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.
The five facts that decide a shortlist
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Between Newell, Summerset
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-90SummersetRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- NewellButte CountySummersetMeade County
- Jurisdiction
- NewellIncorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits.SummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
- Corridor
- NewellUS 212 and SD 79SummersetI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- NewellAbout 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesSummerset15 min, 10.0 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- NewellAbout 60 milesSummerset30 min, 19.2 mi
Newell, Summerset
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Regiondiffers | Northern Hills and I-90 | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Butte County | Meade County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated municipality of Newell, with Butte County outside the limits. | City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005 |
| Corridordiffers | US 212 and SD 79 | I-90 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 15 min, 10.0 miDriving 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. | 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| 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. | The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road. |
| 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. | Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own. |
| Housing agediffers | A 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it. | Mostly 2000s to present |
| New construction | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreagediffers | Acreage parcels are common here | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. |
| Typical lotdiffers | Small townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out. | Wide lots on new streets |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | 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 | 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. |
| 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. | Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley |
| Sewerdiffers | Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. Rural parcels are on private septic. | City of Summerset |
| 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. | The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address. |
| Schools | ||
| School districtdiffers | Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the 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. |
| Daily errands | ||
| Groceriesdiffers | A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger. | Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address. |
| Healthcarediffers | No hospital or clinic in Newell. Sturgis is about 26 miles, Spearfish about 37, and Monument Health has a clinic in Belle Fourche. | Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south. |
| Recreationdiffers | A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction. | Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden. |
| Mapped subdivisions | ||
| Outlines on filediffers | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | 2 mapped outlines, 2 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. |
| 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. | New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres. |
| 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. | Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites. |
| 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. | You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address. |
- Northern Hills and I-90Newell
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Newell
- Northern Hills and I-90
- Summerset
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Newell
- Butte County
- Summerset
- Meade 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.
- Summerset
- City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
Corridordiffers
- Newell
- US 212 and SD 79
- Summerset
- I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Newell
- About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Summerset
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving 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.
- Summerset
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
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.
- Summerset
- The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
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.
- Summerset
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
Housing agediffers
- Newell
- A 1910 townsite, so genuinely old in-town stock with newer building scattered around it.
- Summerset
- Mostly 2000s to present
New construction
- Newell
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Summerset
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers
- Newell
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Summerset
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers
- Newell
- Small townsite lots, then irrigated project acreage, then rangeland, in that order as you drive out.
- Summerset
- Wide lots on new streets
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Newell
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Summerset
- Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Newell
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Summerset
- 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.
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.
- Summerset
- Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
Sewerdiffers
- Newell
- Municipal sewer inside the limits, billed monthly alongside water. Rural parcels are on private septic.
- Summerset
- City of Summerset
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.
- Summerset
- The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Newell
- Newell School District 09-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Summerset
- 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Newell
- A grocery store and a hardware store in town, with Belle Fourche about 25 miles for anything larger.
- Summerset
- Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
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.
- Summerset
- Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
Recreationdiffers
- Newell
- A nine-hole golf course, the Newell Museum, the Belle Fourche Reservoir north of town, and hunting in every direction.
- Summerset
- Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers
- Newell
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Summerset
- 2 mapped outlines, 2 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
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.
- Summerset
- New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.
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.
- Summerset
- Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites.
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.
- Summerset
- You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address.
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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