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
8 of 25 communities
Under $400kClose to EllsworthClose to Rapid CityShort commuteNew construction availableAcreage availableCity water and sewerSmaller marketMore ruralEstablished housingNewer housingClear filtersClear 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
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
- About $683,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 71 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $682,615. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 71 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- Mostly private well and septic
- School district
- Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment 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
- Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 50 to 60 minutesDriving 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
- 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.
What changes
Between Box Elder, Summerset, Edgemont
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 corridorSummersetRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorEdgemontCentral and Southern Hills
- County
- Box ElderPennington CountySummersetMeade CountyEdgemontFall River County
- Jurisdiction
- Box ElderCity of Box ElderSummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005EdgemontIncorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
- Corridor
- Box ElderI-90SummersetI-90EdgemontUS 18 and SD 471
- To downtown Rapid City
- Box Elder19 min, 10.9 miSummerset15 min, 10.0 miEdgemontAbout 100 miles northeast
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Box Elder9 min, 2.3 miSummerset30 min, 19.2 miEdgemontAbout 110 miles
Side by side
Box Elder, Summerset, Edgemont
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 | Central and Southern HillsEdgemont | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | |||
| Regiondiffers | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Central and Southern Hills |
| Countydiffers | Pennington County | Meade County | Fall River County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | City of Box Elder | City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005 | Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits. |
| Corridordiffers | I-90 | I-90 | US 18 and SD 471 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 110 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. | The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road. | 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. |
| 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. | Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own. | 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. |
| Housing agediffers | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement | Mostly 2000s to present | An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count. |
| New constructiondiffers | Active, with subdivisions still building | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | None underway |
| Acreagediffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats | Wide lots on new streets | Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside 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. | Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| Utilities and rules | |||
| Utility patterndiffers | City water and sewer inside the limits | 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. | City water and sewer inside the limits |
| Waterdiffers | City of Box Elder municipal | Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley | City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells. |
| Sewerdiffers | City of Box Elder municipal | City of Summerset | City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. | The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address. | 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. |
| Schools | |||
| School districtdiffers | Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the 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. | Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment 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. | Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address. | Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more. |
| Healthcarediffers | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. | Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south. | No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department. |
| 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. | Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden. | The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction. |
| 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. | 2 mapped outlines, 2 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. | New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres. | A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains. |
| 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. | Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites. | More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities. |
| 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. | You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address. | A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy. |
- Central and Southern HillsEdgemont
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Summerset
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Edgemont
- Central and Southern Hills
Countydiffers
- Box Elder
- Pennington County
- Summerset
- Meade County
- Edgemont
- Fall River County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
- Summerset
- City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
- Edgemont
- Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
Corridordiffers
- Box Elder
- I-90
- Summerset
- I-90
- Edgemont
- US 18 and SD 471
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving 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.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Edgemont
- About 110 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.
- Summerset
- The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
- 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.
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.
- Summerset
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
- 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.
Housing agediffers
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
- Summerset
- Mostly 2000s to present
- Edgemont
- An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.
New constructiondiffers
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
- Summerset
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Edgemont
- None underway
Acreagediffers
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Summerset
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Edgemont
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Box Elder
- Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
- Summerset
- Wide lots on new streets
- Edgemont
- Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside 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.
- Summerset
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
- Edgemont
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- Summerset
- 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.
- Edgemont
- City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
- Summerset
- Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
- Edgemont
- City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
- Summerset
- City of Summerset
- Edgemont
- City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
- Summerset
- The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
- 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.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Box Elder
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Summerset
- 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.
- Edgemont
- Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment 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.
- Summerset
- Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
- Edgemont
- Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.
Healthcarediffers
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
- Summerset
- Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
- 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.
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.
- Summerset
- Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden.
- Edgemont
- The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.
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.
- Summerset
- 2 mapped outlines, 2 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.
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.
- Summerset
- New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.
- Edgemont
- A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.
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.
- Summerset
- Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites.
- Edgemont
- More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.
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.
- Summerset
- You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address.
- Edgemont
- A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.
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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