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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1 of 25 communities

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

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

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Selected, 2 of 4

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.

Rapid City
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.
Compare Guide

What changes

Between Wall, New Underwood

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

Jurisdiction: WallIncorporated town of Wall, with Pennington County outside the limits.New UnderwoodIncorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits
Corridor: WallI-90 exits 109 and 110New UnderwoodI-90 exit 78
To downtown Rapid City: WallAbout 50 miles west on I-90New UnderwoodAbout 18 miles west on I-90
To Ellsworth AFB: WallAbout 43 miles westNew UnderwoodAbout 11 miles, exit 78 to the main gate at exit 67A
Winter driving: WallI-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.New UnderwoodI-90 is the commute and it is state maintained. Everything off the interstate is county and city plowing on its own schedule, and this is open prairie, so wind moves snow back onto the road.
Typical price: WallAbout $270,000 average sold, 19 sales over 24 monthsNew UnderwoodAbout $320,000 average sold, 20 sales over 24 months

Side by side

Wall, New Underwood

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	Prairie and BadlandsWall	Prairie and BadlandsNew Underwood
Where it sits
Region	Prairie and Badlands	Prairie and Badlands
County	Pennington 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.	Incorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits
Corridordiffers	I-90 exits 109 and 110	I-90 exit 78
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 18 miles west on I-90Distance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.
To Ellsworth AFBdiffers	About 43 miles westDistance only. Drive time is not measured for this community, so time it from the parcel.	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.
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.	I-90 is the commute and it is state maintained. Everything off the interstate is county and city plowing on its own schedule, and this is open prairie, so wind moves snow back onto the road.
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.	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.
Housing agediffers	Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property.	Older in-town stock with scattered newer building.
New construction	Limited, mostly infill and small projects	Limited, mostly infill and small projects
Acreage	Acreage parcels are common here	Acreage parcels are common here
Typical lotdiffers	Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale.	Standard town lots on the grid, with ranch and acreage ground starting where the limits end.
Covenants and HOACovenants are recorded per plat. The title commitment lists what binds the parcel.	Few plats here carry recorded covenants	Few plats here carry recorded covenants
Utilities and rules
Utility patterndiffers	City water and sewer inside the limits	Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it
Waterdiffers	Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells.	City of New Underwood water inside the limits, drawn from two Madison Aquifer wells. Outside the limits, parcels are on small water associations or private wells.
Sewerdiffers	Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.	City sewer inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private septic permitted by Pennington County.
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.	New Underwood is a highway town rather than a tourism town, and no short-term rental ordinance surfaced in the public record. Confirm with the city before you count on rental income.
Schools
School districtdiffers	Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.	New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
Daily errands
Groceriesdiffers	The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West.	BJ's Country Store at the exit 78 interchange for fuel and convenience. Full grocery shopping is Rapid City, about 18 miles west.
Healthcarediffers	The Monument Health Wall Clinic on 7th Avenue is in town. The nearest hospital is Monument Health Rapid City, roughly 50 miles west.	No clinic in town. The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard has walk-in urgent care seven days a week, and the hospital 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.	The municipal pool, with a donor-funded free swim program, and open prairie in every direction.
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 prairie town with its own K through 12 campus and its own interstate exit, 18 miles from the city.
What you gaindiffers	Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices.	The only town this close to Ellsworth that still educates its own kids from kindergarten through graduation.
What you give updiffers	Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season.	You give up the grocery store, the clinic and the hardware store, and you inherit a small municipal water system with a publicly acknowledged supply question.

Prairie and BadlandsWall
Prairie and BadlandsNew Underwood

Where it sits

Region

Wall: Prairie and Badlands
New Underwood: Prairie and Badlands

County

Wall: Pennington County
New Underwood: 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.
New Underwood: Incorporated city of New Underwood, with Pennington County outside the limits

Corridordiffers

Wall: I-90 exits 109 and 110
New Underwood: I-90 exit 78

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.
New Underwood: About 18 miles west on I-90Distance 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.
New Underwood: 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.

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.
New Underwood: I-90 is the commute and it is state maintained. Everything off the interstate is county and city plowing on its own schedule, and this is open prairie, so wind moves snow back onto the road.

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.
New Underwood: 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.

Housing agediffers

Wall: Older stock through town, with a municipal demolition incentive program in place for blighted property.
New Underwood: Older in-town stock with scattered newer building.

New construction

Wall: Limited, mostly infill and small projects
New Underwood: Limited, mostly infill and small projects

Acreage

Wall: Acreage parcels are common here
New Underwood: Acreage parcels are common here

Typical lotdiffers

Wall: Platted town lots, and then it jumps straight to ranch scale.
New Underwood: Standard town lots on the grid, with ranch and acreage ground starting where the limits end.

Covenants and HOA

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

Wall: Few plats here carry recorded covenants
New Underwood: Few plats here carry recorded covenants

Utilities and rules

Utility patterndiffers

Wall: City water and sewer inside the limits
New Underwood: Mixed, municipal service in town with well and septic outside it

Waterdiffers

Wall: Town of Wall municipal water inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private wells.
New Underwood: City of New Underwood water inside the limits, drawn from two Madison Aquifer wells. Outside the limits, parcels are on small water associations or private wells.

Sewerdiffers

Wall: Town sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
New Underwood: City sewer inside the limits. Rural parcels are on private septic permitted by Pennington County.

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.
New Underwood: New Underwood is a highway town rather than a tourism town, and no short-term rental ordinance surfaced in the public record. Confirm with the city before you count on rental income.

Schools

School districtdiffers

Wall: Wall School District 51-5Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.
New Underwood: New Underwood School District 51-3Assignment follows the official boundary for the address. Confirm with the district.

Daily errands

Groceriesdiffers

Wall: The Wall Food Center on South Boulevard West.
New Underwood: BJ's Country Store at the exit 78 interchange for fuel and convenience. Full grocery shopping is Rapid City, about 18 miles west.

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.
New Underwood: No clinic in town. The Monument Health Rapid Valley Clinic on Elderberry Boulevard has walk-in urgent care seven days a week, and the hospital 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.
New Underwood: The municipal pool, with a donor-funded free swim program, and open prairie in every direction.

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.
New Underwood: A prairie town with its own K through 12 campus and its own interstate exit, 18 miles from the city.

What you gaindiffers

Wall: Everything a town needs in one place, 50 miles from the city, at prairie prices.
New Underwood: The only town this close to Ellsworth that still educates its own kids from kindergarten through graduation.

What you give updiffers

Wall: Fifty miles to a hospital and to real shopping, and an economy that runs on a three month season.
New Underwood: You give up the grocery store, the clinic and the hardware store, and you inherit a small municipal water system with a publicly acknowledged supply question.

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, New Underwood

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