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.
0 of 25 communities
Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.
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Between Hermosa, Buffalo Gap
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Jurisdiction
- HermosaIncorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limitsBuffalo GapIncorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
- Corridor
- HermosaUS 79Buffalo GapSD 79
- To downtown Rapid City
- Hermosa26 min, 18.6 miBuffalo GapAbout 45 miles, roughly 56 minutes
- To Ellsworth AFB
- HermosaAbout 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Buffalo GapAbout 55 miles
- Winter driving
- HermosaUS 79 is state maintained and is the reason the commute works. Town streets and county roads clear on their own schedule.Buffalo GapHighway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow.
- Typical price
- HermosaAbout $650,000 average sold, 28 sales over 24 monthsBuffalo GapOne 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.
Hermosa, Buffalo Gap
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 | Central and Southern HillsHermosa | Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Region | Central and Southern Hills | Central and Southern Hills |
| County | Custer County | Custer County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits | Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits. |
| Corridordiffers | US 79 | SD 79 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving time and distance, off peak. | About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | US 79 is state maintained and is the reason the commute works. Town streets and county roads clear on their own schedule. | Highway 79 is state maintained and is the connection to Hot Springs and Rapid City. Off it, this is open prairie with blowing snow. |
| Housing and lots | ||
| Typical pricediffers | 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. | 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. |
| Housing agediffers | A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges. | An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant. |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | None underway |
| Acreage | Acreage parcels are common here | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them. | A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them. |
| Covenants and HOACovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| Utilities and rules | ||
| Utility pattern | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it |
| Waterdiffers | Town of Hermosa water inside the limits. The Hermosa Water Users Association is a separate system, and rural parcels are commonly on private wells. Which one serves a given address has to be checked address by address. | Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells. |
| Sewerdiffers | Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic. | 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. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | Hermosa sits on the road to Custer State Park, which makes short-term rental a real question here. Nothing in the public record confirms a town ordinance either way, so confirm with the town before you count on the income. | This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific. |
| Schools | ||
| School districtdiffers | Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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. |
| Daily errands | ||
| Groceriesdiffers | Pop's Grocery Shoppe on North Ferguson Street, a full grocery in town since 2007. Anything larger is Rapid City, 26 minutes north. | Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen. |
| Healthcarediffers | No clinic in town. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital is about 22 minutes north, and Monument Health Custer Hospital is about 27 miles southwest. | 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. |
| Recreationdiffers | Custer State Park is the back door, with Battle Creek running at the edge of town and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the east. | Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby. |
| The trade | ||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A working prairie town with its own grocery, library and county fairgrounds, at the point where the grassland meets the Hills. | A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland. |
| What you gaindiffers | Elementary and middle school in town, 26 minutes from Rapid City, with larger lots and rural utility tradeoffs common outside town. | 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. |
| What you give updiffers | High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel. | No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation. |
- Central and Southern HillsHermosa
- Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap
Where it sits
Region
- Hermosa
- Central and Southern Hills
- Buffalo Gap
- Central and Southern Hills
County
- Hermosa
- Custer County
- Buffalo Gap
- Custer County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Hermosa
- Incorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits
- Buffalo Gap
- Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
Corridordiffers
- Hermosa
- US 79
- Buffalo Gap
- SD 79
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Hermosa
- 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Buffalo Gap
- About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Hermosa
- About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving 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.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Hermosa
- US 79 is state maintained and is the reason the commute works. Town streets and county roads clear on their own schedule.
- 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.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Hermosa
- 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.
- 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.
Housing agediffers
- Hermosa
- A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges.
- Buffalo Gap
- An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant.
New constructiondiffers
- Hermosa
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Buffalo Gap
- None underway
Acreage
- Hermosa
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Buffalo Gap
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Hermosa
- Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them.
- Buffalo Gap
- A handful of historic townsite lots, with grassland and ranch ground around them.
Covenants and HOA
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Hermosa
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Buffalo Gap
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility pattern
- Hermosa
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Buffalo Gap
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers
- Hermosa
- Town of Hermosa water inside the limits. The Hermosa Water Users Association is a separate system, and rural parcels are commonly on private wells. Which one serves a given address has to be checked address by address.
- Buffalo Gap
- Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers
- Hermosa
- Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic.
- 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.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Hermosa
- Hermosa sits on the road to Custer State Park, which makes short-term rental a real question here. Nothing in the public record confirms a town ordinance either way, so confirm with the town before you count on the income.
- Buffalo Gap
- This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Hermosa
- Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Hermosa
- Pop's Grocery Shoppe on North Ferguson Street, a full grocery in town since 2007. Anything larger is Rapid City, 26 minutes north.
- Buffalo Gap
- Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen.
Healthcarediffers
- Hermosa
- No clinic in town. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital is about 22 minutes north, and Monument Health Custer Hospital is about 27 miles southwest.
- 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.
Recreationdiffers
- Hermosa
- Custer State Park is the back door, with Battle Creek running at the edge of town and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the east.
- Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Hermosa
- A working prairie town with its own grocery, library and county fairgrounds, at the point where the grassland meets the Hills.
- Buffalo Gap
- A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland.
What you gaindiffers
- Hermosa
- Elementary and middle school in town, 26 minutes from Rapid City, with larger lots and rural utility tradeoffs common outside town.
- 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.
What you give updiffers
- Hermosa
- High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel.
- 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.
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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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.