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.

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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

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What changes

Between Summerset, Box Elder, Custer, Rapid City

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

Region: SummersetRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorCusterCentral and Southern HillsRapid CityRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
County: SummersetMeade CountyBox ElderPennington CountyCusterCuster CountyRapid CityPennington County
Jurisdiction: SummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005Box ElderCity of Box ElderCusterNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Rapid CityCity of Rapid City
Corridor: SummersetI-90Box ElderI-90CusterUS-16Rapid CityI-90 along the north edge
To downtown Rapid City: Summerset15 min, 10.0 miBox Elder19 min, 10.9 miCusterAbout 50 to 60 minutesRapid City5 min, 1.5 mi
To Ellsworth AFB: Summerset30 min, 19.2 miBox Elder9 min, 2.3 miCusterAbout an hour and ten minutesRapid City24 min, 13.8 mi

Side by side

Summerset, Box Elder, Custer, Rapid City

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	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorSummerset	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder	Central and Southern HillsCuster	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid City
Where it sits
Regiondiffers	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor	Central and Southern Hills	Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers	Meade County	Pennington County	Custer County	Pennington County
JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.	City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005	City of Box Elder	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.	City of Rapid City
Corridordiffers	I-90	I-90	US-16	I-90 along the north edge
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers	15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.	About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.	24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Winter drivingdiffers	The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.	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.	Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.	April is the snowiest month at 10.1 inches on average, and the city averages about five inches a month against fifteen up in the Hills.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers	Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.	$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.	Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.	$300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 closed sales.
Housing agediffers	Mostly 2000s to present	Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement	Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.	Everything from 1875 downtown streets to current new construction
New constructiondiffers	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Active, with subdivisions still building	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.	Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.	Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.	Some acreage, mostly platted town lots
Typical lotdiffers	Wide lots on new streets	Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats	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.
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.	Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley.	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it	City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers	Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley	City of Box Elder municipal	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 Rapid City municipal
Sewerdiffers	City of Summerset	City of Box Elder municipal	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 Rapid City sanitary sewer
Short term rentalsdiffers	The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.	A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.	Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.	Vacation rentals inside city limits are regulated, and the ordinance is recent. Read the guide before you count on rental income.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	Douglas School District 51-1Assignment 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.	Rapid City Area Schools 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.	Groceries, the hospital and the airport are all inside the city, so a supply run is minutes rather than a trip.
Healthcarediffers	Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.	Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.	Monument Health Custer Hospital and clinic are in town.	Monument Health's main campus is here, which is the reason a lot of the region drives in.
Recreationdiffers	Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden.	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.	Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.	Main Street Square and Art Alley downtown, with Mount Rushmore southwest, Custer State Park south and the Badlands east.
Mapped subdivisions
Outlines on filediffers	2 mapped outlines, 2 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.	13 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.
The trade
Housing and patterndiffers	New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.	A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.	A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.	A working city with a real downtown, older streets with mature trees near the middle and new subdivisions on the edges.
What you gaindiffers	Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites.	The Ellsworth main gate is in town, 9 minutes from most addresses, on city water and sewer, with the region's newest housing pipeline.	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.	Everything the region has sits in one place: Monument Health, the airport, the widest run of housing stock, and 24 minutes to the Ellsworth gate.
What you give updiffers	You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address.	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 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.	You buy into the region's deepest demand, and the recent vacation rental ordinance limits what you can do with a house you do not live in.

Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorSummerset
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox Elder
Central and Southern HillsCuster
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridorRapid City

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Summerset: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Box Elder: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Custer: Central and Southern Hills
Rapid City: Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor

Countydiffers

Summerset: Meade County
Box Elder: Pennington County
Custer: Custer County
Rapid City: Pennington County

Jurisdictiondiffers

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

Summerset: City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
Box Elder: City of Box Elder
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City

Corridordiffers

Summerset: I-90
Box Elder: I-90
Custer: US-16
Rapid City: I-90 along the north edge

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Summerset: 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Custer: About 50 to 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Rapid City: 5 min, 1.5 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Summerset: 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder: 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Custer: About an hour and ten minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Rapid City: 24 min, 13.8 miDriving time and distance, off peak.

