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.
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Between Sturgis, Green Valley, Box Elder
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- SturgisNorthern Hills and I-90Green ValleyRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- SturgisMeade CountyGreen ValleyPennington CountyBox ElderPennington County
- Jurisdiction
- SturgisNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Green ValleyUnincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.Box ElderCity of Box Elder
- Corridor
- SturgisI-90Green ValleySD 44Box ElderI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- Sturgis33 min, 28.9 miGreen ValleyAbout 6 miles northwestBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Sturgis48 min, 38.2 miGreen ValleyAbout 15 minutes northBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi
Sturgis, Green Valley, Box Elder
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 | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | |||
| Regiondiffers | Northern Hills and I-90 | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Meade County | Pennington County | Pennington 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. | Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them. | City of Box Elder |
| Corridordiffers | I-90 | SD 44 | I-90 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | 48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak. | 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later. | Highway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly. | 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. |
| Housing and lots | |||
| Typical pricediffers | $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales. | No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here. | $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales. |
| Housing agediffers | Older near the core, newer on the edges | Mostly late twentieth century through current. | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Active, with subdivisions still building |
| Acreagediffers | Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors. | Some acreage, mostly platted town lots | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. |
| Typical lotdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road. | Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat. |
| Utilities and rules | |||
| Utility patterndiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address. | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it | City water and sewer inside the limits |
| Waterdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address. | Not a single system. The Rapid Valley Sanitary District's service area extends past the Rapid Valley boundary and is the likely supplier for much of Green Valley, and there is also a separate Green Valley Sanitary District administered alongside it. Outlying parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road are on private wells. Confirm per parcel. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Sewerdiffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address. | District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally. | Unincorporated county, so no municipal short-term rental ordinance applies. County zoning and any subdivision covenants govern, and state licensing applies once you rent. | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. |
| Schools | |||
| School districtdiffers | Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Split between Douglas 51-1 and Rapid City Area 51-4. Address specific.Assignment 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. |
| Daily errands | |||
| Groceriesdiffers | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. | The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. |
| Healthcarediffers | Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town. | The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City. | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. |
| Recreationdiffers | Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close. | Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction. | 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. |
| Mapped subdivisions | |||
| Outlines on filediffers | 9 mapped outlines, 8 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. | 16 mapped outlines, 3 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls. |
| The trade | |||
| Housing and patterndiffers | A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon. | Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules. | A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned. |
| What you gaindiffers | A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City. | More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north. | The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline. |
| What you give updiffers | Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town. | A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street. | 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. |
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorGreen Valley
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Sturgis
- Northern Hills and I-90
- Green Valley
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Sturgis
- Meade County
- Green Valley
- Pennington County
- Box Elder
- Pennington County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
- Green Valley
- Unincorporated. No city government. Pennington County zones the lots and the County Sheriff patrols them.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers
- Sturgis
- I-90
- Green Valley
- SD 44
- Box Elder
- I-90
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Sturgis
- 33 min, 28.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Green Valley
- About 6 miles northwestDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Sturgis
- 48 min, 38.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Green Valley
- About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers
- Sturgis
- I-90 is state maintained and the city clears its own streets. The county roads out past the edges clear later.
- Green Valley
- Highway 44 is a state priority. Everything off it is county, and open prairie means blowing snow reclaims a cleared road quickly.
- 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.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Sturgis
- $300k to $450kMedian sold $365,000. Mount Rushmore Area MLS, all residential, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 97 closed sales.
- Green Valley
- No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
- Box Elder
- $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Housing agediffers
- Sturgis
- Older near the core, newer on the edges
- Green Valley
- Mostly late twentieth century through current.
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers
- Sturgis
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Green Valley
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers
- Sturgis
- Acreage becomes more common outside the city core, including areas east of Sturgis and along the surrounding canyon and prairie corridors.
- Green Valley
- Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers
- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
- Green Valley
- Generous by city standards, with larger parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road.
- Box Elder
- Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Covenants and HOAdiffers
Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- Green Valley
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- Green Valley
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers
- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
- Green Valley
- Not a single system. The Rapid Valley Sanitary District's service area extends past the Rapid Valley boundary and is the likely supplier for much of Green Valley, and there is also a separate Green Valley Sanitary District administered alongside it. Outlying parcels toward Radar Hill and Reservoir Road are on private wells. Confirm per parcel.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers
- Sturgis
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.
- Green Valley
- District sewer where the district reaches, private septic where it does not. Confirm per parcel.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Sturgis
- No short term rental licensing ordinance. What the city does regulate is residential camping during the Rally.
- Green Valley
- Unincorporated county, so no municipal short-term rental ordinance applies. County zoning and any subdivision covenants govern, and state licensing applies once you rent.
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Sturgis
- Meade School District 46-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Green Valley
- Split between Douglas 51-1 and Rapid City Area 51-4. Address specific.Assignment 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.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers
- Sturgis
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
- Green Valley
- The Highway 44 corridor and east Rapid City, a few minutes northwest.
- Box Elder
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Healthcarediffers
- Sturgis
- Monument Health Sturgis Hospital and clinic are in town.
- Green Valley
- The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard for walk-in care, with the hospital in Rapid City.
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Recreationdiffers
- Sturgis
- Bear Butte State Park, Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, with the northern hills toward Spearfish and Deadwood close.
- Green Valley
- Open prairie, the county land east of town, and the whole Black Hills half an hour the other direction.
- 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.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers
- Sturgis
- 9 mapped outlines, 8 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
- Green Valley
- 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.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers
- Sturgis
- A full Main Street town with its own grocery, hospital and high school, and Bear Butte on the horizon.
- Green Valley
- Flat prairie subdivisions east of the city, growing steadily, on county rules.
- Box Elder
- A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
What you gaindiffers
- Sturgis
- A town that stands on its own, grocery, hospital and high school inside it, at a price per square foot below Rapid City.
- Green Valley
- More ground for the money six miles from Rapid City, with Ellsworth fifteen minutes north.
- 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.
What you give updiffers
- Sturgis
- Half an hour of interstate each way to Rapid City, and for the first two weeks of August the Rally is your town.
- Green Valley
- A school district line that runs through the community, and a water arrangement that changes street to street.
- 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.
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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