Living in Edgemont
A railroad town of 725 on the far southern edge of the Black Hills, with its own school district, the nearest hospital 35 miles east in Hot Springs, and two big questions hanging over its economy.
- Jurisdiction
- Incorporated city of Edgemont, with Fall River County outside the limits.
- County
- Fall River County
- Utilities
- City of Edgemont municipal water. Rural parcels are on private wells. City sewer inside the limits, with private septic on rural parcels.
- Population
- 725 at the 2020 census
- Drive To Rapid City
- About 100 miles northeast
- To Ellsworth AFB
- About 110 miles
- School District
- Edgemont School District 23-1, both buildings in town
A working rail town under the Elk Mountains, where the trains do not stop running at night.
Facts checked August 2026
Edgemont is the largest of the far-out towns and the one with the most moving parts: its own school district, a BNSF crew-change yard whose future is uncertain, and a uranium project that has federal permits and not state ones.
Why buyers choose Edgemont
- Its own school district with elementary and high school in the same building in town.
- A bank, a library, a newspaper, a theater company and a city park, in a town of 725.
- The lowest price level of any town in this guide.
- Distinct country on the far southern edge of the Hills, below the Elk Mountains.
Things to consider
- About 100 miles to Rapid City and 35 to the nearest hospital in Hot Springs.
- BNSF proposed closing the rail yard in 2025 and the outcome is not publicly resolved.
- The Dewey-Burdock uranium project is federally permitted, state unpermitted and contested.
- Roughly one in four housing units was vacant at the 2020 census, and condition varies sharply.
Why buyers choose Edgemont
Price and independence. Edgemont has 725 people and runs its own school district, with Edgemont Elementary and Edgemont High School in the same building on Mogul Way. There is a bank, a newspaper, a public library, a hundred-year-old city park, a campground, a theater company and a historical association. For the money, you get more town here than anywhere else in this part of the state.
The setting is genuinely different from the rest of the Hills. Edgemont sits at the junction of US Highway 18 and Highway 471 on the far southern edge, just below the Elk Mountains, in cold semi-arid country that runs hotter in summer and colder in winter than Rapid City does. The library calls the town your window to the Black Hills, which is fair: you are at the door rather than inside.
It is a working railroad town and always has been. Founded in 1890 with the Burlington line, it is still a crew-change point on the coal corridor between Wyoming and Nebraska. That is character and it is also noise. Trains run through here at every hour and the horns are part of the deal.
The two things you have to know before you buy here
First, the railroad. In 2025 BNSF proposed closing the Edgemont rail yard and rerouting coal traffic to bypass the town entirely. Roughly 100 employees work out of that yard, and about 27 of them live inside city limits. Union arbitration was expected to take at least a year and no implementation date was set. I have not found reporting confirming what happened after mid-2025, which means anyone telling you the yard is definitely safe or definitely closing is guessing. Before you buy here on the strength of railroad employment, that is a question worth running down to a current answer.
Second, uranium. The Dewey-Burdock in-situ recovery project covers roughly twenty square miles in Custer and Fall River counties near Edgemont. It holds its federal nuclear license and its federal permitting is complete, and the company projects up to 80 construction and operations jobs. What it does not hold is the South Dakota state permits: as of mid 2026 the company had filed new water rights applications but had not filed for mine or discharge permits, and the state applications had been dormant since 2013. There is organized opposition on water and on cultural grounds from the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, the Oglala Sioux Tribe and NDN Collective. It is federally permitted, state unpermitted and litigated. Treat any claim that it is a done deal, in either direction, as sales talk.
Both of those cut both ways for a buyer. They are why prices here are what they are. They are also why I would not buy in Edgemont without a clear-eyed view of them, and the current status is worth checking yourself rather than taking the version that helps somebody sell a house.
What homes cost here
Thirteen single family homes sold in Edgemont in the two years through August 2026, at an average sold price of $155,285 and about $89 a square foot. This is the lowest price level in this entire guide, and it is a real figure rather than an impression.
