Food and drink · Small-town market · South Dakota
Coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown, SD area
How the Watertown, SD area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #135 of 529 scored small-town markets
#3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 10
- 7 chain locations (70%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Household spending a year
- $45.6M
- On food away from home · $3,640 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.6M
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.0
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the coffee shops and cafes 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown area. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 70%, against 39% across the U.S. That is 8.0 per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Household spending on food away from home in the Watertown area comes to about $45.6M a year: $3,640 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.6M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 23% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,566 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $400K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Watertown area.
Population estimates show the Watertown area grew 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the Watertown area has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #135 of 529 scored small-town markets and #3 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 food away from home by the coffee shops and cafes 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 | 8.0 | 12.6 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.6M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,566 | 1,379 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +44.8% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,640 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Employees, 2023
- 92
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 107 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $400K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars 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. These official figures cover all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes.
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 coffee shops and cafes 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 cardCoffee shops and cafes across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for coffee shops and cafes, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Aberdeen, SD | 64 | 13 | 7.3 | $5.2M | −1.5% | #108 of 529 |
| 2Pierre, SD | 63 | 9 | 10.5 | $3.8M | −0.5% | #125 of 529 |
| 3Watertown, SD | 62 | 10 | 8.0 | $4.6M | +4.3% | #135 of 529 |
| 4Yankton, SD | 57 | 10 | 10.3 | $3.6M | +1.5% | #196 of 529 |
| 5Brookings, SD | 54 | 24 | 17.4 | $2.2M | +9.6% | #226 of 529 |
| 6Huron, SD | 41 | 10 | 13.3 | $2.7M | +2.4% | #364 of 529 |
| 7Spearfish, SD | 39 | 22 | 18.3 | $2M | +14.0% | #388 of 529 |
| 8Mitchell, SD | 32 | 15 | 13.7 | $2.6M | +0.6% | #455 of 529 |
| 9Vermillion, SD | 31 | 11 | 19.8 | $1.7M | +0.2% | #465 of 529 |
Other business types in the Watertown area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes51
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops61
- Pizza48
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops71
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Watertown, SD area?
There are 10 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. 7 of them (70%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on food away from home?
About $45.6M a year, or $3,640 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.6M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. 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 coffee shops and cafes?
The Watertown area has 8.0 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.6M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 12, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,566 households, against one for every 1,518 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 62 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #135 of 529 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 coffee shops and cafes 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 coffee shops and cafes · 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.