Home to world-class attractions and recreation, the Black Hills Region has long been a hot spot for hospitality and tourism. However, that’s just the beginning of what the Black Hills has to offer. Download the Regional Opportunities Report for a regional overview and data on six industries targeted for regional economic development.
Black Hills and Trade Zones
The Black Hills Region has been defined as six counties in South Dakota (Pennington, Butte, Meade, Lawrence, Fall River and Custer), with Rapid City as the anchor urban area. Locally, the Black Hills engages in significant levels of local trade within a 200-mile radius from Rapid City. The local trade zone includes other large cities in the wider region, such as Casper (WY), Gillette(WY), Sheridan (WY), Dickinson (ND), Pierre (SD) and Scottsbluff (NE). Download map for more details.
Some key facts about the Black Hills:
| Major Regional Assets:Regional Health, a regional healthcare system with over 40 facilities, to include 5 hospitals and 5 specialty care centersSouth Dakota School of Mines and Technology, a national leader in preparing engineers and scientistsEllsworth Air Force Base located 10 miles east of Rapid City, Ellsworth has a population of 8,000 (civilian and military personnel and families)Sanford Underground Research Laboratory, a physics research facility which has attracted over $115 M in public and private funding and hosted a Nobel Prize winning experiment (2002 award) | Top Industry Clusters:Business ServicesHealthcare & Life SciencesEnergy & ExtractiveFinance & Insurance
Food/Beverage Processing-Technology Metalwork-Engineering In light of recent growth and existing regional strengths, potential exists for significant additional growth in the future. |
Key Regional Stats:Low Cost of Living (the median house costs $151,000 versus $175,100 for the national average)Appreciating home prices (while U.S. home prices fell -3.14%, home prices in Rapid City rose 2.34%)Strong Healthcare System (the rate of physicians to populace is almost 20% higher than the national average)Strong job growth (projected 1.5% higher than the national average over ’06-’14) |
Please take the Business Issues Survey and offer feedback on how together we can better leverage public assets, private industry and our unique location to accelerate economic growth in the region.