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

3 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, 4 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 $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.
Selected Guide
Rapid City
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Rapid Valley
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

What changes

Between Spearfish, Sturgis, Box Elder, Edgemont

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

Region: SpearfishNorthern Hills and I-90SturgisNorthern Hills and I-90Box ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorEdgemontCentral and Southern Hills
County: SpearfishLawrence CountySturgisMeade CountyBox ElderPennington CountyEdgemontFall River County
Jurisdiction: SpearfishNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.SturgisNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Box ElderCity of Box ElderEdgemontIncorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
Corridor: SpearfishI-90SturgisI-90Box ElderI-90EdgemontUS 18 and SD 471
To downtown Rapid City: Spearfish53 min, 47.8 miSturgis33 min, 28.9 miBox Elder19 min, 10.9 miEdgemontAbout 100 miles northeast
To Ellsworth AFB: Spearfish68 min, 57.0 miSturgis48 min, 38.2 miBox Elder9 min, 2.3 miEdgemontAbout 110 miles

Side by side

Spearfish, Sturgis, Box Elder, Edgemont

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	Northern Hills and I-90Spearfish	Northern Hills and I-90Sturgis	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder	Central and Southern HillsEdgemont
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Northern Hills and I-90	Northern Hills and I-90	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Central and Southern Hills
Countydiffers	Lawrence County	Meade County	Pennington County	Fall River 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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.	City of Box Elder	Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
Corridordiffers	I-90	I-90	I-90	US 18 and SD 471
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Winter drivingdiffers	Chinook winds off the hills are a genuine feature of winter in this corridor.	I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later.	I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.	Cold semi-arid country with a recorded low of 40 below. US 18 is the lifeline and it is a long way to anywhere in a storm.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	$400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.	$300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales.	$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.	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.
Housing agediffers	Older stock in the middle, edge subdivisions built 1996 to 2023	Older near the core, newer on the edges	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement	An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.
New constructiondiffers	New construction remains active on the edges of town, including areas such as Sky Ridge and other newer developments.	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Active, with subdivisions still building	None underway
Acreagediffers	Acreage is available around Spearfish, primarily on surrounding Lawrence County ground rather than in the city core.	Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors.	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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.	Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats	Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.
Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	City water and sewer are typical inside city-served areas. Acreage outside the city can use wells, septic systems or other service arrangements, so utilities should be confirmed by address.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.	City water and sewer inside the limits	City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers	City water inside the Spearfish limits. Acreage outside the limits runs on a private well or a rural water district.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.	City of Box Elder municipal	City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Sewerdiffers	City sewer inside the Spearfish limits, private septic on acreage outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.	City of Box Elder municipal	City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
Short term rentalsdiffers	The city studied rules in 2023 and 2024 and maintains an official short term rental page. Verify the current ordinance first.	No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally.	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.	Edgemont is not a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is work crews, hunting season and Rally traffic passing through, not visitors staying to see something.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Full-service grocery options in town include Walmart, Safeway and Lueders Food Centers.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital and outpatient clinics are in town.	Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town.	Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.	No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.
Recreationdiffers	D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, Black Hills State University events, and Terry Peak and Deadwood a short drive south.	Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close.	The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.	The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	25 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	9 mapped outlines, 8 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	A university town with a walkable middle, growing fast enough that new construction has moved to the edges.	A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon.	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.	A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.
What you gaindiffers	A downtown you can walk across, Black Hills State and Spearfish Canyon out the back door, on city water and sewer.	A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City.	The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.	More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.
What you give updiffers	The highest median sold price of the region's higher volume markets at $475,000 across 199 sales, and Rapid City is 53 minutes on the interstate with the Ellsworth gate 68.	Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town.	Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.	A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.

Northern Hills and I-90Spearfish
Northern Hills and I-90Sturgis
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Central and Southern HillsEdgemont

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Spearfish: Northern Hills and I-90
Sturgis: Northern Hills and I-90
Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Edgemont: Central and Southern Hills

Countydiffers

Spearfish: Lawrence County
Sturgis: Meade County
Box Elder: Pennington County
Edgemont: Fall River County

Jurisdictiondiffers

City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.

