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 Newell, Buffalo Gap
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- NewellNorthern Hills and I-90Buffalo GapCentral and Southern Hills
- County
- NewellButte CountyBuffalo GapCuster County
- Jurisdiction
- NewellIncorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits.Buffalo GapIncorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
- Corridor
- NewellUS 212 and SD 79Buffalo GapSD 79
- To downtown Rapid City
- NewellAbout 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesBuffalo GapAbout 45 miles, roughly 56 minutes
- To Ellsworth AFB
- NewellAbout 60 milesBuffalo GapAbout 55 miles
Newell, 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 | Northern Hills and I-90Newell | Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Regiondiffers | Northern Hills and I-90 | Central and Southern Hills |
| Countydiffers | Butte County | Custer County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits. | Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits. |
| Corridordiffers | US 212 and SD 79 | SD 79 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it. | 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 townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out. | 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 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. | Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells. |
| Sewerdiffers | Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. 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 | 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. | This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific. |
| Schools | ||
| School districtdiffers | Newell School District 09-2Assignment 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 | A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger. | Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen. |
| Healthcarediffers | No hospital or clinic in Newell. Sturgis is about 26 miles, Spearfish about 37, and Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche. | 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 | A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction. | Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby. |
| The trade | ||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A federal reclamation townsite from 1910 at the center of a 57,000 acre irrigation project, with a sale barn and its own school. | A nearly intact turn-of-the-century western streetscape on the National Register, mostly quiet, at the gate to the grassland. |
| What you gaindiffers | A complete small town with its own K through 12 school and irrigated ground around it, at prices the Hills corridor cannot touch. | 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 | Seventy minutes to Rapid City, 26 miles to a hospital, and an irrigation district assessment that attaches to the land as a lien. | No school, no store and no services in town, an aging water system with an open compliance item, and an undocumented sewer situation. |
- Northern Hills and I-90Newell
- Central and Southern HillsBuffalo Gap
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Newell
- Northern Hills and I-90
- Buffalo Gap
- Central and Southern Hills
Countydiffers
- Newell
- Butte County
- Buffalo Gap
- Custer County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Newell
- Incorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits.
- Buffalo Gap
- Incorporated town of Buffalo Gap, with Custer County outside the limits.
Corridordiffers
- Newell
- US 212 and SD 79
- Buffalo Gap
- SD 79
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Newell
- About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Buffalo Gap
- About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Newell
- About 60 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Buffalo Gap
- About 55 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Winter drivingdiffers
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- Newell
- A 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it.
- Buffalo Gap
- An 1885 to 1939 historic core with an aging housing stock and about a fifth of units vacant.
New constructiondiffers
- Newell
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Buffalo Gap
- None underway
Acreage
- Newell
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Buffalo Gap
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Newell
- Small townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out.
- 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.- Newell
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Buffalo Gap
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility pattern
- Newell
- 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
- 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- Town of Buffalo Gap municipal water from a single well, serving about 93 connections. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers
- Newell
- Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. 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
- 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.
- Buffalo Gap
- This is hunting and grassland country rather than a tourism corridor. Demand is seasonal and specific.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Newell
- Newell School District 09-2Assignment 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
- Newell
- A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger.
- Buffalo Gap
- Nothing full service in town. Hot Springs, about 14 miles south, is where errands happen.
Healthcarediffers
- Newell
- No hospital or clinic in Newell. Sturgis is about 26 miles, Spearfish about 37, and Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche.
- 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
- Newell
- A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction.
- Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland, hunting, rock collecting and OHV country, with the Cheyenne River nearby.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- 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.
- 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
- Newell
- A complete small town with its own K through 12 school and irrigated ground around it, at prices the Hills corridor cannot touch.
- 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
- Newell
- Seventy minutes to Rapid City, 26 miles to a hospital, and an irrigation district assessment that attaches to the land as a lien.
- 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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