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.
Compare 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.
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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 Hermosa, Green Valley, Colonial Pine Hills

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

Region: HermosaCentral and Southern HillsGreen ValleyRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine HillsRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
County: HermosaCuster CountyGreen ValleyPennington CountyColonial Pine HillsPennington County
Jurisdiction: HermosaIncorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limitsGreen ValleyUnincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.Colonial Pine HillsUnincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.
Corridor: HermosaUS 79Green ValleySD 44Colonial Pine HillsUS 16 and Sheridan Lake Road
To downtown Rapid City: Hermosa26 min, 18.6 miGreen ValleyAbout 6 miles northwestColonial Pine HillsRoughly 6 miles northeast
To Ellsworth AFB: HermosaAbout 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Green ValleyAbout 15 minutes northColonial Pine HillsAbout 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid City

Side by side

Hermosa, Green Valley, Colonial Pine Hills

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 HillsHermosa	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine Hills
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Central and Southern Hills	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Custer County	Pennington County	Pennington County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	Incorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits	Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.	Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.
Corridordiffers	US 79	SD 44	US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving time and distance, off peak.	About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.
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 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly.	You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	About $573,000 average sold, 36 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $572,706. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through early October 2026, as of October 2026. 36 closed sales.	No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.	About $702,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 83 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $701,678. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through early October 2026, as of October 2026. 83 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges.	Mostly late twentieth century through current.	Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.
New construction	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers	Acreage parcels are common here	Some acreage, mostly platted town lots	Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers	Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them.	Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road.	Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.
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	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
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	Mostly private well and septic
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.	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.	Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.
Sewerdiffers	Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic.	District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.	Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.
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.	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 unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the 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.	Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment 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.	The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest.	Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.
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.	The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City.	No clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.
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.	Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction.	Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.
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.	Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.	Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.
What you gaindiffers	Elementary and middle school in town, 26 minutes from Rapid City, with larger lots and rural utility tradeoffs common outside town.	More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north.	Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.
What you give updiffers	High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel.	A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street.	Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.

Central and Southern HillsHermosa
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine Hills

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Hermosa: Central and Southern Hills
Green Valley: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

Hermosa: Custer County
Green Valley: Pennington County
Colonial Pine Hills: Pennington 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
Green Valley: Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.
Colonial Pine Hills: Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.

Corridordiffers

Hermosa: US 79
Green Valley: SD 44
Colonial Pine Hills: US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Hermosa: 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Green Valley: About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Colonial Pine Hills: Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Hermosa: About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving time and distance, off peak.
Green Valley: About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
Colonial Pine Hills: About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.

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.
Green Valley: Highway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly.
Colonial Pine Hills: You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Hermosa: About $573,000 average sold, 36 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $572,706. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through early October 2026, as of October 2026. 36 closed sales.
Green Valley: No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
Colonial Pine Hills: About $702,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 83 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $701,678. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through early October 2026, as of October 2026. 83 closed sales.

Housing agediffers

Hermosa: A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges.
Green Valley: Mostly late twentieth century through current.
Colonial Pine Hills: Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.

New construction

Hermosa: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Green Valley: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Colonial Pine Hills: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreagediffers

Hermosa: Acreage parcels are common here
Green Valley: Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Colonial Pine Hills: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

Hermosa: Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them.
Green Valley: Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road.
Colonial Pine Hills: Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

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

Hermosa: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Green Valley: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Colonial Pine Hills: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Hermosa: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Green Valley: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Colonial Pine Hills: Mostly private well and septic

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.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.

Sewerdiffers

Hermosa: Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic.
Green Valley: District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.
Colonial Pine Hills: Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.

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.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: This is unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Hermosa: Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment 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.
Green Valley: The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest.
Colonial Pine Hills: Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.

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.
Green Valley: The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City.
Colonial Pine Hills: No clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.

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.
Green Valley: Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction.
Colonial Pine Hills: Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.

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.
Green Valley: Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.
Colonial Pine Hills: Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.

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.
Green Valley: More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north.
Colonial Pine Hills: Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.

What you give updiffers

Hermosa: High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel.
Green Valley: A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street.
Colonial Pine Hills: Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.

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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Two towns can look identical in a table and feel nothing alike on a Tuesday night in February. Call or text and tell me which rows above are the ones you cannot live with, and we can work the list down from there.

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ComparingHermosa, Green Valley, Colonial Pine Hills

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