Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota
Car washes and detailers in the Watertown, SD area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for car washes and detailers in the Watertown, SD area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #186 of 441 scored small-town markets
#3 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 8
- 1 chain location (13%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $14.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,177 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 27% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.4
- 68% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the car washes and detailers around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the car washes and detailers 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 8 car washes and detailers, that is $1.8M per location, 27% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers.
There are 8 car washes and detailers on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.4, 68% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as car washes. That is one for every 4,175 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Watertown area scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers, ranking #186 of 441 scored small-town markets and #3 of 7 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 car washes and detailers 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 | 6.4 | 4.9 | 3.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $2.4M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,175 | 5,712 | 6,523 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.3% | +16.7% |
| 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 | 54 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 68
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 81 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes 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 car washes and detailers 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 cardCar washes and detailing across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for car washes and detailers, 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 | 78 | 7 | 5.1 | $2.3M | +9.6% | #25 of 441 |
| 2Yankton, SD | 55 | 6 | 6.2 | $1.9M | +1.5% | #181 of 441 |
| 3Watertown, SD | 54 | 8 | 6.4 | $1.8M | +4.3% | #186 of 441 |
| 4Spearfish, SD | 52 | 7 | 5.8 | $2M | +14.0% | #206 of 441 |
| 5Pierre, SD | 45 | 5 | 5.9 | $1.9M | −0.5% | #262 of 441 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 41 | 11 | 6.1 | $1.8M | −1.5% | #297 of 441 |
| 7Mitchell, SD | 35 | 10 | 9.1 | $1.3M | +0.6% | #343 of 441 |
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 car washes and detailers are in the Watertown, SD area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 8 car washes and detailers in the Watertown area. One of them (13%) is a chain location. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.
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 8 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per location. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which car washes and detailers share with other businesses in the trade. 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 car washes and detailers?
The Watertown area has 6.4 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 68% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.8M, 27% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 6, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,175 households, against one for every 6,523 across 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 54 for car washes and detailers (upper middle), #186 of 441 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 car washes and detailers 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 car washes and detailers · 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.