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

25 of 25 communities

Under $400k Close to Ellsworth Close to Rapid City Short commute New construction available Acreage available City water and sewer Smaller market More rural Established housing Newer housing Clear 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

Find a community

Selected, 4 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.

Black Hawk
Typical price
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.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Selected Guide
Blucksberg Mountain
Typical price
No verified closed sale set is available for Blucksberg Mountain, so no price level is printed here. The five recorded plats differ enough that one figure would not describe any of them.
To Ellsworth AFB
Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself.
To downtown Rapid City
Not measured for this page.Drive time is not measured for this community. Time it from the parcel itself.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
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
Box Elder
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
Colonial Pine Hills
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Green Valley
Typical price
No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Split between Douglas 51-1 and Rapid City Area 51-4. Address specific.Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Piedmont
Typical price
$375k to $575kMedian sold $425,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 127 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
36 min from the Prairie Haven side, closer to 51 from the plats highest up the foothillsDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 26 minutes from the Prairie Haven side, longer from the upper platsDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
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
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.
Selected Guide
Rapid Valley
Typical price
About $350,000 average sold, 274 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $349,971. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 274 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
22 min, 10.4 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
11 min, 5.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Utility service varies by address. Rapid Valley Sanitary District serves portions of the area, while properties outside district service may use private wells and septic systems.
School district
Mostly Rapid City Area School District 51-4, with portions in Douglas 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Summerset
Typical price
Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
To Ellsworth AFB
30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
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.
School 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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

Belle Fourche
Typical price
$275k to $375kMedian sold $300,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 113 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About an hourDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 55 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Belle Fourche School District 9-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Lead and Deadwood
Typical price
$320k to $500kMedian sold $385,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 117 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 55 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 50 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
School district
Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Newell
Typical price
No figure published. Newell is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so any count from that feed is a floor rather than this town's price level.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To downtown Rapid City
About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Spearfish
Typical price
$400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
City water and sewer are typical inside city-served areas. Acreage outside the city can use wells, septic systems or other service arrangements, so utilities should be confirmed by address.
School district
Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
St. Onge
Typical price
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.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To downtown Rapid City
About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mostly private well and septic
School 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.
Selected Guide
Sturgis
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
Whitewood
Typical price
No town median is published for Whitewood, and it sits in Lawrence County, which the Mount Rushmore Area MLS covers rather than the Black Hills feed behind the figures here. Prices sit under Sturgis, Spearfish and Deadwood, each about ten minutes out.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 35 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Meade School District 46-1, despite being in Lawrence CountyAssignment 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.

Buffalo Gap
Typical price
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.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To downtown Rapid City
About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Custer
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Edgemont
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.
Selected Guide
Hermosa
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
Hill City
Typical price
Median sold $519,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 45 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 30 to 35 minutes on US-16Driving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
School district
Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Hot Springs
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
Keystone
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

New Underwood
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
Wall
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 Edgemont, St. Onge, Rapid City, Black Hawk

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

Region: EdgemontCentral and Southern HillsSt. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90Rapid CityRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack HawkRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
County: EdgemontFall River CountySt. OngeLawrence CountyRapid CityPennington CountyBlack HawkMeade County
Jurisdiction: EdgemontIncorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.St. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.Rapid CityCity of Rapid CityBlack HawkUnincorporated Meade County
Corridor: EdgemontUS 18 and SD 471St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at WhitewoodRapid CityI-90 along the north edgeBlack HawkI-90
To downtown Rapid City: EdgemontAbout 100 miles northeastSt. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesRapid City5 min, 1.5 miBlack HawkAbout 12 to 15 minutes
To Ellsworth AFB: EdgemontAbout 110 milesSt. OngeAbout 45 milesRapid City24 min, 13.8 miBlack HawkAbout 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just north

