Henry Roy Real Estate, Ascend Realty, Rapid City South Dakota
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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6 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.

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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
    Unincorporated, so closings report under Rapid City and Meade County rather than a Black Hawk median. Lot size and outbuildings move the price more than the street does.
    To Ellsworth AFB
    About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
    To downtown Rapid City
    About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
    Utility pattern
    Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
    School district
    Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
  • 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.
  • Typical price
    No published median exists for the community. Closed sales on the specific street are the only figure worth quoting here.
    To Ellsworth AFB
    About 15 minutes northDriving time and distance, off peak.
    To downtown Rapid City
    About 6 miles northwestDistance 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
    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.
    4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
  • 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.
    4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
  • Typical price
    About $350,000 average sold, 274 sales over 12 monthsAverage sold $349,971. Black Hills MLS, single family, 12 months through August 2026, as of August 2026. 274 closed sales.
    To Ellsworth AFB
    22 min, 10.4 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
    To downtown Rapid City
    11 min, 5.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
    Utility pattern
    Utility service varies by address. Rapid Valley Sanitary District serves portions of the area, while properties outside district service may use private wells and septic systems.
    School district
    Mostly Rapid City Area School District 51-4, with portions in Douglas 51-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
    4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
  • Typical price
    Builder inventory sets the level here, and the MLS publishes no Summerset median on its own.
    To Ellsworth AFB
    30 min, 19.2 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
    To downtown Rapid City
    15 min, 10.0 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
    Utility pattern
    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.
    School district
    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.
    4 is the most that fits. Drop one first.Guide
What changes

Between Wall, Black Hawk, Box Elder, Edgemont

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

Region
WallPrairie and BadlandsBlack HawkRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridorEdgemontCentral and Southern Hills
County
WallPennington CountyBlack HawkMeade CountyBox ElderPennington CountyEdgemontFall River County
Jurisdiction
WallIncorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.Black HawkUnincorporated Meade CountyBox ElderCity of Box ElderEdgemontIncorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
Corridor
WallI-90 exits 109 and 110Black HawkI-90Box ElderI-90EdgemontUS 18 and SD 471
To downtown Rapid City
WallAbout 50 miles west on I-90Black HawkAbout 12 to 15 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 miEdgemontAbout 100 miles northeast
To Ellsworth AFB
WallAbout 43 miles westBlack HawkAbout 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northBox Elder9 min, 2.3 miEdgemontAbout 110 miles
Side by side

Wall, Black Hawk, Box Elder, Edgemont

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.

Where it sits

Regiondiffers

Wall
Prairie and Badlands
Black Hawk
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Box Elder
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Edgemont
Central and Southern Hills

Countydiffers

Wall
Pennington County
Black Hawk
Meade County
Box Elder
Pennington County
Edgemont
Fall River County

Jurisdictiondiffers

City versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work.
Wall
Incorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.
Black Hawk
Unincorporated Meade County
Box Elder
City of Box Elder
Edgemont
Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.

Corridordiffers

Wall
I-90 exits 109 and 110
Black Hawk
I-90
Box Elder
I-90
Edgemont
US 18 and SD 471

To downtown Rapid Citydiffers

Wall
About 50 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Black Hawk
About 12 to 15 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder
19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont
About 100 miles northeastDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

To Ellsworth AFBdiffers

Wall
About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
Black Hawk
About 30 minutes, the same I-90 run as Summerset just northDriving time and distance, off peak.
Box Elder
9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
Edgemont
About 110 milesDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.

Winter drivingdiffers

Wall
I-90 is the lifeline and it is state maintained, but this is open prairie and I-90 does close in a ground blizzard. Plan for that a few times a winter.
Black Hawk
The road out front may be maintained publicly or by the neighborhood, so ask who plows before you buy.
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.
Edgemont
Cold semi-arid country with a recorded low of 40 below. US 18 is the lifeline and it is a long way to anywhere in a storm.

Housing and lots

Typical pricediffers

Wall
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.
Black Hawk
Unincorporated, so closings report under Rapid City and Meade County rather than a Black Hawk median. Lot size and outbuildings move the price more than the street does.
Box Elder
$340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales.
Edgemont
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.

