Hill City is a city of 1,830 in Pennington County, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Rapid City · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Hill City?
Hill City has less violent crime than most US neighborhoods: an A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Assaults make up 85% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 956 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
86% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Hill City as a whole, and 14% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Hill City scores 956.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Hill City, SD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Hill City, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about violent crime in Hill City
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. Hill City draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 38.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Violent crime rates and types in Hill City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Hill City has about 37 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for South Dakota.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Hill City, about 85% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when violent crime happens in Hill City
The Pennington County Sheriff's Office polices Hill City, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Hill City, 61% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Hill City and nearby cities
Hill City has less violent crime than 2 of its 4 nearest cities; only Sanator and Custer have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Hill City. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Hill City has more violent crime than 60% of them.
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Hill City about $6.8 million a year, or $3,720 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $1.4 million, or $786 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 79% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$250,000
$139
Rape
$560,000
$308
Robbery
$24,000
$13
Assault
$590,000
$325
Total
$1.4 million
$786
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