Side by side

Edgemont, St. Onge, Rapid City, Black Hawk

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	Central and Southern HillsEdgemont	Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid City	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Central and Southern Hills	Northern Hills and I-90	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Fall River County	Lawrence County	Pennington County	Meade County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.	Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.	City of Rapid City	Unincorporated Meade County
Corridordiffers	US 18 and SD 471	SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood	I-90 along the north edge	I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	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.	Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.	April is the snowiest month at 10.1 inches on average, and the city averages about five inches a month against fifteen up in the Hills.	The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	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.	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.	$300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 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.
Housing agediffers	An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.	An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.	Everything from 1875 downtown streets to current new construction	Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor
New constructiondiffers	None underway	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Active, with subdivisions still building	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers	Acreage parcels are common here	Acreage parcels are common here	Some acreage, mostly platted town lots	Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.
Typical lotdiffers	Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.	Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.	Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal
Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants	Few plats here carry recorded covenants	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mostly private well and septic	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers	City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.	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.	City of Rapid City municipal	Black Hawk Water User District
Sewerdiffers	City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.	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.	City of Rapid City sanitary sewer	Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic
Short term rentalsdiffers	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.	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.	Vacation rentals inside city limits are regulated, and the ordinance is recent. Read the guide before you count on rental income.	No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment 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.	Rapid City Area Schools 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.	Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.	Groceries, the hospital and the airport are all inside the city, so a supply run is minutes rather than a trip.	No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.
Healthcarediffers	No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.	Monument Health's main campus is here, which is the reason a lot of the region drives in.	Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Recreationdiffers	The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.	Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.	Main Street Square and Art Alley downtown, with Mount Rushmore southwest, Custer State Park south and the Badlands east.	Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	13 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.	An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.	A working city with a real downtown, older streets with mature trees near the middle and new subdivisions on the edges.	Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.
What you gaindiffers	More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.	The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.	Everything the region has sits in one place: Monument Health, the airport, the widest run of housing stock, and 24 minutes to the Ellsworth gate.	Bigger lots, room for a shop, and about 12 to 15 minutes to downtown Rapid City, without a city hall setting the local rules.
What you give updiffers	A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.	A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.	You buy into the region's deepest demand, and the recent vacation rental ordinance limits what you can do with a house you do not live in.	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.

Central and Southern HillsEdgemont
Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid City
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBlack Hawk

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Edgemont: Central and Southern Hills
St. Onge: Northern Hills and I-90
Rapid City: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Black Hawk: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

Edgemont: Fall River County
St. Onge: Lawrence County
Rapid City: Pennington County
Black Hawk: Meade County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

Edgemont: Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
St. Onge: Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City
Black Hawk: Unincorporated Meade County

Corridordiffers

Edgemont: US 18 and SD 471
St. Onge: SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
Rapid City: I-90 along the north edge
Black Hawk: I-90

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Edgemont: About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
St. Onge: About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Rapid City: 5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Black Hawk: About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Edgemont: About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
St. Onge: About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Rapid City: 24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Black Hawk: About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

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.
St. Onge: Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
Rapid City: April is the snowiest month at 10.1 inches on average, and the city averages about five inches a month against fifteen up in the Hills.
Black Hawk: The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

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.
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.
Rapid City: $300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 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.

Housing agediffers

Edgemont: An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.
St. Onge: An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
Rapid City: Everything from 1875 downtown streets to current new construction
Black Hawk: Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor

New constructiondiffers

Edgemont: None underway
St. Onge: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Rapid City: Active, with subdivisions still building
Black Hawk: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreagediffers

Edgemont: Acreage parcels are common here
St. Onge: Acreage parcels are common here
Rapid City: Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Black Hawk: Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.

Typical lotdiffers

Edgemont: Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.
St. Onge: Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
Rapid City: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
Black Hawk: Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal

Covenants and HOAdiffers

Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.

Edgemont: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
St. Onge: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Rapid City: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Black Hawk: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Edgemont: City water and sewer inside the limits
St. Onge: Mostly private well and septic
Rapid City: City water and sewer inside the limits
Black Hawk: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it

Waterdiffers

Edgemont: City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.
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.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City municipal
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Water User District

Sewerdiffers

Edgemont: City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
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.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City sanitary sewer
Black Hawk: Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic

Short term rentalsdiffers

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.
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.
Rapid City: Vacation rentals inside city limits are regulated, and the ordinance is recent. Read the guide before you count on rental income.
Black Hawk: No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Edgemont: Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment 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.
Rapid City: Rapid City Area Schools 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.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Edgemont: Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.
St. Onge: Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Rapid City: Groceries, the hospital and the airport are all inside the city, so a supply run is minutes rather than a trip.
Black Hawk: No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.

Healthcarediffers

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.
St. Onge: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
Rapid City: Monument Health's main campus is here, which is the reason a lot of the region drives in.
Black Hawk: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital

Recreationdiffers

Edgemont: The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.
St. Onge: Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
Rapid City: Main Street Square and Art Alley downtown, with Mount Rushmore southwest, Custer State Park south and the Badlands east.
Black Hawk: Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Edgemont: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
St. Onge: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Rapid City: 13 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Black Hawk: 12 mapped outlines, 5 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Edgemont: A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.
St. Onge: An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
Rapid City: A working city with a real downtown, older streets with mature trees near the middle and new subdivisions on the edges.
Black Hawk: Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.

What you gaindiffers

Edgemont: More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.
St. Onge: The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
Rapid City: Everything the region has sits in one place: Monument Health, the airport, the widest run of housing stock, and 24 minutes to the Ellsworth gate.
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.

What you give updiffers

Edgemont: A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.
St. Onge: A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
Rapid City: You buy into the region's deepest demand, and the recent vacation rental ordinance limits what you can do with a house you do not live in.
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.

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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