There were ten active listings against those thirteen sales, and sold homes averaged 126 days on market. That is a market with more houses than buyers, which is the same thing the 2020 census said when it counted 460 housing units with 24.1 percent of them vacant.
What that means for you is straightforward. There is inventory, prices are low, and condition varies enormously house to house. In a market like this the inspection is the whole negotiation, not a formality. On a specific house, the recorded sales nearby and a thorough inspection are what settle the price.
One more thing you will find if you search
About eight miles southwest of town is the site of the old Black Hills Army Depot, sometimes called Igloo, a 21,000 acre munitions facility built in 1942 and closed in 1967. It is a federal formerly-used defense site carrying munitions, chemical warfare material and hazardous waste designations, and remediation there has been stalled because a current landowner declined to grant right of entry.
The site sits outside the city limits and city parcels are not part of it. If you are looking at rural ground southwest of town, the boundary of the federal site and the status of the remediation are worth pulling before you write, and the Army Corps site record for the legal description is the document to request. I raise it because you will find it the first time you search the town name, and you should hear it from your agent first.
Living here day to day
- Groceries
- Small-town grocery and convenience in Edgemont, with Hot Springs about 35 miles east for more.
- Eating out
- The Edgemont Taphouse, Victory Steakhouse and KhanTong Thai Cuisine.
- Healthcare
- No hospital in town. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department.
- Highway access
- US Highway 18 at the junction with South Dakota Highway 471.
- Recreation
- The hundred-year-old city park, the campground, the Elk Mountains and open country in every direction.
- Work
- The BNSF rail yard, the school district, the city, First Interstate Bank and local business. A uranium project nearby is in state permitting.
How far to things
- Nearest hospital
- Fall River Health Services
No hospital in Edgemont. Fall River Health Services in Hot Springs is a 25 bed critical access hospital with a 24 hour emergency department, about 35 miles east.
Typical driving time with clear roads.
What to check before you write an offer
On any address you are serious about, buyer due diligence should include the school assignment from the district, the water quality report from the utility that serves it, and the assessed value and levy from the county. Here are the sources for each one.
The sources, by category
Schools
Confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district, because boundaries change and they change more often than people expect. Rapid City Area Schools boundary maps · Douglas School District 51-1 · Meade School District 46-1 · Spearfish School District 40-2 · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
Crime data
Drinking water
Every public water system publishes an annual water quality report. Read the one for the system that serves the address you are considering, not the one for the town next door. Rapid City water quality reports · City of Box Elder Water Division · City of Spearfish water · EPA drinking water lookup
Property taxes and assessed value
Pennington County Equalization · Meade County Equalization · Lawrence County Equalization
The county record, the plat and the recorded covenants are the three documents to read on any address here. I do not rate schools and I do not characterize neighborhoods as safe or unsafe. Those readings are yours to make from the sources above.
See what's for sale now
These open my search site, where the listings update from the MLS through the day. This page is the background; that one is the inventory.
What the record shows
Closed sales and county valuations for Edgemont, with the source and the date on every figure.
EvidenceThe county record, in detailParcel counts, recorded prices and what each figure comes from for Edgemont.
What the numbers say in Edgemont
- Closed Sales
- 13
- Average Sold
- $155,285
- Active Listings
- 10
Source: Black Hills MLS, single family, 24 months through August 2026, as of August 2026.
Single family only. Average sold price, not a median. Condition varies widely here, so treat the average as a starting point rather than a guide to any one house.
The MLS figures on this site are average sold prices, not medians and not assessed values. They cover single family homes only, so land, manufactured homes on their own lots and condominiums are left out. The MLS records one city per listing, and rural property is often filed under a nearby larger town, so a small town count can miss sales that happened in the area.
Can you rent it out?
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.
The rules in detail
- Confirm any city requirement or business license with the city before you buy on rental income. I have not confirmed an ordinance either way from the public record.
- Renting 10 or more days a year requires a South Dakota sales tax license, and state lodging licensure applies.
