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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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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Between Wall, Hot Springs, Box Elder
The rows below are the ones where these do not read the same. Ordered as the table runs, not by importance.
- Region
- WallPrairie and BadlandsHot SpringsCentral and Southern HillsBox ElderRapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
- County
- WallPennington CountyHot SpringsFall River CountyBox ElderPennington County
- Jurisdiction
- WallIncorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.Hot SpringsNot recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.Box ElderCity of Box Elder
- Corridor
- WallI-90 exits 109 and 110Hot SpringsUS-79 and US-18Box ElderI-90
- To downtown Rapid City
- WallAbout 50 miles west on I-90Hot SpringsAbout 60 minutesBox Elder19 min, 10.9 mi
- To Ellsworth AFB
- WallAbout 43 miles westHot SpringsAbout an hour and fifteen minutesBox Elder9 min, 2.3 mi
Wall, Hot Springs, 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 | Prairie and BadlandsWall | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | |||
| Regiondiffers | Prairie and Badlands | Central and Southern Hills | Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor |
| Countydiffers | Pennington County | Fall River County | Pennington County |
| JurisdictiondiffersCity versus county decides who provides service and who inspects the work. | Incorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground. | City of Box Elder |
| Corridordiffers | I-90 exits 109 and 110 | US-79 and US-18 | I-90 |
| To downtown Rapid Citydiffers | About 50 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | About 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| To Ellsworth AFBdiffers | About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel. | About an hour and fifteen minutesDriving time and distance, off peak. | 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak. |
| Winter drivingdiffers | 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. | Chinook favored foothills make winters here warmer and drier than the northern Hills, so there is less snow to move. | 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 | 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. | Median sold $315,150Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 24 closed sales. | $340k to $400kMedian sold $367,000. Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 235 closed sales. |
| Housing agediffers | Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property. | Older homes near downtown, acreage outside it | Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement |
| New constructiondiffers | Limited, mostly infill and small projects | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county. | Active, with subdivisions still building |
| Acreagediffers | Acreage parcels are common here | Acreage is common outside the town core and is one of the more accessible rural-property options in the southern Black Hills. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size. |
| Typical lotdiffers | Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions. | 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. | Few plats here carry recorded covenants | 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 | City water and sewer inside the limits | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address. | City water and sewer inside the limits |
| Waterdiffers | Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Sewerdiffers | Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels. | Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address. | City of Box Elder municipal |
| Short term rentalsdiffers | 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. | No city ordinance I can locate as of August 2026, and unincorporated Fall River County does not administer zoning districts, so the county building, septic and access permits are the controls that apply. | A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up. |
| Schools | |||
| School districtdiffers | Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district. | Hot Springs School District 23-2Assignment 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 | The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West. | Full-service grocery options in town include Sonny's Super Foods and Lynn's Dakotamart. | Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town. |
| Healthcarediffers | The Monument Health Wall Clinic on 7th Avenue is in town. The nearest hospital is Monument Health Rapid City, roughly 50 miles west. | Fall River Health Services operates a hospital, 24-hour emergency department and rural health clinic in Hot Springs. | Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City. |
| Recreationdiffers | 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. | Evans Plunge, the city run mineral springs pool, the Mammoth Site dig in the middle of town, Wind Cave National Park about 11 miles out and Angostura Reservoir about 10 miles for lake days. | 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 | No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet. | 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 complete small prairie town with its own school, clinic and grocery, at the northern gate to the Badlands. | A sandstone downtown built along the Fall River, with Evans Plunge and Angostura close and water in every direction. | A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned. |
| What you gaindiffers | Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices. | Chinook favored foothills that keep winters warmer and drier than the northern Hills, a sandstone downtown on the Fall River, and acreage minutes out of town at a $315,150 median. | 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 | Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season. | Rapid City is about an hour on US-79 and US-18, which is a lot of highway for a daily commute. | 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. |
- Prairie and BadlandsWall
Where it sits
Regiondiffers
- Wall
- Prairie and Badlands
- Hot Springs
- Central and Southern Hills
- Box Elder
- Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Countydiffers
- Wall
- Pennington County
- Hot Springs
- Fall River County
- Box Elder
- Pennington 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.
