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 $400kClose to EllsworthClose to Rapid CityShort commuteNew construction availableAcreage availableCity water and sewerSmaller marketMore ruralEstablished housingNewer housingClear filtersClear everything
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What changes
Between Green Valley, Box Elder, Summerset
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- County
- Green ValleyPennington CountyBox ElderPennington CountySummersetMeade County
- Jurisdiction
- Green ValleyUnincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.Box ElderCity of Box ElderSummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
- Corridor
- Green ValleySD 44Box ElderI-90SummersetI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- Green ValleyAbout 6 miles northwestBox Elder19 min, 10.9 miSummerset15 min, 10.0 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Green ValleyAbout 15 minutes northBox Elder9 min, 2.3 miSummerset30 min, 19.2 mi
- Winter driving
- Green ValleyHighway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly.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.SummersetThe commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
Side by side
Green Valley, Box Elder, Summerset
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 | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pennington County | Meade County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them. | City of Box Elder | City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005 |
| Corridordiffers | SD 44 | I-90 | I-90 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak. | 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | Highway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly. | I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm. | The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road. |
| Housing and lots | |||
| Typical pricediffers | No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here. | $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales. | Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own. |
| Housing agediffers | Mostly late twentieth century through current. | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement | Mostly 2000s to present |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Active, with subdivisions still building | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreagediffers | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. |
| Typical lotdiffers | Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road. | Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats | Wide lots on new streets |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | 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 others |
| Utilities and rules | |||
| Utility patterndiffers | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | City water and sewer inside the limits | Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley. |
| Waterdiffers | Not a single system. The Rapid Valley Sanitary District's service area extends past the Rapid Valley boundary and is the likely supplier for much of Green Valley, and there is also a separate Green Valley Sanitary District administered alongside it. Outlying parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road are on private wells. Confirm per parcel. | City of Box Elder municipal | Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley |
| Sewerdiffers | District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel. | City of Box Elder municipal | City of Summerset |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | Unincorporated county, so no municipal short-term rental ordinance applies. County zoning and any subdivision covenants govern, and state licensing applies once you rent. | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. | The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address. |
| Schools | |||
| School districtdiffers | 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. | Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. |
| Daily errands | |||
| Groceriesdiffers | The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. | Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address. |
| Healthcarediffers | The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City. | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. | Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south. |
| Recreationdiffers | Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction. | The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park. | Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden. |
| Mapped subdivisions | |||
| Outlines on filediffers | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. | 2 mapped outlines, 2 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. |
| The trade | |||
| Housing and patterndiffers | Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules. | A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned. | New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres. |
| What you gaindiffers | More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north. | The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline. | Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites. |
| What you give updiffers | A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street. | Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it. | You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address. |
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley
Where it sits
Region
- Green Valley
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Summerset
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Green Valley
- Pennington County
- Box Elder
- Pennington County
- Summerset
- Meade County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Green Valley
- Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
- Summerset
- City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
Corridordiffers
- Green Valley
- SD 44
- Box Elder
- I-90
- Summerset
- I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Green Valley
- About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Green Valley
- About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Green Valley
- Highway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly.
- Box Elder
- I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.
- Summerset
- The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Green Valley
- No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
- Box Elder
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
- Summerset
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
Housing agediffers
- Green Valley
- Mostly late twentieth century through current.
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
- Summerset
- Mostly 2000s to present
New constructiondiffers
- Green Valley
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
- Summerset
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers
- Green Valley
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Summerset
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers
- Green Valley
- Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road.
- Box Elder
- Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
- Summerset
- Wide lots on new streets
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Green Valley
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- Summerset
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Green Valley
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- Summerset
- Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley.
Waterdiffers
- Green Valley
- Not a single system. The Rapid Valley Sanitary District's service area extends past the Rapid Valley boundary and is the likely supplier for much of Green Valley, and there is also a separate Green Valley Sanitary District administered alongside it. Outlying parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road are on private wells. Confirm per parcel.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
- Summerset
- Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
Sewerdiffers
- Green Valley
- District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
- Summerset
- City of Summerset
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Green Valley
- Unincorporated county, so no municipal short-term rental ordinance applies. County zoning and any subdivision covenants govern, and state licensing applies once you rent.
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
- Summerset
- The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Green Valley
- 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.
- Box Elder
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Summerset
- Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Green Valley
- The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest.
- Box Elder
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
- Summerset
- Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
Healthcarediffers
- Green Valley
- The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City.
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
- Summerset
- Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
Recreationdiffers
- Green Valley
- Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction.
- Box Elder
- The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.
- Summerset
- Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers
- Green Valley
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Box Elder
- 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
- Summerset
- 2 mapped outlines, 2 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Green Valley
- Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.
- Box Elder
- A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
- Summerset
- New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.
What you gaindiffers
- Green Valley
- More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north.
- Box Elder
- The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.
- Summerset
- Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites.
What you give updiffers
- Green Valley
- A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street.
- Box Elder
- Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.
- Summerset
- You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address.
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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