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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7 of 25 communities
Under $400kClose to EllsworthClose to Rapid CityShort commuteNew construction availableAcreage availableCity water and sewerSmaller marketMore ruralEstablished housingNewer housingClear filtersClear everything
Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.
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The five facts that decide a shortlist
Selected, 3 of 4
Northern Hills and I-90
The Sturgis to Belle Fourche side of the Hills, with its own hospitals, schools and employers, so a job in Spearfish or Sturgis does not have to mean a Rapid City commute.
- Typical price
- $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- School district
- Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Central and Southern Hills
In the timber and on the far southern edge, where lots get larger, well and septic get common, and the drive to a full service hospital becomes part of the decision.
- Typical price
- About $155,000 average sold, 13 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $155,285. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- School district
- Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- 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.
- 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.
- Typical price
- About $618,000 average sold, but only 9 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $618,449. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 9 closed sales, small sample.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Prairie and Badlands
East of the Hills on the open prairie, where lots run larger, water is often a private well, services are thinner and the wind and the drive are the tradeoffs.
- Typical price
- About $320,000 average sold, 20 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $319,585. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 20 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 11 miles, exit 78 to the main gate at exit 67ADistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 18 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- 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.
What changes
Between Green Valley, Buffalo Gap, Box Elder
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- Green ValleyRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBuffalo GapCentral and Southern HillsBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- Green ValleyPennington CountyBuffalo GapCuster CountyBox ElderPennington County
- Jurisdiction
- Green ValleyUnincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.Buffalo GapIncorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.Box ElderCity of Box Elder
- Corridor
- Green ValleySD 44Buffalo GapSD 79Box ElderI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- Green ValleyAbout 6 miles northwestBuffalo GapAbout 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Green ValleyAbout 15 minutes northBuffalo GapAbout 55 milesBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi
Side by side
Green Valley, Buffalo Gap, Box Elder
Rows marked as differing are the ones where these do not read alike. Rows without the mark sit on a quiet background because they say the same thing in every column.
| Attribute | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley | Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | |||
| Regiondiffers | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Central and Southern Hills | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Pennington County | Custer County | Pennington 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. | Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits. | City of Box Elder |
| Corridordiffers | SD 44 | SD 79 | 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. | About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 9 min, 2.3 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. | Highway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow. | I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm. |
| Housing and lots | |||
| Typical pricediffers | No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here. | 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. | $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales. |
| Housing agediffers | Mostly late twentieth century through current. | An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant. | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | None underway | Active, with subdivisions still building |
| Acreagediffers | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots | Acreage parcels are common here | 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. | A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them. | Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. |
| Utilities and rules | |||
| Utility patterndiffers | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | City water and sewer inside the limits |
| 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. | Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Sewerdiffers | District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel. | Not documented in the public record. There is no municipal wastewater project or discharge permit on file that I could find. Confirm with the town finance officer before assuming either town sewer or septic. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| 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. | This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific. | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. |
| 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. | Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. |
| Daily errands | |||
| Groceriesdiffers | The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest. | Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. |
| Healthcarediffers | The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City. | Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs, a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department and a rural health clinic, about 18 minutes away. | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. |
| Recreationdiffers | Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction. | Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby. | The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park. |
| Mapped subdivisions | |||
| Outlines on filediffers | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. |
| The trade | |||
| Housing and patterndiffers | Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules. | A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland. | A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned. |
| What you gaindiffers | More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north. | Eighteen minutes from the hospital in Hot Springs, with 600,000 acres of grassland out the door and one MLS closing in two years to price from. | The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline. |
| What you give updiffers | A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street. | No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation. | Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it. |
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley
- Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Green Valley
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Buffalo Gap
- Central and Southern Hills
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Green Valley
- Pennington County
- Buffalo Gap
- Custer County
- Box Elder
- Pennington 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers
- Green Valley
- SD 44
- Buffalo Gap
- SD 79
- Box Elder
- 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Green Valley
- About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Buffalo Gap
- About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Highway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow.
- Box Elder
- I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Green Valley
- No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
- Buffalo Gap
- One single family sale shows in the Black Hills MLS over 24 months, at $80,000. One closing is a sample of one rather than a price level, so read it that way.
- Box Elder
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Housing agediffers
- Green Valley
- Mostly late twentieth century through current.
- Buffalo Gap
- An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant.
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers
- Green Valley
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Buffalo Gap
- None underway
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers
- Green Valley
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
- Buffalo Gap
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Box Elder
- 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them.
- Box Elder
- Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Green Valley
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Buffalo Gap
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Green Valley
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Buffalo Gap
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers
- Green Valley
- District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.
- Buffalo Gap
- Not documented in the public record. There is no municipal wastewater project or discharge permit on file that I could find. Confirm with the town finance officer before assuming either town sewer or septic.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
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.
- Buffalo Gap
- This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific.
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Hot Springs School District 23-2, despite the town being in Custer CountyAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Box Elder
- Douglas School District 51-1Assignment 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen.
- Box Elder
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Healthcarediffers
- Green Valley
- The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City.
- Buffalo Gap
- Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs, a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department and a rural health clinic, about 18 minutes away.
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers
- Green Valley
- Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction.
- Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby.
- Box Elder
- The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers
- Green Valley
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Buffalo Gap
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Box Elder
- 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Green Valley
- Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.
- Buffalo Gap
- A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland.
- Box Elder
- A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
What you gaindiffers
- Green Valley
- More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north.
- Buffalo Gap
- Eighteen minutes from the hospital in Hot Springs, with 600,000 acres of grassland out the door and one MLS closing in two years to price from.
- Box Elder
- The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.
What you give updiffers
- Green Valley
- A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street.
- Buffalo Gap
- No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation.
- Box Elder
- Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.
Where this comes from
Commute figures are driving times off peak, from the community guide each card links to. Median sold prices come from the MLS, and each figure carries its own source, window and closing count, because Sturgis, Spearfish and the northern hills report through a different MLS than Rapid City. Under five closings there is no median, and the price row says so. Five to nine closings carries a small sample note. School districts follow the official boundary for the address, and the district office is the only place to confirm an assignment. Short term rental lines are summaries. Read the guide and the current ordinance before you count on rental income.
The filters use these definitions: under $400k is the MLS sold figure for the town, a median where one is published and otherwise the average sold, comes in under $400,000; close to ellsworth is 25 minutes or less to the Ellsworth main gate; close to rapid city is 20 minutes or less to downtown Rapid City; short commute is 15 minutes or less to either downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth gate; new construction available is the guide establishes active or limited new construction; acreage available is acreage is common or present in the guide; city water and sewer is city water and sewer across the community; smaller market is fewer than 100 closed single family sales in the trailing twelve months; more rural is acreage is common, or water and sewer are not municipal throughout; established housing is the guide classifies the housing stock as established, meaning largely pre 2000; newer housing is the guide classifies a meaningful share of the housing stock as 2000s or later.
Every row here is a townwide summary and a single parcel can read differently. Buyer due diligence should include verifying water and sewer service, school assignment, recorded covenants and HOA obligations, rental rules, legal access, insurance availability and which jurisdiction inspects and permits the work, for the exact address. Confirm with the city or county, the utility or district, the school district office, the title company and your insurer as applicable.
Last updated August 2026
Want to talk through the tradeoffs?
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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.