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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4 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 filters Clear everything

Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.

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The five facts that decide a shortlist

Find a community

Selected, 3 of 4

Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Everything within about twenty five minutes of downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth main gate, where most of the newer inventory, the shortest commutes and the jurisdiction questions about city versus county service are.

Box Elder
Typical price
$340k to $400kMedian sold $369,900. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 184 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.
Selected 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.
Selected Guide
Rapid City
Typical price
$300k to $450kMedian sold $349,900. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 790 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
City water and sewer inside the limits
School district
Rapid City Area Schools 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Compare Guide
Rapid Valley
Typical price
About $351,000 average sold, 283 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $350,670. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through early October 2026, as of October 2026. 283 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.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between Green Valley, Lead and Deadwood, 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 corridorLead and DeadwoodNorthern Hills and I-90Box ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
County: Green ValleyPennington CountyLead and DeadwoodLawrence CountyBox ElderPennington County
Jurisdiction: Green ValleyUnincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.Lead and DeadwoodNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Box ElderCity of Box Elder
Corridor: Green ValleySD 44Lead and DeadwoodUS-385 and US-14ABox ElderI-90
To downtown Rapid City: Green ValleyAbout 6 miles northwestLead and DeadwoodAbout 50 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
To Ellsworth AFB: Green ValleyAbout 15 minutes northLead and DeadwoodAbout 55 minutesBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi

Side by side

Green Valley, Lead and Deadwood, Box Elder

Rows marked as differing are the ones where these do not read alike. Rows without the mark sit on a quiet background because they say the same thing in every column.

The selected Black Hills communities compared on location, housing, utilities, schools, daily errands, mapped subdivisions and the trade each one asks for
Attribute	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley	Northern Hills and I-90Lead and Deadwood	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Northern Hills and I-90	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Pennington County	Lawrence 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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.	City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers	SD 44	US-385 and US-14A	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 50 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 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	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.	Lead averages 183.9 inches of snow a year, so plowing, driveway grade and which way it faces are part of the budget.	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.	$320k to $500kMedian sold $450,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 130 closed sales.	$340k to $400kMedian sold $369,900. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 184 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	Mostly late twentieth century through current.	Historic stock, plus Powder House Pass as the newest product up here	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers	Some acreage, mostly platted town lots	Mountain acreage exists outside the denser town centers, with access, well, septic and winter-maintenance considerations varying by property.	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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.	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	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others	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	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.	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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.	City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers	District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.	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.	Three jurisdictions within a few miles give three different answers. This is where guessing gets expensive.	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.	Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1Assignment 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.	Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.	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.	Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and clinic provide hospital-level and outpatient care in the area.	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.	Terry Peak, a 7,100 foot summit with 1,100 feet of vertical and 30 trails, plus Deadwood gaming and the historic district.	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.	55 mapped outlines, 0 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.	High elevation historic streets, with Terry Peak, the Mickelson Trail and the Powder House Pass covenants and Community Improvement District just south of Lead.	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.	Elevation, Terry Peak measured in minutes, the Mickelson Trail and historic streets you cannot build a copy of.	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.	Lead averages 183.9 inches of snow a year, so snow removal and vehicle choice are line items, and three jurisdictions inside a few miles answer rental questions differently.	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
Northern Hills and I-90Lead and Deadwood
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Green Valley: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Lead and Deadwood: Northern Hills and I-90
Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

Green Valley: Pennington County
Lead and Deadwood: Lawrence 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.
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder

Corridordiffers

Green Valley: SD 44
Lead and Deadwood: US-385 and US-14A
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.
Lead and Deadwood: About 50 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.
Lead and Deadwood: About 55 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Lead averages 183.9 inches of snow a year, so plowing, driveway grade and which way it faces are part of the budget.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: $320k to $500kMedian sold $450,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 130 closed sales.
Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $369,900. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of October 2026. 184 closed sales.

Housing agediffers

Green Valley: Mostly late twentieth century through current.
Lead and Deadwood: Historic stock, plus Powder House Pass as the newest product up here
Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement

New constructiondiffers

Green Valley: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Lead and Deadwood: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building

Acreagediffers

Green Valley: Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Lead and Deadwood: Mountain acreage exists outside the denser town centers, with access, well, septic and winter-maintenance considerations varying by property.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
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
Lead and Deadwood: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
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
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Three jurisdictions within a few miles give three different answers. This is where guessing gets expensive.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1Assignment 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.
Lead and Deadwood: Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital and clinic provide hospital-level and outpatient care in the area.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Terry Peak, a 7,100 foot summit with 1,100 feet of vertical and 30 trails, plus Deadwood gaming and the historic district.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: 55 mapped outlines, 0 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Box Elder: 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Green Valley: Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.
Lead and Deadwood: High elevation historic streets, with Terry Peak, the Mickelson Trail and the Powder House Pass covenants and Community Improvement District just south of Lead.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Elevation, Terry Peak measured in minutes, the Mickelson Trail and historic streets you cannot build a copy of.
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.
Lead and Deadwood: Lead averages 183.9 inches of snow a year, so snow removal and vehicle choice are line items, and three jurisdictions inside a few miles answer rental questions differently.
Box Elder: Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.

Where this comes from

Commute figures are driving times off peak, from the community guide each card links to. Median sold prices come from the MLS, and each figure carries its own source, window and closing count, because Sturgis, Spearfish and the northern hills report through a different MLS than Rapid City. Under five closings there is no median, and the price row says so. Five to nine closings carries a small sample note. School districts follow the official boundary for the address, and the district office is the only place to confirm an assignment. Short term rental lines are summaries. Read the guide and the current ordinance before you count on rental income.

The filters use these definitions: under $400k is the MLS sold figure for the town, a median where one is published and otherwise the average sold, comes in under $400,000; close to ellsworth is 25 minutes or less to the Ellsworth main gate; close to rapid city is 20 minutes or less to downtown Rapid City; short commute is 15 minutes or less to either downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth gate; new construction available is the guide establishes active or limited new construction; acreage available is acreage is common or present in the guide; city water and sewer is city water and sewer across the community; smaller market is fewer than 100 closed single family sales in the trailing twelve months; more rural is acreage is common, or water and sewer are not municipal throughout; established housing is the guide classifies the housing stock as established, meaning largely pre 2000; newer housing is the guide classifies a meaningful share of the housing stock as 2000s or later.

Every row here is a townwide summary and a single parcel can read differently. Buyer due diligence should include verifying water and sewer service, school assignment, recorded covenants and HOA obligations, rental rules, legal access, insurance availability and which jurisdiction inspects and permits the work, for the exact address. Confirm with the city or county, the utility or district, the school district office, the title company and your insurer as applicable.

Last updated August 2026

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ComparingGreen Valley, Lead and Deadwood, Box Elder

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