Winter drivingdiffers

Summerset: The commute is I-90, so winter driving here is interstate driving rather than a two lane canyon road.
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.
Custer: Winter roads are a genuine planning factor at this distance, and on acreage you need to know who maintains yours.
Rapid City: April is the snowiest month at 10.1 inches on average, and the city averages about five inches a month against fifteen up in the Hills.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Summerset: Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
Box Elder: $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Custer: Median sold $627,000Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 7 closed sales, small sample.
Rapid City: $300k to $450kMedian sold $349,950. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 706 closed sales.

Housing agediffers

Summerset: Mostly 2000s to present
Box Elder: Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Custer: Mixed ages. Older homes near the core, newer construction toward the edges.
Rapid City: Everything from 1875 downtown streets to current new construction

New constructiondiffers

Summerset: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Box Elder: Active, with subdivisions still building
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
Rapid City: Active, with subdivisions still building

Acreagediffers

Summerset: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Custer: Acreage is common outside the city core, with wells and septic systems typical on many rural properties.
Rapid City: Some acreage, mostly platted town lots

Typical lotdiffers

Summerset: Wide lots on new streets
Box Elder: Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
Rapid City: Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

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

Summerset: Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others
Box Elder: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Custer: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Rapid City: Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Summerset: Sewer collection is provided by the City of Summerset. Water service varies by address and can include Black Hawk Water User District or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley.
Box Elder: City water and sewer inside the limits
Custer: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Rapid City: City water and sewer inside the limits

Waterdiffers

Summerset: Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
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.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City municipal

Sewerdiffers

Summerset: City of Summerset
Box Elder: City of Box Elder municipal
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.
Rapid City: City of Rapid City sanitary sewer

Short term rentalsdiffers

Summerset: The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
Box Elder: A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Custer: Grandfathered permits are non transferable and expire when the property sells, and the rules flip at the city line.
Rapid City: Vacation rentals inside city limits are regulated, and the ordinance is recent. Read the guide before you count on rental income.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Summerset: Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, split within the cityAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Box Elder: Douglas School District 51-1Assignment 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.
Rapid City: Rapid City Area Schools 51-4Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Summerset: Not recorded in this guide. Check what is open near the address.
Box Elder: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Custer: Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Rapid City: Groceries, the hospital and the airport are all inside the city, so a supply run is minutes rather than a trip.

Healthcarediffers

Summerset: Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
Box Elder: Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Custer: Monument Health Custer Hospital and clinic are in town.
Rapid City: Monument Health's main campus is here, which is the reason a lot of the region drives in.

Recreationdiffers

Summerset: Leisure Lane, Steamboat and Castlewood parks are the everyday recreation. Leisure Lane is the big one, with playgrounds, basketball, picnic shelters, open grass and the community garden.
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.
Custer: Custer State Park at the door, including Sylvan Lake, the Needles Highway, the wildlife loop and the September buffalo roundup.
Rapid City: Main Street Square and Art Alley downtown, with Mount Rushmore southwest, Custer State Park south and the Badlands east.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Summerset: 2 mapped outlines, 2 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.
Custer: No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Rapid City: 13 mapped outlines, 13 with a full guideReference outlines from county and city GIS, not surveys. The recorded plat controls.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Summerset: New streets and builder inventory, with Highlands at Norman Ranch adding over 100 first phase homesites across more than 300 acres.
Box Elder: A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
Custer: A county seat at a park entrance, with a replacement Monument Health hospital and acreage starting just past the city limits.
Rapid City: A working city with a real downtown, older streets with mature trees near the middle and new subdivisions on the edges.

What you gaindiffers

Summerset: Newer houses on city sewer with Hills views at a price central Rapid City does not offer, and Highlands at Norman Ranch is still selling first phase homesites.
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.
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.
Rapid City: Everything the region has sits in one place: Monument Health, the airport, the widest run of housing stock, and 24 minutes to the Ellsworth gate.

What you give updiffers

Summerset: You are fifteen minutes out from most of Rapid City's services and you drive I-90 to get to them in the winter. The city is also split between Meade 46-1 and Rapid City Area Schools 51-4, so the district follows the address.
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.
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.
Rapid City: You buy into the region's deepest demand, and the recent vacation rental ordinance limits what you can do with a house you do not live in.

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

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ComparingSummerset, Box Elder, Custer, Rapid City

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