Spearfish: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder
Edgemont: Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.

Corridordiffers

Spearfish: I-90
Sturgis: I-90
Box Elder: I-90
Edgemont: US 18 and SD 471

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Spearfish: 53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Sturgis: 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont: About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Spearfish: 68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Sturgis: 48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont: About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

Winter drivingdiffers

Spearfish: Chinook winds off the hills are a genuine feature of winter in this corridor.
Sturgis: I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later.
Box Elder: I-90 is state maintained and the city clears the newer plats. Box Elder publishes no plow priority map, so ask a neighbor how the street clears after a real storm.
Edgemont: Cold semi-arid country with a recorded low of 40 below. US 18 is the lifeline and it is a long way to anywhere in a storm.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Spearfish: $400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.
Sturgis: $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales.
Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Edgemont: 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.

Housing agediffers

Spearfish: Older stock in the middle, edge subdivisions built 1996 to 2023
Sturgis: Older near the core, newer on the edges
Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Edgemont: An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.

New constructiondiffers

Spearfish: New construction remains active on the edges of town, including areas such as Sky Ridge and other newer developments.
Sturgis: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building
Edgemont: None underway

Acreagediffers

Spearfish: Acreage is available around Spearfish, primarily on surrounding Lawrence County ground rather than in the city core.
Sturgis: Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Edgemont: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

Spearfish: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
Box Elder: Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Edgemont: Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

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

Spearfish: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Edgemont: Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Spearfish: City water and sewer are typical inside city-served areas. Acreage outside the city can use wells, septic systems or other service arrangements, so utilities should be confirmed by address.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits
Edgemont: City water and sewer inside the limits

Waterdiffers

Spearfish: City water inside the Spearfish limits. Acreage outside the limits runs on a private well or a rural water district.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Edgemont: City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.

Sewerdiffers

Spearfish: City sewer inside the Spearfish limits, private septic on acreage outside them.Read off the townwide utility pattern in the guide. The service address controls, so confirm the provider before you write an offer.
Sturgis: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Edgemont: City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.

Short term rentalsdiffers

Spearfish: The city studied rules in 2023 and 2024 and maintains an official short term rental page. Verify the current ordinance first.
Sturgis: No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally.
Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Edgemont: Edgemont is not a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is work crews, hunting season and Rally traffic passing through, not visitors staying to see something.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Spearfish: Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Sturgis: Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Box Elder: Douglas School District 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Edgemont: Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Spearfish: Full-service grocery options in town include Walmart, Safeway and Lueders Food Centers.
Sturgis: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Edgemont: Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.

Healthcarediffers

Spearfish: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital and outpatient clinics are in town.
Sturgis: Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town.
Box Elder: Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Edgemont: No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.

Recreationdiffers

Spearfish: D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, Black Hills State University events, and Terry Peak and Deadwood a short drive south.
Sturgis: Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close.
Box Elder: The Liberty Center, the city park and ballfield network, and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum are the in-town recreation. The Badlands are a day trip, not your neighborhood park.
Edgemont: The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Spearfish: 25 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Sturgis: 9 mapped outlines, 8 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Box Elder: 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Edgemont: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Spearfish: A university town with a walkable middle, growing fast enough that new construction has moved to the edges.
Sturgis: A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon.
Box Elder: A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
Edgemont: A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.

What you gaindiffers

Spearfish: A downtown you can walk across, Black Hills State and Spearfish Canyon out the back door, on city water and sewer.
Sturgis: A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City.
Box Elder: The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.
Edgemont: More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.

What you give updiffers

Spearfish: The highest median sold price of the region's higher volume markets at $475,000 across 199 sales, and Rapid City is 53 minutes on the interstate with the Ellsworth gate 68.
Sturgis: Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town.
Box Elder: Comparable sales run thin inside brand new subdivisions and builder incentives move the effective price without moving the list price. I-90 fills at shift change, and the flight line is close enough that you hear it.
Edgemont: A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.

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

Contact

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ComparingSpearfish, Sturgis, Box Elder, Edgemont

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