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.
Narrow it
6 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.
Browse
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
- Unincorporated, so closings report under Rapid City and Meade County rather than a Black Hawk median. Lot size and outbuildings move the price more than the street does.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- School district
- Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Typical price
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- To downtown Rapid City
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Utility pattern
- Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley.
- School district
- Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
What changes
Between Keystone, Custer, St. Onge
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- KeystoneCentral and Southern HillsCusterCentral and Southern HillsSt. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90
- County
- KeystonePennington CountyCusterCuster CountySt. OngeLawrence County
- Jurisdiction
- KeystoneIncorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.CusterNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.St. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
- Corridor
- KeystoneUS 16ACusterUS-16St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
- To downtown Rapid City
- KeystoneAbout 25 minutes northeastCusterAbout 50 to 60 minutesSt. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutes
- To Ellsworth AFB
- KeystoneAbout 40 minutesCusterAbout an hour and ten minutesSt. OngeAbout 45 miles
Side by side
Keystone, Custer, St. Onge
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 HillsKeystone | Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | |||
| Regiondiffers | Central and Southern Hills | Central and Southern Hills | Northern Hills and I-90 |
| Countydiffers | Pennington County | Custer County | Lawrence County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground. | Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them. |
| Corridordiffers | US 16A | US-16 | SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | Black Hills elevation on canyon roads, and a town that empties out for the season. Iron Mountain Road and the scenic routes are not winter commuting roads. | Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours. | Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation. |
| Housing and lots | |||
| Typical pricediffers | 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. | Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample. | No figure published. St. Onge is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so a zero here would be a gap in the data rather than a fact about the market. |
| Housing agediffers | An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins. | Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges. | An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era. |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county. | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreagediffers | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots | Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties. | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them. |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| 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 Keystone municipal water inside the limits, drawn from town wells, with no violations on its current record. Parcels outside the town limits are on private wells. | Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer. | The Saint Onge Sewer and Water Company serves about 78 connections around the townsite, with a clean compliance record. Parcels outside that system are on private wells. There is no rural water district covering this area. |
| Sewerdiffers | Confirm with the town before you rely on it. The town operates public works, but I have not been able to verify from the public record whether it runs a collection system or which parcels it reaches. Outside the limits, expect private septic. | City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer. | The water company's name implies sewer service, but I have not been able to verify from the public record which parcels it reaches. Assume private septic outside the townsite and confirm the rest before closing. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | A 2 percent municipal lodging tax applies to transient stays. Whether a separate short term rental ordinance exists is not clear from the public record, so confirm with the town in writing. | Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line. | Unincorporated Lawrence County, so no municipal ordinance applies. Note that unincorporated Lawrence County declined to require a vacation home rental permit, so there is no county permit to obtain either. |
| Schools | |||
| School districtdiffers | Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Spearfish 40-2 at the townsite, with Belle Fourche 09-1 to the north and Meade 46-1 to the east. Parcel specific.Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. |
| Daily errands | |||
| Groceriesdiffers | Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. | Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest. |
| Healthcarediffers | No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital. | Monument Health Custer Hospital and clinic are in town. | Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away. |
| Recreationdiffers | Mount Rushmore is past the town boundary, the 1880 Train runs from the Winter Street depot, and Custer State Park and the Norbeck Scenic Byway are close. | Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup. | Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away. |
| The trade | |||
| Housing and patterndiffers | An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors. | A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits. | An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor. |
| What you gaindiffers | Nightly rental demand runs about as high as anywhere in the Black Hills, if the rules and the covenants check out for the specific property. | You are inside the Hills with real acreage, Custer State Park at the door, and a new hospital in a town of about 1,900. | The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns. |
| What you give updiffers | A seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter. | Rapid City is 50 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth over an hour, grandfathered rental permits expire when a property sells, and outside the city limits there are no county building codes. | A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town. |
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Keystone
- Central and Southern Hills
- Custer
- Central and Southern Hills
- St. Onge
- Northern Hills and I-90
Countydiffers
- Keystone
- Pennington County
- Custer
- Custer County
- St. Onge
- Lawrence County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Keystone
- Incorporated town of Keystone, with unincorporated Pennington County on the surrounding hillsides.
- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
- St. Onge
- Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
Corridordiffers
- Keystone
- US 16A
- Custer
- US-16
- St. Onge
- SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Keystone
- About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Custer
- About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- St. Onge
- About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Keystone
- About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Custer
- About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- St. Onge
- About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Keystone
- Black Hills elevation on canyon roads, and a town that empties out for the season. Iron Mountain Road and the scenic routes are not winter commuting roads.
- Custer
- Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.
- St. Onge
- Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Keystone
- 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.
- Custer
- Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
- St. Onge
- No figure published. St. Onge is Mount Rushmore Area MLS territory and the current feed covers only the Black Hills MLS, so a zero here would be a gap in the data rather than a fact about the market.
Housing agediffers
- Keystone
- An 1883 mining town, so genuinely old stock alongside newer builds and cabins.
- Custer
- Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
New constructiondiffers
- Keystone
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
- St. Onge
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers
- Keystone
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
- Custer
- Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.
- St. Onge
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Keystone
- Small and steep in town, larger on the surrounding hillsides outside the limits.
- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
- St. Onge
- Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Keystone
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Custer
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- St. Onge
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Keystone
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Custer
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- St. Onge
- Mostly private well and septic
Waterdiffers
- Keystone
- Town of Keystone municipal water inside the limits, drawn from town wells, with no violations on its current record. Parcels outside the town limits are on private wells.
- Custer
- Municipal water inside the limits, a private well or a district system outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
- St. Onge
- The Saint Onge Sewer and Water Company serves about 78 connections around the townsite, with a clean compliance record. Parcels outside that system are on private wells. There is no rural water district covering this area.
Sewerdiffers
- Keystone
- Confirm with the town before you rely on it. The town operates public works, but I have not been able to verify from the public record whether it runs a collection system or which parcels it reaches. Outside the limits, expect private septic.
- Custer
- City sewer inside the limits, private septic outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
- St. Onge
- The water company's name implies sewer service, but I have not been able to verify from the public record which parcels it reaches. Assume private septic outside the townsite and confirm the rest before closing.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Keystone
- A 2 percent municipal lodging tax applies to transient stays. Whether a separate short term rental ordinance exists is not clear from the public record, so confirm with the town in writing.
- Custer
- Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.
- St. Onge
- Unincorporated Lawrence County, so no municipal ordinance applies. Note that unincorporated Lawrence County declined to require a vacation home rental permit, so there is no county permit to obtain either.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Keystone
- Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Custer
- Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- St. Onge
- Spearfish 40-2 at the townsite, with Belle Fourche 09-1 to the north and Meade 46-1 to the east. Parcel specific.Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Keystone
- Nothing full service in town. Hill City is the closest small grocery and Rapid City is the real shopping, about 25 minutes northeast.
- Custer
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
- St. Onge
- Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Healthcarediffers
- Keystone
- No clinic in town. Monument Health Custer Hospital has a 24 hour emergency department, and Rapid City has the larger hospital.
- Custer
- Monument Health Custer Hospital and clinic are in town.
- St. Onge
- Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
Recreationdiffers
- Keystone
- Mount Rushmore is past the town boundary, the 1880 Train runs from the Winter Street depot, and Custer State Park and the Norbeck Scenic Byway are close.
- Custer
- Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.
- St. Onge
- Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Keystone
- An 1883 mining camp turned tourism town at the gateway to Mount Rushmore, 240 residents and millions of visitors.
- Custer
- A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.
- St. Onge
- An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
What you gaindiffers
- Keystone
- Nightly rental demand runs about as high as anywhere in the Black Hills, if the rules and the covenants check out for the specific property.
- Custer
- You are inside the Hills with real acreage, Custer State Park at the door, and a new hospital in a town of about 1,900.
- St. Onge
- The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
What you give updiffers
- Keystone
- A seasonal town with no school, no grocery and no clinic, and a housing stock where half the doors are dark in winter.
- Custer
- Rapid City is 50 to 60 minutes and Ellsworth over an hour, grandfathered rental permits expire when a property sells, and outside the city limits there are no county building codes.
- St. Onge
- A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
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.