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.
3 of 25 communities
Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.
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
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide- Typical price
- $300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Rapid City Area Schools 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide- 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.
Between Custer, St. Onge, Wall, Rapid Valley
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- CusterCentral and Southern HillsSt. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90WallPrairie and BadlandsRapid ValleyRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- CusterCuster CountySt. OngeLawrence CountyWallPennington CountyRapid ValleyPennington County
- Jurisdiction
- CusterNot 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.WallIncorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.Rapid ValleyUnincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County is the governing body, and Rapid City's subdivision rules still apply within three miles of the city limits.
- Corridor
- CusterUS-16St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at WhitewoodWallI-90 exits 109 and 110Rapid ValleySD 44 and Elk Vale Road
- To downtown Rapid City
- CusterAbout 50 to 60 minutesSt. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesWallAbout 50 miles west on I-90Rapid Valley11 min, 5.2 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- CusterAbout an hour and ten minutesSt. OngeAbout 45 milesWallAbout 43 miles westRapid Valley22 min, 10.4 mi
Custer, St. Onge, Wall, Rapid Valley
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 | Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge | Prairie and BadlandsWall | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid Valley | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||||
| Regiondiffers | Central and Southern Hills | Northern Hills and I-90 | Prairie and Badlands | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Custer County | Lawrence County | Pennington County | Pennington County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | 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. | Incorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits. | Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County is the governing body, and Rapid City's subdivision rules still apply within three miles of the city limits. |
| Corridordiffers | US-16 | SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood | I-90 exits 109 and 110 | SD 44 and Elk Vale Road |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 50 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 11 min, 5.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 22 min, 10.4 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours. | Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation. | I-90 is the lifeline and it is state maintained, but this is open prairie and I-90 does close in a ground blizzard. Plan for that a few times a winter. | Highway 44 and Elk Vale are state and county priorities. Interior subdivision streets are county maintained and clear after the arterials do. |
| Housing and lots | ||||
| Typical pricediffers | Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Housing agediffers | Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges. | An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era. | Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property. | Mostly late twentieth century through current, with active building on the edges. |
| New constructiondiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county. | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Active, with subdivisions still building |
| Acreagediffers | Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties. | Acreage parcels are common here | Acreage parcels are common here | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots |
| Typical lotdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them. | Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale. | Suburban lots through the core, larger parcels toward Reservoir and Radar Hill Roads. |
| 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. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others |
| Utilities and rules | ||||
| Utility patterndiffers | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | Mostly private well and septic | City water and sewer inside the limits | 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. |
| Waterdiffers | Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer. | 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. | Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells. | Rapid Valley Sanitary District, treating Rapid Creek water at its own plant, with the ability to buy treated water from Rapid City at peak demand. Parcels outside the district are on private wells. |
| Sewerdiffers | City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer. | 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. | Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels. | Rapid Valley Sanitary District owns and maintains the collection system, and Rapid City treats the wastewater under an intergovernmental agreement. Parcels outside the district are on private septic. |
| Fire protectiondiffersThe responding department and the distance to it both affect an insurance quote. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address. | Rapid Valley Volunteer Fire Department, which also provides EMS and wildland response. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line. | 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. | This is genuine seasonal tourism territory at a national park gate. Confirm any town requirement, and note that Wall Drug houses many of its own seasonal workers, which removes demand from the local rental market. | Unincorporated Pennington County has no city short-term rental ordinance to comply with, which is not the same as no rules. County zoning and any subdivision covenants still govern, and state licensing applies. |
| Schools | ||||
| School districtdiffers | Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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. | Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the 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. |
| Daily errands | ||||
| Groceriesdiffers | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. | Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest. | The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West. | Retail and everyday shopping run along Highway 44 on the southern edge, with additional grocery options a few minutes west in Rapid City. |
| Healthcarediffers | Monument Health Custer Hospital and clinic are in town. | Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away. | The Monument Health Wall Clinic on 7th Avenue is in town. The nearest hospital is Monument Health Rapid City, roughly 50 miles west. | Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic provides primary and urgent care in the community. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. |
| Recreationdiffers | Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup. | Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away. | Badlands National Park about seven miles south, Buffalo Gap National Grassland all around, the National Grasslands Visitor Center on Main Street and the Wall rodeo arena. | Rapid Creek, the county parks east of town, and everything the Hills offer half an hour west. |
| The trade | ||||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits. | An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor. | A complete small prairie town with its own school, clinic and grocery, at the northern gate to the Badlands. | The region's largest unincorporated community: suburban streets, high ownership, county government. |
| What you gaindiffers | You are inside the Hills with real acreage, Custer State Park at the door, and a new hospital in a town of about 1,900. | The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns. | Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices. | Rapid City schools and a five mile commute without Rapid City property taxes, plus a walk-in clinic in the neighborhood. |
| What you give updiffers | Rapid City is 50 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth over an hour, grandfathered rental permits expire when a property sells, and outside the city limits there are no county building codes. | A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town. | Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season. | No city services, a sanitary district bill instead of a city utility bill, and an annexation line that only the parcel record can settle. |
- Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
- Prairie and BadlandsWall
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid Valley
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Custer
- Central and Southern Hills
- St. Onge
- Northern Hills and I-90
- Wall
- Prairie and Badlands
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Custer
- Custer County
- St. Onge
- Lawrence County
- Wall
- Pennington County
- Rapid Valley
- Pennington County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Custer
- 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.