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The address decides whether it is city or county ground.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder
Corridordiffers
- Wall
- I-90 exits 109 and 110
- Hot Springs
- US-79 and US-18
- Box Elder
- I-90
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.
- Hot Springs
- About 60 minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 19 min, 10.9 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers
- Wall
- About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
- Hot Springs
- About an hour and fifteen minutesDriving time and distance, off peak.
- Box Elder
- 9 min, 2.3 miDriving time and distance, off peak.
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.
- Hot Springs
- Chinook favored foothills make winters here warmer and drier than the northern Hills, so there is less snow to move.
- 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
- 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.
- Hot Springs
- Median sold $315,150Black Hills MLS, single family, trailing 12 months, as of August 2026. 24 closed sales.
- 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
- Wall
- Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property.
- Hot Springs
- Older homes near downtown, acreage outside it
- Box Elder
- Heavily new construction since the B-21 announcement
New constructiondiffers
- Wall
- Limited, mostly infill and small projects
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Check current permits with the city or county.
- Box Elder
- Active, with subdivisions still building
Acreagediffers
- Wall
- Acreage parcels are common here
- Hot Springs
- Acreage is common outside the town core and is one of the more accessible rural-property options in the southern Black Hills.
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot size.
Typical lotdiffers
- Wall
- Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale.
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. The recorded plat carries the lot dimensions.
- 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.- Wall
- Few plats here carry recorded covenants
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
- Box Elder
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Read the recorded documents for the plat.
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers
- Wall
- City water and sewer inside the limits
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify water and sewer service for the address.
- Box Elder
- City water and sewer inside the limits
Waterdiffers
- Wall
- Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells.
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the provider for the address.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
Sewerdiffers
- Wall
- Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
- Hot Springs
- Not recorded townwide in this guide. Verify the service for the address.
- Box Elder
- City of Box Elder municipal
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.
- Hot Springs
- No city ordinance I can locate as of August 2026, and unincorporated Fall River County does not administer zoning districts, so the county building, septic and access permits are the controls that apply.
- Box Elder
- A verify first town for rental plans, with one specific misconception the guide clears up.
Schools
School districtdiffers
- Wall
- Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
- Hot Springs
- Hot Springs School District 23-2Assignment 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
- Wall
- The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West.
- Hot Springs
- Full-service grocery options in town include Sonny's Super Foods and Lynn's Dakotamart.
- Box Elder
- Lynn's Dakotamart is a full-service grocery store in town.
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.
- Hot Springs
- Fall River Health Services operates a hospital, 24-hour emergency department and rural health clinic in Hot Springs.
- Box Elder
- Monument Health Box Elder Clinic provides primary and urgent care in town. Hospital-level care is in Rapid City.
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.
- Hot Springs
- Evans Plunge, the city run mineral springs pool, the Mammoth Site dig in the middle of town, Wind Cave National Park about 11 miles out and Angostura Reservoir about 10 miles for lake days.
- 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
- Wall
- No recorded subdivision outlines drawn for this community yet.
- Hot Springs
- 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
- Wall
- A complete small prairie town with its own school, clinic and grocery, at the northern gate to the Badlands.
- Hot Springs
- A sandstone downtown built along the Fall River, with Evans Plunge and Angostura close and water in every direction.
- Box Elder
- A young city building its first downtown at Liberty Plaza on 110 acres, with roughly 800 residential units planned.
What you gaindiffers
- Wall
- Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices.
- Hot Springs
- Chinook favored foothills that keep winters warmer and drier than the northern Hills, a sandstone downtown on the Fall River, and acreage minutes out of town at a $315,150 median.
- 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
- Wall
- Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season.
- Hot Springs
- Rapid City is about an hour on US-79 and US-18, which is a lot of highway for a daily commute.
- 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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