid Valley Sanitary District serves portions of the area, while properties outside district service may use private wells and septic systems.
- School district
- Mostly Rapid City Area School District 51-4, with portions in Douglas 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley.
- School district
- Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Between Blucksberg Mountain, St. Onge
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- Blucksberg MountainRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorSt. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90
- County
- Blucksberg MountainMeade CountySt. OngeLawrence County
- Jurisdiction
- Blucksberg MountainUnincorporated Meade CountySt. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
- Corridor
- Blucksberg MountainI-90St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
- To downtown Rapid City
- Blucksberg MountainNot measured for this page.St. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutes
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Blucksberg MountainNot measured for this page.St. OngeAbout 45 miles
Blucksberg Mountain, St. Onge
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.
| Attribute | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlucksberg Mountain | Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Regiondiffers | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Northern Hills and I-90 |
| Countydiffers | Meade County | Lawrence County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Unincorporated Meade County | Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them. |
| Corridordiffers | I-90 | SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself. | About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself. | About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | This is hill ground off the interstate. Ask who plows the interior road serving the parcel, because some are not county maintained. | Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation. |
| Housing and lots | ||
| Typical pricediffers | No verified closed sale set is available for Blucksberg Mountain, so no price level is printed here. The five recorded plats differ enough that one figure would not describe any of them. | 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. |
| Housing agediffers | Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges. | An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era. |
| New constructiondiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county. | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreage | Acreage parcels are common here | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them. |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| Utilities and rules | ||
| Utility patterndiffers | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | Mostly private well and septic |
| Waterdiffers | Varies by plat. Blucksberg Mountain #1 is a regulated community water system. Confirm provider and rate by parcel. | 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. |
| Sewerdiffers | Septic common in current listings. Confirm the system by address. | 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. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | Short term rental rules here come from Meade County and from the covenants on the recorded plat, not from a city ordinance. | 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. |
| Schools | ||
| School districtdiffers | Meade School District 46-1Assignment 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. |
| Daily errands | ||
| Groceriesdiffers | Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address. | Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest. |
| Healthcarediffers | Not recorded in this guide. Confirm the nearest clinic and hospital by address. | Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away. |
| Recreationdiffers | Not recorded in this guide. Read the guide for what residents use here. | Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away. |
| The trade | ||
| Housing and patterndiffers | Five separate recorded plats of residential acreage on the hill between Rapid City and Sturgis, unincorporated. | An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor. |
| What you gaindiffers | Read the guide | The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns. |
| What you give updiffers | Utilities, roads and covenants change from one recorded plat to the next, so nothing you learn about one street transfers to the next one over. | A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town. |
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlucksberg Mountain
- Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- St. Onge
- Northern Hills and I-90
Countydiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Meade County
- St. Onge
- Lawrence County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Blucksberg Mountain
- Unincorporated Meade County
- St. Onge
- Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
Corridordiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- I-90
- St. Onge
- SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself.
- St. Onge
- About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself.
- St. Onge
- About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- This is hill ground off the interstate. Ask who plows the interior road serving the parcel, because some are not county maintained.
- St. Onge
- Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- No verified closed sale set is available for Blucksberg Mountain, so no price level is printed here. The five recorded plats differ enough that one figure would not describe any of them.
- 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.
Housing agediffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
New constructiondiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
- St. Onge
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreage
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Acreage parcels are common here
- St. Onge
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
- St. Onge
- Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Blucksberg Mountain
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
- St. Onge
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- St. Onge
- Mostly private well and septic
Waterdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Varies by plat. Blucksberg Mountain #1 is a regulated community water system. Confirm provider and rate by parcel.
- 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.
Sewerdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Septic common in current listings. Confirm the system by address.
- 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.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Short term rental rules here come from Meade County and from the covenants on the recorded plat, not from a city ordinance.
- 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.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Meade School District 46-1Assignment 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
- St. Onge
- Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Healthcarediffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not recorded in this guide. Confirm the nearest clinic and hospital by address.
- St. Onge
- Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
Recreationdiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Not recorded in this guide. Read the guide for what residents use here.
- St. Onge
- Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Five separate recorded plats of residential acreage on the hill between Rapid City and Sturgis, unincorporated.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
What you gaindiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Read the guide
- St. Onge
- The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
What you give updiffers
- Blucksberg Mountain
- Utilities, roads and covenants change from one recorded plat to the next, so nothing you learn about one street transfers to the next one over.
- St. Onge
- A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
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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Send the address and we can talk it through. The details that change from one property to the next are jurisdiction, water and sewer, the school the district assigns, covenants, road maintenance and the rest of what never shows up on a listing.