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

5 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.

Browse

The five facts that decide a shortlist

Find a community

Selected, 2 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.
Compare 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.
Compare 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.

Spearfish
Typical price
$400k to $600kMedian sold $475,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 199 closed sales.
To Ellsworth AFB
68 min, 57.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To downtown Rapid City
53 min, 47.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Utility pattern
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.
School district
Spearfish School District 40-2Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Compare 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.

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.
Compare 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.

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.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between St. Onge, New Underwood

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-90New UnderwoodPrairie and Badlands
County: St. OngeLawrence CountyNew UnderwoodPennington County
Jurisdiction: St. OngeUnincorporated. No town government. Lawrence County zones the parcels and the Sheriff patrols them.New UnderwoodIncorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits
Corridor: St. OngeSD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at WhitewoodNew UnderwoodI-90 exit 78
To downtown Rapid City: St. OngeAbout 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesNew UnderwoodAbout 18 miles west on I-90
To Ellsworth AFB: St. OngeAbout 45 milesNew UnderwoodAbout 11 miles, exit 78 to the main gate at exit 67A

Side by side

St. Onge, New Underwood

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	Prairie and BadlandsNew Underwood
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Northern Hills and I-90	Prairie and Badlands
Countydiffers	Lawrence 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.	Incorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits
Corridordiffers	SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood	I-90 exit 78
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 18 miles west on I-90Distance 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 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.
Winter drivingdiffers	Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.	I-90 is the commute and it is state maintained. Everything off the interstate is county and city plowing on its own schedule, and this is open prairie, so wind moves snow back onto the road.
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.	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.
Housing agediffers	An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.	Older in-town stock with scattered newer building.
New construction	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreage	Acreage parcels are common here	Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers	Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.	Standard town lots on the grid, with ranch and acreage ground starting where the limits end.
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 patterndiffers	Mostly private well and septic	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
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.	City of New Underwood water inside the limits, drawn from two Madison Aquifer wells. Outside the limits, parcels are on small water associations or 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. Rural parcels are on private septic permitted by Pennington County.
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.	New Underwood is a highway town rather than a tourism town, and no short-term rental ordinance surfaced in the public record. Confirm with the city before you count on rental income.
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.	New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment 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.	BJ's Country Store at the exit 78 interchange for fuel and convenience. Full grocery shopping is Rapid City, about 18 miles west.
Healthcarediffers	Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.	No clinic in town. The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard has walk-in urgent care seven days a week, and the hospital is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers	Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.	The municipal pool, with a donor-funded free swim program, and open prairie in every direction.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.	A prairie town with its own K through 12 campus and its own interstate exit, 18 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.	The only town this close to Ellsworth that still educates its own kids from kindergarten through graduation.
What you give updiffers	A three-way school district split you have to verify per parcel, and no services of any kind in town.	You give up the grocery store, the clinic and the hardware store, and you inherit a small municipal water system with a publicly acknowledged supply question.

Northern Hills and I-90St. Onge
Prairie and BadlandsNew Underwood

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

St. Onge: Northern Hills and I-90
New Underwood: Prairie and Badlands

Countydiffers

St. Onge: Lawrence County
New Underwood: 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.
New Underwood: Incorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits

Corridordiffers

St. Onge: SD 34, with I-90 seven miles southeast at Whitewood
New Underwood: I-90 exit 78

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

St. Onge: About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
New Underwood: About 18 miles west on I-90Distance 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.
New Underwood: 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.

Winter drivingdiffers

St. Onge: Highway 34 is state maintained and connects three directions. County and private roads off it are a different conversation.
New Underwood: I-90 is the commute and it is state maintained. Everything off the interstate is county and city plowing on its own schedule, and this is open prairie, so wind moves snow back onto the road.

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.
New Underwood: 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.

Housing agediffers

St. Onge: An 1891 townsite with genuinely old buildings, surrounded by ranch and acreage property of every era.
New Underwood: Older in-town stock with scattered newer building.

New construction

St. Onge: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
New Underwood: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreage

St. Onge: Acreage parcels are common here
New Underwood: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

St. Onge: Small townsite lots, with acreage and ranch ground around them.
New Underwood: Standard town lots on the grid, with ranch and acreage ground starting where the limits end.

Covenants and HOA

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

St. Onge: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
New Underwood: Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

St. Onge: Mostly private well and septic
New Underwood: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it

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.
New Underwood: City of New Underwood water inside the limits, drawn from two Madison Aquifer wells. Outside the limits, parcels are on small water associations or 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.
New Underwood: City sewer inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private septic permitted by Pennington County.

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.
New Underwood: New Underwood is a highway town rather than a tourism town, and no short-term rental ordinance surfaced in the public record. Confirm with the city before you count on rental income.

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.
New Underwood: New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment 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.
New Underwood: BJ's Country Store at the exit 78 interchange for fuel and convenience. Full grocery shopping is Rapid City, about 18 miles west.

Healthcarediffers

St. Onge: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, a 35 bed facility with a 24 hour emergency department, about 18 minutes away.
New Underwood: No clinic in town. The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard has walk-in urgent care seven days a week, and the hospital is in Rapid City.

Recreationdiffers

St. Onge: Creek bottoms, hay ground and hunting country, with Spearfish Canyon and the northern Hills half an hour away.
New Underwood: The municipal pool, with a donor-funded free swim program, and open prairie in every direction.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

St. Onge: An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite that is now a cattle auction crossroads and an acreage corridor.
New Underwood: A prairie town with its own K through 12 campus and its own interstate exit, 18 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.
New Underwood: The only town this close to Ellsworth that still educates its own kids from kindergarten through graduation.

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.
New Underwood: You give up the grocery store, the clinic and the hardware store, and you inherit a small municipal water system with a publicly acknowledged supply question.

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, New Underwood

Compare Clear