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

10 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.

Colonial Pine Hills
Typical price
About $683,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 71 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $682,615. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 71 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Utility pattern
Mostly private well and septic
School district
Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Selected Guide

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.

Sturgis
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

Custer
Typical price
Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
To Ellsworth AFB
About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Selected Guide
Edgemont
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Hermosa
Typical price
About $650,000 average sold, 28 sales over 24 monthsAverage sold $648,229. Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 28 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Custer School District 16-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Hill City
Typical price
Median sold $519,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 13 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 45 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 30 to 35 minutes on US-16Driving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
School district
Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Hot Springs
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Keystone
Typical price
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.
To Ellsworth AFB
About 40 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
About 25 minutes northeastDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
School district
Hill City School District 51-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

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.

New Underwood
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
Wall
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.
4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide

What changes

Between St. Onge, Custer, Box Elder, Colonial Pine Hills

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

Region: St. OngeNorthern Hills and I-90CusterCentral and Southern HillsBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine HillsRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
County: St. OngeLawrence CountyCusterCuster CountyBox ElderPennington CountyColonial Pine HillsPennington County
Jurisdiction: St. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.CusterNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Box ElderCity of Box ElderColonial Pine HillsUnincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.
Corridor: St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at WhitewoodCusterUS-16Box ElderI-90Colonial Pine HillsUS 16 and Sheridan Lake Road
To downtown Rapid City: St. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesCusterAbout 50 to 60 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 miColonial Pine HillsRoughly 6 miles northeast
To Ellsworth AFB: St. OngeAbout 45 milesCusterAbout an hour and ten minutesBox Elder9 min, 2.3 miColonial Pine HillsAbout 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid City

Side by side

St. Onge, Custer, Box Elder, Colonial Pine Hills

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-90St. Onge	Central and Southern HillsCuster	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine Hills
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Northern Hills and I-90	Central and Southern Hills	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Lawrence County	Custer County	Pennington County	Pennington County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.	City of Box Elder	Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.
Corridordiffers	SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood	US-16	I-90	US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.	Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.	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.	You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	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.	Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.	$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.	About $683,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 71 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $682,615. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 71 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.	Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement	Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.
New constructiondiffers	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.	Active, with subdivisions still building	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers	Acreage parcels are common here	Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.	Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers	Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.	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	Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.
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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.	Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	Mostly private well and septic	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mostly private well and septic
Waterdiffers	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.	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.	City of Box Elder municipal	Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.
Sewerdiffers	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.	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.	City of Box Elder municipal	Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.
Short term rentalsdiffers	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.	Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.	This is unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.
Schools
School districtdiffers	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.	Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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.	Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.	Monument Health Custer 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 clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.
Recreationdiffers	Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.	Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.	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.	Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.	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	An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.	A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.	Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.
What you gaindiffers	The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.	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 Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.	Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.
What you give updiffers	A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.	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.	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.	Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.

Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Central and Southern HillsCuster
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorColonial Pine Hills

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

St. Onge: Northern Hills and I-90
Custer: Central and Southern Hills
Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

St. Onge: Lawrence County
Custer: Custer County
Box Elder: Pennington County
Colonial Pine Hills: Pennington County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

St. Onge: Unincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder
Colonial Pine Hills: Unincorporated. There is no city government. Pennington County zones the lots, issues the permits and patrols the roads.

Corridordiffers

St. Onge: SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
Custer: US-16
Box Elder: I-90
Colonial Pine Hills: US 16 and Sheridan Lake Road

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

St. Onge: About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Custer: About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Colonial Pine Hills: Roughly 6 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

St. Onge: About 45 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Custer: About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Colonial Pine Hills: About 25 to 30 minutes, through or around Rapid CityDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

St. Onge: Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
Custer: Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: You are 900 feet above Rapid City on grades, and some subdivision roads are privately plowed. Snow tires are not a luxury item up here.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

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.
Custer: Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Colonial Pine Hills: About $683,000 average sold in the Sheridan Lake Road MLS area, 71 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $682,615. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 71 closed sales.

Housing agediffers

St. Onge: An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
Custer: Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Colonial Pine Hills: Platted over several decades, so 1970s cabins and current builds sit on the same road.

New constructiondiffers

St. Onge: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building
Colonial Pine Hills: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreagediffers

St. Onge: Acreage parcels are common here
Custer: Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Colonial Pine Hills: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

St. Onge: Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
Custer: 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
Colonial Pine Hills: Large by Rapid City standards, from generous lots to several acres.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

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

St. Onge: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Custer: 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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

St. Onge: Mostly private well and septic
Custer: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits
Colonial Pine Hills: Mostly private well and septic

Waterdiffers

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.
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.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Colonial Pine Hills: Depends entirely on the parcel. The Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary District serves roughly 430 connections. Several separate water associations serve other pockets, and the rest of the area is on private wells.

Sewerdiffers

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.
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.
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
Colonial Pine Hills: Private on-site septic throughout, permitted by Pennington County. There is no municipal sewer and no lagoon serving the area.

Short term rentalsdiffers

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.
Custer: Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.
Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Colonial Pine Hills: This is unincorporated county, so there is no municipal short-term rental ordinance. County zoning and subdivision covenants are what govern, and the covenants out here are often stricter than the county.

Schools

School districtdiffers

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.
Custer: Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Rapid City Area School District 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

St. Onge: Nothing in town. Spearfish is eleven miles southeast and Belle Fourche thirteen northwest.
Custer: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Colonial Pine Hills: Everything is in Rapid City, roughly fifteen minutes down US 16.

Healthcarediffers

St. Onge: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
Custer: Monument Health Custer 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.
Colonial Pine Hills: No clinic up here. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and the Rapid City clinics are the answer.

Recreationdiffers

St. Onge: Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
Custer: Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Sheridan Lake, Pactola, the Mickelson Trail and the whole central Hills network start where the subdivisions end.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

St. Onge: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Custer: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Box Elder: 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
Colonial Pine Hills: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

St. Onge: An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
Custer: A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.
Box Elder: A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
Colonial Pine Hills: Ponderosa pine subdivisions platted over decades, no two alike, on county rules six miles from the city.

What you gaindiffers

St. Onge: The cheapest ground in the northern Hills that still puts you eleven miles from a hospital and sixteen from three towns.
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.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Hills elevation, trees and lot size with a Rapid City commute and Rapid City schools.

What you give updiffers

St. Onge: A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.
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.
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.
Colonial Pine Hills: Well or association water, septic on every parcel, private roads in places, and wildfire exposure that affects insurance.

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

Want to talk through the tradeoffs?

Two towns can look identical in a table and feel nothing alike on a Tuesday night in February. Call or text and tell me which rows above are the ones you cannot live with, and we can work the list down from there.

Call 605-490-2040 Text 605-490-2040 Send a Message

Address Questions

Considering a home here?

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.

Or send a message from the contact page

ComparingSt. Onge, Custer, Box Elder, Colonial Pine Hills

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