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.
10 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.
The five facts that decide a shortlist
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.
- Typical price
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 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.
- Typical price
- $300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 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.
- Typical price
- About $350,000 average sold, 274 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $349,971. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 274 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.
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
- $275k to $375kMedian sold $300,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 113 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About an hourDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 55 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Belle Fourche School District 9-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Typical price
- $320k to $500kMedian sold $385,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 117 closed sales.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 55 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 50 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- School district
- Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- 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
- 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.
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.
Between Hill City, Newell
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- Hill CityCentral and Southern HillsNewellNorthern Hills and I-90
- County
- Hill CityPennington CountyNewellButte County
- Jurisdiction
- Hill CityNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.NewellIncorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits.
- Corridor
- Hill CityUS-16NewellUS 212 and SD 79
- To downtown Rapid City
- Hill CityAbout 30 to 35 minutes on US-16NewellAbout 54 miles, roughly 70 minutes
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Hill CityAbout 45 minutesNewellAbout 60 miles
Hill City, Newell
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 HillsHill City | Northern Hills and I-90Newell |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Regiondiffers | Central and Southern Hills | Northern Hills and I-90 |
| Countydiffers | Pennington County | Butte County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground. | Incorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits. |
| Corridordiffers | US-16 | US 212 and SD 79 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 30 to 35 minutes on US-16Driving time and distance, off peak. | About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 45 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | US-16 is state maintained. The forest roads off it climb, and elevation adds snow to whatever falls in town. | US 212 and SD 79 are state maintained, and the state rebuilt the Nisland to Newell stretch and the south junction in 2025. Off the highway it is open country and wind moves snow. |
| Housing and lots | ||
| Typical pricediffers | Median sold $519,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales. | No figure published. Newell is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so any count from that feed is a floor rather than this town's price level. |
| Housing agediffers | Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges. | A 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it. |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited infill and small-scale new construction occur around Hill City rather than large production neighborhoods. | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreagediffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | Small townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out. |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| Utilities and rules | ||
| Utility patterndiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address. | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it |
| Waterdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address. | Town of Newell municipal water inside the limits, from groundwater, serving about 378 connections. Rural properties are on the Butte-Meade Sanitary Water District or on private wells. Irrigation water from the Belle Fourche Irrigation District is an entirely separate thing from domestic water. |
| Sewerdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address. | Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. Rural parcels are on private septic. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | Existing short term rental rights in residential zones do not transfer when a property sells. That is the trap. | Newell is an agricultural town rather than a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is hunting season, Rally week and ag events, not year-round visitors. |
| Schools | ||
| School districtdiffers | Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. |
| Daily errands | ||
| Groceriesdiffers | Krull's Market is a full-service grocery store in town. | A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger. |
| Healthcarediffers | Monument Health has a clinic in Hill City. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, roughly 30 to 35 minutes away in clear conditions. | No hospital or clinic in Newell. Sturgis is about 26 miles, Spearfish about 37, and Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche. |
| Recreationdiffers | The 1880 Train departs downtown, Crazy Horse Memorial is about 12 miles away, and Stone Faces Winery and Naked Winery are close. | A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction. |
| The trade | ||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A small mountain main street that triples every summer and empties out by October, with the 1880 Train leaving from downtown. | A federal reclamation townsite from 1910 at the center of a 57,000 acre irrigation project, with a sale barn and its own school. |
| What you gaindiffers | Main Street in the middle of the central hills, the Mickelson Trail through town, Sylvan Lake and Crazy Horse a short drive, and 30 to 35 minutes to Rapid City on US-16. | A complete small town with its own K through 12 school and irrigated ground around it, at prices the Hills corridor cannot touch. |
| What you give updiffers | Rental rights do not survive a sale, and only 13 homes closed here in twelve months, so pricing rests on a small sample. | Seventy minutes to Rapid City, 26 miles to a hospital, and an irrigation district assessment that attaches to the land as a lien. |
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Hill City
- Central and Southern Hills
- Newell
- Northern Hills and I-90
Countydiffers
- Hill City
- Pennington County
- Newell
- Butte County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
- Newell
- Incorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits.
Corridordiffers
- Hill City
- US-16
- Newell
- US 212 and SD 79
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Hill City
- About 30 to 35 minutes on US-16Driving time and distance, off peak.
- Newell
- About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Hill City
- About 45 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Newell
- About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Hill City
- US-16 is state maintained. The forest roads off it climb, and elevation adds snow to whatever falls in town.
- Newell
- US 212 and SD 79 are state maintained, and the state rebuilt the Nisland to Newell stretch and the south junction in 2025. Off the highway it is open country and wind moves snow.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Hill City
- Median sold $519,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales.
- Newell
- No figure published. Newell is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so any count from that feed is a floor rather than this town's price level.
Housing agediffers
- Hill City
- Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
- Newell
- A 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it.
New constructiondiffers
- Hill City
- Limited infill and small-scale new construction occur around Hill City rather than large production neighborhoods.
- Newell
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers
- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Newell
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
- Newell
- Small townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out.
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- Newell
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- Newell
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers
- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
- Newell
- Town of Newell municipal water inside the limits, from groundwater, serving about 378 connections. Rural properties are on the Butte-Meade Sanitary Water District or on private wells. Irrigation water from the Belle Fourche Irrigation District is an entirely separate thing from domestic water.
Sewerdiffers
- Hill City
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.
- Newell
- Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. Rural parcels are on private septic.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Hill City
- Existing short term rental rights in residential zones do not transfer when a property sells. That is the trap.
- Newell
- Newell is an agricultural town rather than a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is hunting season, Rally week and ag events, not year-round visitors.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Hill City
- Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Newell
- Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Hill City
- Krull's Market is a full-service grocery store in town.
- Newell
- A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger.
Healthcarediffers
- Hill City
- Monument Health has a clinic in Hill City. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, roughly 30 to 35 minutes away in clear conditions.
- Newell
- No hospital or clinic in Newell. Sturgis is about 26 miles, Spearfish about 37, and Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche.
Recreationdiffers
- Hill City
- The 1880 Train departs downtown, Crazy Horse Memorial is about 12 miles away, and Stone Faces Winery and Naked Winery are close.
- Newell
- A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Hill City
- A small mountain main street that triples every summer and empties out by October, with the 1880 Train leaving from downtown.
- Newell
- A federal reclamation townsite from 1910 at the center of a 57,000 acre irrigation project, with a sale barn and its own school.
What you gaindiffers
- Hill City
- Main Street in the middle of the central hills, the Mickelson Trail through town, Sylvan Lake and Crazy Horse a short drive, and 30 to 35 minutes to Rapid City on US-16.
- Newell
- A complete small town with its own K through 12 school and irrigated ground around it, at prices the Hills corridor cannot touch.
What you give updiffers
- Hill City
- Rental rights do not survive a sale, and only 13 homes closed here in twelve months, so pricing rests on a small sample.
- Newell
- Seventy minutes to Rapid City, 26 miles to a hospital, and an irrigation district assessment that attaches to the land as a lien.
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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