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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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.

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.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between Colonial Pine Hills, Black Hawk, Box Elder

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

County: Colonial Pine HillsPennington CountyBlack HawkMeade CountyBox ElderPennington County
Jurisdiction: Colonial Pine HillsUnincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.Black HawkUnincorporated Meade CountyBox ElderCity of Box Elder
Corridor: Colonial Pine HillsUS 16 and Sheridan Lake RoadBlack HawkI-90Box ElderI-90
To downtown Rapid City: Colonial Pine HillsRoughly 6 miles northeastBlack HawkAbout 12 to 15 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
To Ellsworth AFB: Colonial Pine HillsAbout 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityBlack HawkAbout 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi
Winter driving: Colonial Pine HillsYou are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.Black HawkThe road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.Box ElderI-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.

Side by side

Colonial Pine Hills, Black Hawk, 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.

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 corridorColonial Pine Hills	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Where it sits
Region	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Pennington County	Meade County	Pennington County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.	Unincorporated Meade County	City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers	US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road	I-90	I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.	The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.	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	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.	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.	$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.	Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers	Acreage parcels are common here	Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers	Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.	Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal	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.	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	Mostly private well and septic	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it	City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers	Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.	Black Hawk Water User District	City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers	Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.	Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic	City of Box Elder municipal
Short term rentalsdiffers	This is unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.	No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment 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.	Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.	No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Healthcarediffers	No clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.	Monument Health Rapid City Hospital	Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers	Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.	Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.	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.	12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	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	Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.	Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
What you gaindiffers	Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.	Bigger lots, room for a shop, and about 12 to 15 minutes to downtown Rapid City, without a city hall setting the local rules.	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	Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.	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.	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.

Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine Hills
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder

Where it sits

Region

Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Black Hawk: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Pennington County
Black Hawk: Meade County
Box Elder: Pennington County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

Colonial Pine Hills: Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.
Black Hawk: Unincorporated Meade County
Box Elder: City of Box Elder

Corridordiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road
Black Hawk: I-90
Box Elder: I-90

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Black Hawk: About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.
Black Hawk: About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.
Black Hawk: The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.
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

Colonial Pine Hills: 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.
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.
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

Colonial Pine Hills: Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.
Black Hawk: Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor
Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement

New constructiondiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Black Hawk: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building

Acreagediffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Acreage parcels are common here
Black Hawk: Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.

Typical lotdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.
Black Hawk: Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal
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.

Colonial Pine Hills: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Black Hawk: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Mostly private well and septic
Black Hawk: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits

Waterdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Water User District
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal

Sewerdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal

Short term rentalsdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: This is unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.
Black Hawk: No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.
Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment 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.
Box Elder: Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.
Black Hawk: No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.
Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.

Healthcarediffers

Colonial Pine Hills: No clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.
Black Hawk: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Box Elder: Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.

Recreationdiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.
Black Hawk: Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.
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

Colonial Pine Hills: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Black Hawk: 12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
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

Colonial Pine Hills: Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.
Black Hawk: Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.
Box Elder: A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.

What you gaindiffers

Colonial Pine Hills: Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.
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.
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

Colonial Pine Hills: Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.
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.
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

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ComparingColonial Pine Hills, Black Hawk, Box Elder

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