Housing agediffers

Wall
Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property.
Black Hawk
Mixed street to street, sometimes neighbor to neighbor
Box Elder
Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
Edgemont
An 1890 railroad town, so mostly older stock, with about a quarter of units vacant at the 2020 count.

New constructiondiffers

Wall
Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Black Hawk
Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Box Elder
Active, with subdivisions still building
Edgemont
None underway

Acreagediffers

Wall
Acreage parcels are common here
Black Hawk
Larger lots and acre properties are part of the Black Hawk market, including properties with room for shops and outbuildings.
Box Elder
Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Edgemont
Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

Wall
Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale.
Black Hawk
Bigger lots, with shop space and outbuildings normal
Box Elder
Small city lots, about 0.15 to 0.18 acres in the newer plats
Edgemont
Town lots inside the limits, ranch scale outside them.

Covenants and HOAdiffers

Covenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.
Wall
Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Black Hawk
Recorded covenants on some plats, none on othersRecorded covenants vary by subdivision and should be checked for the specific property.
Box Elder
Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Edgemont
Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Wall
City water and sewer inside the limits
Black Hawk
Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Box Elder
City water and sewer inside the limits
Edgemont
City water and sewer inside the limits

Waterdiffers

Wall
Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells.
Black Hawk
Black Hawk Water User District
Box Elder
City of Box Elder municipal
Edgemont
City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells.

Sewerdiffers

Wall
Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
Black Hawk
Black Hawk Sanitary District serves roughly 200 homes and businesses; properties outside the district are on private septic
Box Elder
City of Box Elder municipal
Edgemont
City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.

Short term rentalsdiffers

Wall
This is genuine seasonal tourism territory at a national park gate. Confirm any town requirement, and note that Wall Drug houses many of its own seasonal workers, which removes demand from the local rental market.
Black Hawk
No municipal short term rental ordinance, because there is no municipality. State licensing still applies, and the subdivision covenant usually decides.
Box Elder
A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Edgemont
Edgemont is not a tourism town. Short-term rental demand here is work crews, hunting season and Rally traffic passing through, not visitors staying to see something.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Wall
Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Black Hawk
Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 for most addressesAssignment 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.
Edgemont
Edgemont School District 23-1Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Wall
The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West.
Black Hawk
No full-service grocery store is in Black Hawk. Most larger grocery trips go into Rapid City.
Box Elder
Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
Edgemont
Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.

Healthcarediffers

Wall
The Monument Health Wall Clinic on 7th Avenue is in town. The nearest hospital is Monument Health Rapid City, roughly 50 miles west.
Black Hawk
Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Box Elder
Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
Edgemont
No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.

Recreationdiffers

Wall
Badlands National Park about seven miles south, Buffalo Gap National Grassland all around, the National Grasslands Visitor Center on Main Street and the Wall rodeo arena.
Black Hawk
Piedmont and the Stagebarn area are just north, with the central hills close enough for a half day.
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.
Edgemont
The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.

Mapped subdivisions

Outlines on filediffers

Wall
No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
Black Hawk
12 mapped outlines, 5 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.
Edgemont
No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.

The trade

Housing and patterndiffers

Wall
A complete small prairie town with its own school, clinic and grocery, at the northern gate to the Badlands.
Black Hawk
Unincorporated foothills pockets where lot size, home age and outbuildings change from one parcel to the next.
Box Elder
A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
Edgemont
A working BNSF crew-change town founded in 1890, at the far southern edge of the Hills below the Elk Mountains.

What you gaindiffers

Wall
Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices.
Black Hawk
Bigger lots, room for a shop, and about 12 to 15 minutes to downtown Rapid City, without a city hall setting the local rules.
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.
Edgemont
More town per dollar than anywhere else in the region, with its own school district and city utilities.

What you give updiffers

Wall
Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season.
Black Hawk
There is no city hall, so the subdivision covenant decides what you can build or rent, and water, sewer and road maintenance all change parcel to parcel.
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.
Edgemont
A hundred miles from Rapid City, 35 from a hospital, with two unresolved questions hanging over the local economy.
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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ComparingWall, Black Hawk, Box Elder, Edgemont

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