- The statewide 4.2 percent sales tax and 1.5 percent tourism tax apply, plus any municipal tax.
- Realistic demand is rail and construction crews, hunting season and Rally week. If uranium construction proceeds, crew housing is the obvious play, but that is not a permitted certainty yet.
Short-term rental rules change, and they change fast. This summary reflects my research as of August 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. If rental income is part of why you are buying, verify the current requirements with the city or county that has jurisdiction over the specific address, and read the subdivision covenants, before you write an offer.
Schools
Edgemont School District 23-1 runs both an elementary and a high school, and both are in the same building on Mogul Way in town.
School by school
- Edgemont Elementary and Edgemont High School are both at 715 Mogul Way in Edgemont.
- The district is independent of Hot Springs 23-2, despite both being in Fall River County.
- On rural ground especially, get the district to confirm attendance for that exact parcel before you count on it.
I provide objective school information consistently and do not personally rate or recommend schools. Attendance boundaries can cross city and county lines, and the district's current assignment for the exact address controls. Verify directly with the district before making a school-driven decision.
Eating, and what people do
Where to eat
More than a town this size usually has:
What people do
Small town, big country:
- The city park, roughly a hundred years old
- The Edgemont campground
- The Edgemont Public Library on 2nd Avenue
- The Elk Mountains and open ranch country south and west
- Hunting and rock hounding on the open country south and west of town
Common questions
Is the BNSF rail yard in Edgemont closing?
That is unresolved and I am not going to pretend otherwise. In 2025 BNSF proposed closing the Edgemont yard and rerouting coal traffic to bypass the town. Roughly 100 employees work out of it, about 27 of them living inside city limits. Union arbitration was expected to take at least a year and no implementation date was set, and I have not found reporting confirming what happened after mid-2025. If railroad employment is part of your reason for buying here, that question deserves a current answer from the railroad or the union before you write an offer.
What about the uranium mine near Edgemont?
The Dewey-Burdock in-situ recovery project covers about twenty square miles in Custer and Fall River counties near town. It holds its federal nuclear license and completed federal permitting, and the company projects up to 80 construction and operations jobs. It does not hold South Dakota state permits: as of mid 2026 it had filed new water rights applications but not mine or discharge permits, and state applications had been dormant since 2013. There is organized opposition on water quality and cultural grounds. Federally permitted, state unpermitted, contested. Anyone who tells you it is a sure thing or a dead issue is telling you something they cannot know.
Does Edgemont have its own school?
Yes. Edgemont School District 23-1 runs both an elementary and a high school out of the same building at 715 Mogul Way. It is a separate district from Hot Springs 23-2 even though both are in Fall River County, which trips people up.
Why is the vacancy rate so high in Edgemont?
The 2020 census counted 460 housing units with 24.1 percent vacant, and unlike most of the figures on these pages that is an actual count rather than a survey estimate. It reflects a town that has lost population over decades, with an older resident base. It also means there is inventory and prices are low. Condition varies enormously house to house here, so the inspection is where the real negotiation happens.
Also compare
The trade makes sense if you want the hospital, the shopping and a much larger downtown 35 miles east.
Buffalo GapChoose it if you want the same southern prairie country closer to Hot Springs and Rapid City.
CusterWorth comparing if you would rather be inside the Hills with tourism traffic and a hospital, at a much higher price level.
Still sorting the towns out? Compare every community side by side on price, commute, utilities and what each one costs you.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
If you are looking at Edgemont, the current status of the rail yard and the mine permits are worth running down before you spend a Saturday driving down there.
Considering a home here?
Send the address and we can talk it through. The details that change from one property to the next are jurisdiction, water and sewer, the school the district assigns, covenants, road maintenance and the rest of what never shows up on a listing.
Talk to Henry
Call or text 605-490-2040 and we can talk through what is realistic in Edgemont right now, including what has closed. Every active listing in the area is on my search site.
Last updated August 2026
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of August 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.