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.

Narrow it

13 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.

Browse

The five facts that decide a shortlist

Find a community

Selected, 4 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.

Box Elder
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.
Selected Guide
Piedmont
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Rapid Valley
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Summerset
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

Belle Fourche
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Newell
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Spearfish
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Sturgis
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

Edgemont
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.
Selected Guide
Hermosa
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Keystone
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.
Selected Guide

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.

New Underwood
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

What changes

Between Box Elder, Black Hawk, Edgemont, Keystone

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

Region: Box ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack HawkRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorEdgemontCentral and Southern HillsKeystoneCentral and Southern Hills
County: Box ElderPennington CountyBlack HawkMeade CountyEdgemontFall River CountyKeystonePennington County
Jurisdiction: Box ElderCity of Box ElderBlack HawkUnincorporated Meade CountyEdgemontIncorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.KeystoneIncorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.
Corridor: Box ElderI-90Black HawkI-90EdgemontUS 18 and SD 471KeystoneUS 16A
To downtown Rapid City: Box Elder19 min, 10.9 miBlack HawkAbout 12 to 15 minutesEdgemontAbout 100 miles northeastKeystoneAbout 25 minutes northeast
To Ellsworth AFB: Box Elder9 min, 2.3 miBlack HawkAbout 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northEdgemontAbout 110 milesKeystoneAbout 40 minutes

Side by side

Box Elder, Black Hawk, Edgemont, Keystone

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	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk	Central and Southern HillsEdgemont	Central and Southern HillsKeystone
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Central and Southern Hills	Central and Southern Hills
Countydiffers	Pennington County	Meade County	Fall River County	Pennington County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	City of Box Elder	Unincorporated Meade County	Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.	Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.
Corridordiffers	I-90	I-90	US 18 and SD 471	US 16A
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.	The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.	Cold semi-arid country with a recorded low of 40 below. US 18 is the lifeline and it is a long way to anywhere in a storm.	Black Hills elevation on canyon roads, and a town that empties out for the season. Iron Mountain Road and the scenic routes are not winter commuting roads.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.	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.	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.	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.
Housing agediffers	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement	Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor	An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.	An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins.
New constructiondiffers	Active, with subdivisions still building	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	None underway	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.	Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.	Acreage parcels are common here	Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Typical lotdiffers	Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats	Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal	Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.	Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits.
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.	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants	Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers	City of Box Elder municipal	Black Hawk Water User District	City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.	Town of Keystone municipal water inside the limits, drawn from town wells, with no violations on its current record. Parcels outside the town limits are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers	City of Box Elder municipal	Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic	City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.	Confirm with the town before you rely on it. The town operates public works, but I have not been able to verify from the public record whether it runs a collection system or which parcels it reaches. Outside the limits, expect private septic.
Short term rentalsdiffers	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.	No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.	Edgemont is not a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is work crews, hunting season and Rally traffic passing through, not visitors staying to see something.	A 2 percent municipal lodging tax applies to transient stays. Whether a separate short term rental ordinance exists is not clear from the public record, so confirm with the town in writing.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.	Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.	Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.	Monument Health Rapid City Hospital	No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.	No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital.
Recreationdiffers	The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.	Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.	The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.	Mount Rushmore is past the town boundary, the 1880 Train runs from the Winter Street depot, and Custer State Park and the Norbeck Scenic Byway are close.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.	Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.	A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.	An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors.
What you gaindiffers	The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.	Bigger lots, room for a shop, and about 12 to 15 minutes to downtown Rapid City, without a city hall setting the local rules.	More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.	Nightly rental demand runs about as high as anywhere in the Black Hills, if the rules and the covenants check out for the specific property.
What you give updiffers	Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.	There is no city hall, so the subdivision covenant decides what you can build or rent, and water, sewer and road maintenance all change parcel to parcel.	A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.	A seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter.

Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk
Central and Southern HillsEdgemont
Central and Southern HillsKeystone

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Black Hawk: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Edgemont: Central and Southern Hills
Keystone: Central and Southern Hills

Countydiffers

Box Elder: Pennington County
Black Hawk: Meade County
Edgemont: Fall River County
Keystone: Pennington County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

Box Elder: City of Box Elder
Black Hawk: Unincorporated Meade County
Edgemont: Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
Keystone: Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.

Corridordiffers

Box Elder: I-90
Black Hawk: I-90
Edgemont: US 18 and SD 471
Keystone: US 16A

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Black Hawk: About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont: About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Keystone: About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Black Hawk: About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont: About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Keystone: About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

Box Elder: I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.
Black Hawk: The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.
Edgemont: Cold semi-arid country with a recorded low of 40 below. US 18 is the lifeline and it is a long way to anywhere in a storm.
Keystone: Black Hills elevation on canyon roads, and a town that empties out for the season. Iron Mountain Road and the scenic routes are not winter commuting roads.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Black Hawk: 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.
Edgemont: 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.
Keystone: 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.

Housing agediffers

Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Black Hawk: Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor
Edgemont: An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.
Keystone: An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins.

New constructiondiffers

Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building
Black Hawk: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Edgemont: None underway
Keystone: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreagediffers

Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Black Hawk: Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.
Edgemont: Acreage parcels are common here
Keystone: Some acreage, mostly platted town lots

Typical lotdiffers

Box Elder: Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Black Hawk: Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal
Edgemont: Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.
Keystone: Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

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

Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Black Hawk: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.
Edgemont: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Keystone: Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits
Black Hawk: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Edgemont: City water and sewer inside the limits
Keystone: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it

Waterdiffers

Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Water User District
Edgemont: City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Keystone: Town of Keystone municipal water inside the limits, drawn from town wells, with no violations on its current record. Parcels outside the town limits are on private wells.

Sewerdiffers

Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic
Edgemont: City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
Keystone: Confirm with the town before you rely on it. The town operates public works, but I have not been able to verify from the public record whether it runs a collection system or which parcels it reaches. Outside the limits, expect private septic.

Short term rentalsdiffers

Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Black Hawk: No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.
Edgemont: Edgemont is not a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is work crews, hunting season and Rally traffic passing through, not visitors staying to see something.
Keystone: A 2 percent municipal lodging tax applies to transient stays. Whether a separate short term rental ordinance exists is not clear from the public record, so confirm with the town in writing.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Box Elder: Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Black Hawk: Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Edgemont: Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Keystone: Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Black Hawk: No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.
Edgemont: Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.
Keystone: Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast.

Healthcarediffers

Box Elder: Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Black Hawk: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Edgemont: No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.
Keystone: No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital.

Recreationdiffers

Box Elder: The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.
Black Hawk: Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.
Edgemont: The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.
Keystone: Mount Rushmore is past the town boundary, the 1880 Train runs from the Winter Street depot, and Custer State Park and the Norbeck Scenic Byway are close.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Box Elder: 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Black Hawk: 12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Edgemont: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Keystone: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Box Elder: A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
Black Hawk: Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.
Edgemont: A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.
Keystone: An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors.

What you gaindiffers

Box Elder: The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.
Black Hawk: Bigger lots, room for a shop, and about 12 to 15 minutes to downtown Rapid City, without a city hall setting the local rules.
Edgemont: More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.
Keystone: Nightly rental demand runs about as high as anywhere in the Black Hills, if the rules and the covenants check out for the specific property.

What you give updiffers

Box Elder: Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.
Black Hawk: There is no city hall, so the subdivision covenant decides what you can build or rent, and water, sewer and road maintenance all change parcel to parcel.
Edgemont: A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.
Keystone: A seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter.

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

Contact

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Two towns can look identical in a table and feel nothing alike on a Tuesday night in February. Call or text and tell me which rows above are the ones you cannot live with, and we can work the list down from there.

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