Apple Valley
An actively building Rapid Valley subdivision where the school district line runs through the middle.
- Typical Lot
- 0.15 acres, about 6,500 sq ft. Almost identical across the plat, 0.15 to 0.16 acres.
Facts checked August 2026
Streets named after apple varieties off Highway 44, and houses still going in. The draw is a new house at an entry price on a small, level, easy yard, roughly 6,500 square feet of it. Mowing is a twenty minute job. What comes with it for a few more years is a work zone: finished homes next to bare ground, dust in July, framing crews and contractor pickups on the street you park on. The line that catches people is on no listing anywhere. The school district boundary runs through the middle of the subdivision, and it does not follow a street a newcomer would guess.
How far along it is
What is left to build here is forty two houses. Most of the rest of the open ground on a map is drainage and common area rather than lots, so the subdivision is further along than the raw vacant count reads. Plan on building next door for a few years yet.
The plat was laid out all at once instead of assembled over time, which is why the lots barely vary and why the assessed values sit in such a tight band. Two houses here are usually separated by the plan and the finish level, not the ground.
Living outside the city limits
Apple Valley is in unincorporated Pennington County. Sewer is Rapid Valley Sanitary District and fire is Rapid Valley Fire District, neither one a city department. Name both when you get an insurance quote, and compare the actual monthly utility cost against a house inside Rapid City rather than assuming they match.
Clay under these lots makes grading the inspection item that pays for itself. Look at where water leaves the yard and how fast the grade falls away from the foundation, and on a new build get the grading and drainage scope from the builder in writing.
Where Apple Valley sits
The outlines below are reference geometry from county records, not a survey. The recorded plat and a current survey control the exact lines for any one lot.
Subdivision map
- Apple Valley, recorded as APPLE VALLEY SUBD
Recorded subdivision boundaries from Rapid City and Pennington County GIS. Individual parcel and service details should still be verified by address.
Recorded plat names
- Apple Valley: APPLE VALLEY SUBD
What homes cost here
No verified set of recorded sales for Apple Valley sits behind this page, so there is no sale range published here. Builders are still selling here, so ask for the current base pricing on the plan you are looking at and for the last closings on the street.
How these figures are calculated
How far to things
- Ellsworth AFB main gate
- 25 min, 10.6 mi
- Downtown Rapid City
- 15 min, 7.5 mi
- Nearest hospital
- 18 min, 9.2 mi
- Rapid City Regional Airport
- 16 min, 5.2 mi
Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Typical driving time with clear roads. The Ellsworth gate can back up at shift change.
Why buyers choose Apple Valley
- Actively building, so there are finished houses to walk rather than renderings.
- Fifteen minutes to downtown Rapid City and 25 to the Ellsworth gate.
At a glance
- Typical Lot
- 0.15 acres, about 6,500 sq ft. Almost identical across the plat, 0.15 to 0.16 acres.
- New Construction
- Limited
Last verified August 2026. How these figures are calculated
What to check at this address
- Jurisdiction
- Unincorporated Pennington County. Outside any city limits, which changes your taxes, your permits and who responds to a call.
- Sewer
- Rapid Valley Sanitary District, not city sewer.
- School district
- Split between Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 and Douglas School District 51-1
- Fire district
- Rapid Valley Fire District
- The school district line runs through the middle of the subdivision, so confirm the assignment for the specific address with the district.
- Lots are 0.15 acres and nearly identical across the plat.
- Sewer is the Rapid Valley Sanitary District rather than city sewer.
- Clay soils here make grading and drainage away from the foundation worth a close look.
Open the ones that apply to the address you are looking at.
Association or district water and sewer
Where the water or sewer is run by a homeowners association, a water user district or a sanitary district rather than a city, ask for the current rate, the last two years of board minutes, any pending capital assessment and the system's compliance history before you remove your inspection contingency. A shared system is a monthly bill and a share of the cost of the next repair, which is a different thing to underwrite than a well and a tank you own outright.
New construction terms
On a build, read the builder contract for the allowance schedule, change order pricing, completion timeline and warranty, because the purchase agreement is the builder's, not the standard state form.
Covenants and HOA documents
Read the covenants before you write, especially on outbuildings, RV and trailer parking, fencing, rentals and exterior materials.
Radon
The Black Hills sit on granite and radon levels here run high, so test during the inspection period and price mitigation into your offer if the number comes back elevated.
Read the full guideHail and roof age
Hail season here runs from late May through August, so ask for the roof age, the last claim history and any impact-resistant rating before you write.
Property taxes
Look up the actual assessed value and the current levy for the parcel instead of trusting the listing figure, which is often a year or more behind.