- Wall
- Incorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.
- Rapid Valley
- Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County is the governing body, and Rapid City's subdivision rules still apply within three miles of the city limits.
Corridordiffers
- Custer
- US-16
- St. Onge
- SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
- Wall
- I-90 exits 109 and 110
- Rapid Valley
- SD 44 and Elk Vale Road
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Custer
- About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- St. Onge
- About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Wall
- About 50 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Rapid Valley
- 11 min, 5.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Custer
- About an hour and ten minutesDriving 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.
- Wall
- About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Rapid Valley
- 22 min, 10.4 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Custer
- Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.
- St. Onge
- Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
- Wall
- I-90 is the lifeline and it is state maintained, but this is open prairie and I-90 does close in a ground blizzard. Plan for that a few times a winter.
- Rapid Valley
- Highway 44 and Elk Vale are state and county priorities. Interior subdivision streets are county maintained and clear after the arterials do.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Custer
- Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
- 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.
- Wall
- 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.
- Rapid Valley
- 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.
Housing agediffers
- Custer
- Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
- Wall
- Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property.
- Rapid Valley
- Mostly late twentieth century through current, with active building on the edges.
New constructiondiffers
- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
- St. Onge
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Wall
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Rapid Valley
- Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers
- Custer
- Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.
- St. Onge
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Wall
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Rapid Valley
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Typical lotdiffers
- Custer
- 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.
- Wall
- Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale.
- Rapid Valley
- Suburban lots through the core, larger parcels toward Reservoir and Radar Hill Roads.
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- St. Onge
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Wall
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Rapid Valley
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Custer
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- St. Onge
- Mostly private well and septic
- Wall
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- Rapid Valley
- 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.
Waterdiffers
- Custer
- Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
- 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.
- Wall
- Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells.
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid Valley Sanitary District, treating Rapid Creek water at its own plant, with the ability to buy treated water from Rapid City at peak demand. Parcels outside the district are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers
- Custer
- City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
- 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.
- Wall
- Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid Valley Sanitary District owns and maintains the collection system, and Rapid City treats the wastewater under an intergovernmental agreement. Parcels outside the district are on private septic.
Fire protectiondiffers
The responding department and the distance to it both affect an insurance quote.- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address.
- St. Onge
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address.
- Wall
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Confirm the responding department by address.
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid Valley Volunteer Fire Department, which also provides EMS and wildland response.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Custer
- Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.
- 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.
- Wall
- This is genuine seasonal tourism territory at a national park gate. Confirm any town requirement, and note that Wall Drug houses many of its own seasonal workers, which removes demand from the local rental market.
- Rapid Valley
- Unincorporated Pennington County has no city short-term rental ordinance to comply with, which is not the same as no rules. County zoning and any subdivision covenants still govern, and state licensing applies.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Custer
- Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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.
- Wall
- Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Rapid Valley
- 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Custer
- 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.
- Wall
- The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West.
- Rapid Valley
- Retail and everyday shopping run along Highway 44 on the southern edge, with additional grocery options a few minutes west in Rapid City.
Healthcarediffers
- Custer
- Monument Health Custer 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.
- Wall
- The Monument Health Wall Clinic on 7th Avenue is in town. The nearest hospital is Monument Health Rapid City, roughly 50 miles west.
- Rapid Valley
- Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic provides primary and urgent care in the community. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers
- Custer
- Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.
- St. Onge
- Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
- Wall
- Badlands National Park about seven miles south, Buffalo Gap National Grassland all around, the National Grasslands Visitor Center on Main Street and the Wall rodeo arena.
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid Creek, the county parks east of town, and everything the Hills offer half an hour west.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Custer
- A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
- Wall
- A complete small prairie town with its own school, clinic and grocery, at the northern gate to the Badlands.
- Rapid Valley
- The region's largest unincorporated community: suburban streets, high ownership, county government.
What you gaindiffers
- Custer
- You are inside the Hills with real acreage, Custer State Park at the door, and a new hospital in a town of about 1,900.
- St. Onge
- The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
- Wall
- Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices.
- Rapid Valley
- Rapid City schools and a five mile commute without Rapid City property taxes, plus a walk-in clinic in the neighborhood.
What you give updiffers
- Custer
- Rapid City is 50 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth over an hour, grandfathered rental permits expire when a property sells, and outside the city limits there are no county building codes.
- St. Onge
- A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
- Wall
- Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season.
- Rapid Valley
- No city services, a sanitary district bill instead of a city utility bill, and an annexation line that only the parcel record can settle.
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.
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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.
