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
7 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.
Browse
The five facts that decide a shortlist
Selected, 4 of 4
Northern Hills and I-90
The Sturgis to Belle Fourche side of the Hills, with its own hospitals, schools and employers, so a job in Spearfish or Sturgis does not have to mean a Rapid City commute.
- Typical price
- $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.
- 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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide- 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- 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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide- 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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide- 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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
What changes
Between Buffalo Gap, Summerset, Keystone, Box Elder
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- Buffalo GapCentral and Southern HillsSummersetRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorKeystoneCentral and Southern HillsBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- Buffalo GapCuster CountySummersetMeade CountyKeystonePennington CountyBox ElderPennington County
- Jurisdiction
- Buffalo GapIncorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.SummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005KeystoneIncorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.Box ElderCity of Box Elder
- Corridor
- Buffalo GapSD 79SummersetI-90KeystoneUS 16ABox ElderI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- Buffalo GapAbout 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesSummerset15 min, 10.0 miKeystoneAbout 25 minutes northeastBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Buffalo GapAbout 55 milesSummerset30 min, 19.2 miKeystoneAbout 40 minutesBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi
Side by side
Buffalo Gap, Summerset, Keystone, Box Elder
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 HillsBuffalo Gap | Central and Southern HillsKeystone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||||
| Regiondiffers | Central and Southern Hills | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Central and Southern Hills | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Custer County | Meade County | Pennington County | Pennington County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits. | City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005 | Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides. | City of Box Elder |
| Corridordiffers | SD 79 | I-90 | US 16A | I-90 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak. | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | Highway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow. | The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road. | 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. | 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. |
| Housing and lots | ||||
| Typical pricediffers | One single family sale shows in the Black Hills MLS over 24 months, at $80,000. One closing is a sample of one rather than a price level, so read it that way. | Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own. | 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. | $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales. |
| Housing agediffers | An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant. | Mostly 2000s to present | An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins. | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement |
| New constructiondiffers | None underway | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Active, with subdivisions still building |
| Acreagediffers | Acreage parcels are common here | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. |
| Typical lotdiffers | A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them. | Wide lots on new streets | Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits. | Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. |
| Utilities and rules | ||||
| Utility patterndiffers | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | 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. | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | City water and sewer inside the limits |
| Waterdiffers | Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells. | Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley | 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. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Sewerdiffers | Not documented in the public record. There is no municipal wastewater project or discharge permit on file that I could find. Confirm with the town finance officer before assuming either town sewer or septic. | City of Summerset | 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. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific. | The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address. | 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. | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. |
| Schools | ||||
| School districtdiffers | Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment 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. | Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. |
| Daily errands | ||||
| Groceriesdiffers | Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen. | Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address. | Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. |
| Healthcarediffers | Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs, a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department and a rural health clinic, about 18 minutes away. | Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south. | No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital. | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. |
| Recreationdiffers | Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Mapped subdivisions | ||||
| Outlines on filediffers | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | 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. | 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. |
| The trade | ||||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland. | New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres. | An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors. | A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned. |
| What you gaindiffers | Eighteen minutes from the hospital in Hot Springs, with 600,000 acres of grassland out the door and one MLS closing in two years to price from. | 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. | 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. | The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline. |
| What you give updiffers | No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation. | 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 seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter. | 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. |
- Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap
- Central and Southern HillsKeystone
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Central and Southern Hills
- Summerset
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Keystone
- Central and Southern Hills
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Custer County
- Summerset
- Meade County
- Keystone
- Pennington County
- Box Elder
- Pennington County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Buffalo Gap
- Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
- Summerset
- City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
- Keystone
- Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- SD 79
- Summerset
- I-90
- Keystone
- US 16A
- Box Elder
- I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Keystone
- About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Summerset
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Keystone
- About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Highway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow.
- Summerset
- The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
- 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.
- 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.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Buffalo Gap
- One single family sale shows in the Black Hills MLS over 24 months, at $80,000. One closing is a sample of one rather than a price level, so read it that way.
- Summerset
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
- 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.
- Box Elder
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Housing agediffers
- Buffalo Gap
- An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant.
- Summerset
- Mostly 2000s to present
- Keystone
- An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins.
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- None underway
- Summerset
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Keystone
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Summerset
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Keystone
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them.
- Summerset
- Wide lots on new streets
- Keystone
- Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits.
- Box Elder
- Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Buffalo Gap
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Summerset
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
- Keystone
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- 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.
- Keystone
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells.
- Summerset
- Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
- 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.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Not documented in the public record. There is no municipal wastewater project or discharge permit on file that I could find. Confirm with the town finance officer before assuming either town sewer or septic.
- Summerset
- City of Summerset
- 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.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific.
- Summerset
- The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
- 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.
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment 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.
- Keystone
- Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Box Elder
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen.
- Summerset
- Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
- Keystone
- Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast.
- Box Elder
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Healthcarediffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs, a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department and a rural health clinic, about 18 minutes away.
- Summerset
- Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
- Keystone
- No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital.
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers
- Buffalo Gap
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Summerset
- 2 mapped outlines, 2 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
- Keystone
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Box Elder
- 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland.
- Summerset
- New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.
- Keystone
- An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors.
- Box Elder
- A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
What you gaindiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- Eighteen minutes from the hospital in Hot Springs, with 600,000 acres of grassland out the door and one MLS closing in two years to price from.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
What you give updiffers
- Buffalo Gap
- No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation.
- 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.
- Keystone
- A seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter.
- 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.
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
Want to talk through the tradeoffs?
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.
Considering a home here?
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.