Read the full guideExpansive soils
Parts of this region sit on clay that swells and shrinks with moisture, so look closely at foundation cracks, door alignment and drainage away from the house.
Which school this address feeds
A district line can run through a single subdivision, so confirm the assignment for the specific address with the district office rather than the plat or the listing. Boundaries also change between years.
Where the water goes
Walk the lot and look at how the ground falls away from the foundation, where the downspouts end and whether the low corner of the yard holds water. Ask a neighbor what the street does in a hard August rain.
What the base price leaves out
Get the builder's included list in writing and compare it to the model you walked. Landscaping, sod, fencing, a finished basement, appliances and window coverings are the usual gaps, and they add up fast.
What is still to be built nearby
Ask the city or county what is platted on the ground next to you and how many phases are left. A view over open dirt is a construction site first and something else later, so find out which lots are already sold.
Special assessments
Ask the county and the city whether the parcel carries an assessment for paving, water, sewer or a sanitary district, how many years are left on it and whether it transfers to you at closing.
Schools
This is the one to check before anything else. 127 of the 174 parcels are in Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 and 47 are in Douglas School District 51-1. The line does not follow a street a newcomer would guess. The county parcel record shows which side a specific address falls on.
Verify current boundaries with the district for any specific address.
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.
Homes for sale in Apple Valley
Nothing of mine is listed in Apple Valley today. This search is set for Apple Valley and shows whatever is active there right now.
EvidenceThe county record, in detailParcel counts, recorded prices and what each figure comes from for Apple Valley.
How far along it is
78 of the 174 parcels carry a house. Forty two are bare lots and fifty four are slivers, drainage and common ground.
- Platted Parcels
- 174
- Parcels With A House
- 78 (45%)
- Bare Lots
- 42
- Slivers And Common Ground
- 54
A bare lot is a lot with no house on it. It is not a listing. Most are owned by somebody who is not selling.
Slivers, drainage and common ground under a twentieth of an acre. Counted because the county plats them, but nothing can be built there.
Apple Valley is still filling in, so your view, your neighbors and the traffic on your street are not settled yet.
Pennington County parcel records via Rapid City and Pennington County RapidMap GIS, August 2026.
What the county assessment shows
The county carries the 78 standing homes at a $355,900 median, with the middle half between $332,700 and $366,000. The values are tightly clustered across the subdivision.
These are county assessed values used for property tax purposes. They are not sale prices and not asking prices.
County assessment roll for Apple Valley. South Dakota aims to equalize assessments at 85 percent of market value. That is a statewide target rather than a promise about any one property, and it does not turn an assessment into a comparable sale. Assessments are set in November for the following year, so recent sales are not in them. Current comparable closings on the specific street are the honest read here.
Common questions about Apple Valley
What school district is Apple Valley in?
Both. Pennington County shows 127 of the 174 parcels in Rapid City Area Schools 51-4 and 47 in Douglas School District 51-1. The boundary runs through the subdivision, so the answer depends on the specific lot. Confirm it with the district before you write an offer, and check the county parcel record for the lot.
How much of Apple Valley is built?
78 of 174 parcels carry a house and 42 are bare lots. The other 54 unbuilt parcels are drainage and common ground, so what is left to build here is 42 houses.
What do homes cost in Apple Valley?
No verified set of recorded sales for Apple Valley sits behind this page, so no sale range is published. Builders are still selling here, so ask for current base pricing on the plan and for the last closings on the street.
Is Apple Valley on city sewer?
No. It is served by Rapid Valley Sanitary District, and it is outside any city limits in unincorporated Pennington County. Fire is Rapid Valley Fire District rather than a city department.
How far is Apple Valley from Ellsworth Air Force Base?
25 minutes and 10.6 miles to the main gate, and 16 minutes to the airport. Downtown Rapid City is 15 minutes.
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 · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
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.
Also compare
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.
Keep reading on Rapid City
The region's hub for jobs, medicine, dining and flights, within an easy commute of Ellsworth Air Force Base.
A newer established subdivision on the north side, finished building, ten minutes from downtown.
An established west Rapid City neighborhood around Summerset Drive and Winterset Drive, with grown in yards and rolling streets.
Older homes on the west side with the Hills standing up in every direction.
The pines close in and you forget you are still inside the city.
My free buyer's guide, written for wells, septic, hail history and PCS timelines in this region.
Price, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance and HOA in one number.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
Apple Valley also turns up in Closest to Ellsworth Air Force Base and New construction.
Two houses on the same block here can land in two different districts. Check the county parcel record for the address before you get attached to the floor plan.
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 Apple Valley right now, including what has closed nearby.
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.