Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota
Auto repair and car care businesses in the Watertown, SD area
The auto repair and car care businesses in the Watertown, SD area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #390 of 538 scored small-town markets
#9 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 82
- 18 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 33
- −5.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $14.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,177 a household
- Spending per listing
- $180K
- 33% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 65.5
- 83% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the auto repair and car care businesses around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Watertown area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in the Watertown area comes to about $14.7M a year: $1,177 per household, 23% above the U.S. average. Spread across 82 auto repair and car care businesses, that is $180K per business, 33% below the U.S. figure of $269K.
There are 82 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. 18 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 24% across the U.S. That is 65.5 per 10,000 households, 83% above the U.S. rate of 35.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 33 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers, down 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 380 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. Another 33 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Watertown area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Watertown area grew 4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for auto repair and car care businesses in the Watertown area is 39 (lower middle), #390 of 538 scored small-town markets and #9 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota.
How the Watertown area compares
The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the auto repair and car care businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Watertown area | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 65.5 | 42.6 | 35.7 |
| Spending per listing | $180K | $279K | $269K |
| Households per official establishment | 380 | 436 | 681 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −5.7% | +9.0% | +4.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs | $1,177 | $1,189 | $958 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 33−5.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 211
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 33Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8218 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 55The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in the Watertown area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Watertown area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,562+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 12,526
- Median age
- 39.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 688 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $72,727
- Average household income
- $90,805
- Median home value
- $237,700
- Jobs located here
- 16,302
- Daytime population
- 29,337Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Watertown area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Watertown area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardAuto repair and car care across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for auto repair and car care businesses, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with the Watertown area marked.
Top small-town markets in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brookings, SD | 79 | 49 | 35.5 | $330K | +9.6% | #28 of 538 |
| 2Vermillion, SD | 72 | 20 | 36.1 | $296K | +0.2% | #67 of 538 |
| 3Spearfish, SD | 56 | 57 | 47.3 | $246K | +14.0% | #210 of 538 |
| 4Yankton, SD | 50 | 46 | 47.4 | $242K | +1.5% | #272 of 538 |
| 5Huron, SD | 44 | 42 | 55.7 | $214K | +2.4% | #336 of 538 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 43 | 81 | 45.2 | $250K | −1.5% | #342 of 538 |
| 7Pierre, SD | 41 | 41 | 48.0 | $230K | −0.5% | #364 of 538 |
| 8Mitchell, SD | 40 | 60 | 54.7 | $216K | +0.6% | #377 of 538 |
| 9Watertown, SD | 39 | 82 | 65.5 | $180K | +4.3% | #390 of 538 |
Other business types in the Watertown area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
- Auto repair and car care39
- Auto repair shops38
- Collision repair and body shops
- Car washes and detailing54
- Tire shops76
- Oil change and quick lube
- Gas stations61
- Insurance agencies27
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many auto repair and car care businesses are in the Watertown, SD area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 82 auto repair and car care businesses in the Watertown area. 18 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count repair shops, body shops, tire shops, car washes, oil change and parts stores. Official counts show 33 businesses with payroll classed as automotive repair and maintenance, and tire dealers in 2023, down 5.7% from 2019. Official counts list 33 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?
About $14.7M a year, or $1,177 per household. That is 23% above the U.S. average (an index of 123, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 82 auto repair and car care businesses on map listings, it comes to $180K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,526 households in the Watertown area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Watertown, SD area compare with the U.S. for auto repair and car care businesses?
The Watertown area has 65.5 auto repair and car care businesses per 10,000 households, 83% above the U.S. rate of 35.7. Spending per business is $180K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $269K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair and car care businesses to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 55, against 82 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 380 households, against one for every 681 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +4.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Watertown, SD area growing?
Population estimates put the Watertown area at 29,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,526 households. The median household income in the Watertown area is $72,727 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Watertown area scores 39 for auto repair and car care businesses (lower middle), #390 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Watertown area. It maps the auto repair and car care businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for auto repair and car care businesses · All 56 business types in the Watertown area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Watertown area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.