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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2 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.

Green Valley
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.
Compare 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.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between Box Elder, Sturgis, St. Onge

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 corridorSturgisNorthern Hills and I-90St. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90
County: Box ElderPennington CountySturgisMeade CountySt. OngeLawrence County
Jurisdiction: Box ElderCity of Box ElderSturgisNot 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.
Corridor: Box ElderI-90SturgisI-90St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
To downtown Rapid City: Box Elder19 min, 10.9 miSturgis33 min, 28.9 miSt. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutes
To Ellsworth AFB: Box Elder9 min, 2.3 miSturgis48 min, 38.2 miSt. OngeAbout 45 miles

Side by side

Box Elder, Sturgis, 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.

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	Northern Hills and I-90Sturgis	Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Northern Hills and I-90	Northern Hills and I-90
Countydiffers	Pennington County	Meade County	Lawrence County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	City of Box Elder	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.
Corridordiffers	I-90	I-90	SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
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.	I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later.	Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
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.	$300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 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.
Housing agediffers	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement	Older near the core, newer on the edges	An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
New constructiondiffers	Active, with subdivisions still building	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.	Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors.	Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers	Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats	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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	City water and sewer inside the limits	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.	Mostly private well and septic
Waterdiffers	City of Box Elder municipal	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.	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	City of Box Elder municipal	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the 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	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.	No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally.	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	Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	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	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.	Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town.	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
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.	Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close.	Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
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.	9 mapped outlines, 8 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.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.	A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon.	An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
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.	A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City.	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	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.	Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town.	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 corridorBox Elder
Northern Hills and I-90Sturgis
Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Sturgis: Northern Hills and I-90
St. Onge: Northern Hills and I-90

Countydiffers

Box Elder: Pennington County
Sturgis: Meade County
St. Onge: Lawrence County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

Box Elder: City of Box Elder
Sturgis: 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.

Corridordiffers

Box Elder: I-90
Sturgis: I-90
St. Onge: SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Sturgis: 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
St. Onge: About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Sturgis: 48 min, 38.2 miDriving 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.

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.
Sturgis: I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later.
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

Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Sturgis: $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 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.

Housing agediffers

Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Sturgis: Older near the core, newer on the edges
St. Onge: An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.

New constructiondiffers

Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building
Sturgis: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
St. Onge: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreagediffers

Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Sturgis: Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors.
St. Onge: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

Box Elder: Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Sturgis: 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.

Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
St. Onge: Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
St. Onge: Mostly private well and septic

Waterdiffers

Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
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

Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the 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

Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Sturgis: No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally.
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

Box Elder: Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Sturgis: 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

Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Sturgis: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
St. Onge: Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.

Healthcarediffers

Box Elder: Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Sturgis: Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town.
St. Onge: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.

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.
Sturgis: Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close.
St. Onge: Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.

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.
Sturgis: 9 mapped outlines, 8 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
St. Onge: 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.
Sturgis: A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon.
St. Onge: An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.

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.
Sturgis: A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City.
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

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.
Sturgis: Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town.
St. Onge: A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.

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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ComparingBox Elder, Sturgis, St. Onge

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