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.
10 of 25 communities
Price filters only consider communities with a published trailing twelve month median, so towns without one do not appear in a price filter.
The five facts that decide a shortlist
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Between Summerset, Hermosa
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 corridorHermosaCentral and Southern Hills
- County
- SummersetMeade CountyHermosaCuster County
- Jurisdiction
- SummersetCity of Summerset, incorporated July 2005HermosaIncorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits
- Corridor
- SummersetI-90HermosaUS 79
- To downtown Rapid City
- Summerset15 min, 10.0 miHermosa26 min, 18.6 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Summerset30 min, 19.2 miHermosaAbout 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90
Summerset, Hermosa
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 | Central and Southern HillsHermosa | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | ||
| Regiondiffers | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor | Central and Southern Hills |
| Countydiffers | Meade County | Custer County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005 | Incorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits |
| Corridordiffers | I-90 | US 79 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak. | About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving 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. | US 79 is state maintained and is the reason the commute works. Town streets and county roads clear on their own schedule. |
| Housing and lots | ||
| Typical pricediffers | Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own. | 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. |
| Housing agediffers | Mostly 2000s to present | A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges. |
| New construction | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Limited, mostly infill and small projects |
| Acreagediffers | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. | Acreage parcels are common here |
| Typical lotdiffers | Wide lots on new streets | Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them. |
| Covenants and HOAdiffersCovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel. | Recorded covenants on some plats, none on others | Few plats here carry recorded covenants |
| 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. | Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it |
| Waterdiffers | Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley | Town of Hermosa water inside the limits. The Hermosa Water Users Association is a separate system, and rural parcels are commonly on private wells. Which one serves a given address has to be checked address by address. |
| Sewerdiffers | City of Summerset | Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic. |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address. | Hermosa sits on the road to Custer State Park, which makes short-term rental a real question here. Nothing in the public record confirms a town ordinance either way, so confirm with the town before you count on the 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. | Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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. | Pop's Grocery Shoppe on North Ferguson Street, a full grocery in town since 2007. Anything larger is Rapid City, 26 minutes north. |
| Healthcarediffers | Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south. | No clinic in town. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital is about 22 minutes north, and Monument Health Custer Hospital is about 27 miles southwest. |
| 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. | Custer State Park is the back door, with Battle Creek running at the edge of town and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the 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. | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. |
| 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 working prairie town with its own grocery, library and county fairgrounds, at the point where the grassland meets the Hills. |
| 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. | Elementary and middle school in town, 26 minutes from Rapid City, with larger lots and rural utility tradeoffs common outside town. |
| 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. | High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel. |
- Central and Southern HillsHermosa
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Summerset
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- Hermosa
- Central and Southern Hills
Countydiffers
- Summerset
- Meade County
- Hermosa
- Custer County
Jurisdictiondiffers
City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.- Summerset
- City of Summerset, incorporated July 2005
- Hermosa
- Incorporated town of Hermosa, with Custer County outside the town limits
Corridordiffers
- Summerset
- I-90
- Hermosa
- US 79
To downtown Rapid Citydiffers
- Summerset
- 15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Hermosa
- 26 min, 18.6 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Summerset
- 30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Hermosa
- About 35 minutes, north through Rapid City to I-90Driving 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.
- Hermosa
- US 79 is state maintained and is the reason the commute works. Town streets and county roads clear on their own schedule.
Housing and lots
Typical pricediffers
- Summerset
- Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
- Hermosa
- 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.
Housing agediffers
- Summerset
- Mostly 2000s to present
- Hermosa
- A mix, with older in-town stock and newer building on the edges.
New construction
- Summerset
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Hermosa
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreagediffers
- Summerset
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
- Hermosa
- Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers
- Summerset
- Wide lots on new streets
- Hermosa
- Small town lots inside the limits, acreage outside them.
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
- Hermosa
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
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.
- Hermosa
- Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers
- Summerset
- Black Hawk Water User District, or Diamond D Water in Sun Valley
- Hermosa
- Town of Hermosa water inside the limits. The Hermosa Water Users Association is a separate system, and rural parcels are commonly on private wells. Which one serves a given address has to be checked address by address.
Sewerdiffers
- Summerset
- City of Summerset
- Hermosa
- Town sewer with lagoon treatment inside the limits, currently being expanded. Rural parcels are on private septic.
Short term rentalsdiffers
- Summerset
- The thinnest rules on this list, which means a rental plan has to be pinned down for the specific address.
- Hermosa
- Hermosa sits on the road to Custer State Park, which makes short-term rental a real question here. Nothing in the public record confirms a town ordinance either way, so confirm with the town before you count on the 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.
- Hermosa
- Custer School District 16-1Assignment 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.
- Hermosa
- Pop's Grocery Shoppe on North Ferguson Street, a full grocery in town since 2007. Anything larger is Rapid City, 26 minutes north.
Healthcarediffers
- Summerset
- Hospital-level care is in Rapid City, about 15 minutes south.
- Hermosa
- No clinic in town. Monument Health Rapid City Hospital is about 22 minutes north, and Monument Health Custer Hospital is about 27 miles southwest.
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.
- Hermosa
- Custer State Park is the back door, with Battle Creek running at the edge of town and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland to the 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.
- Hermosa
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
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.
- Hermosa
- A working prairie town with its own grocery, library and county fairgrounds, at the point where the grassland meets the Hills.
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.
- Hermosa
- Elementary and middle school in town, 26 minutes from Rapid City, with larger lots and rural utility tradeoffs common outside town.
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.
- Hermosa
- High school is 27 miles away in Custer, and the water arrangement changes parcel to parcel.
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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