Auto · Small-town market · South Dakota
Collision repair and body shops in the Watertown, SD area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for collision repair and body shops in the Watertown, SD area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.
- Listings
- 4
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $14.7M
- On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $1,177 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 20% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.2
- 3% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the collision repair and body shops around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the collision repair and body shops 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 4 collision repair and body shops in the Watertown area. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.2, 3% above the U.S. rate of 3.1.
Households in the Watertown area spend about $14.7M a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $1,177 per household, 23% above the U.S. average. Spread across 4 collision repair and body shops, that is $3.7M per shop, 20% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which collision repair and body shops share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Watertown area in 2023. That is one for every 1,789 households, against one for every 3,689 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair in the Watertown area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 4 collision repair and body shops on map listings, the Watertown area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
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 collision repair and body shops 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 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 3.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $2.6M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,789 | 1,749 | 3,689 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.0% | −0.8% |
| 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 | Not scored | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 23
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 40 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 body, paint and interior repair 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 collision repair and body shops 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 cardCollision repair and body shops across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for collision repair and body shops, 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 | 58 | 6 | 4.3 | $2.7M | +9.6% | #130 of 387 |
| 2Spearfish, SD | 44 | 7 | 5.8 | $2M | +14.0% | #244 of 387 |
| 3Huron, SD | 35 | 6 | 8.0 | $1.5M | +2.4% | #306 of 387 |
| 4Pierre, SD | 33 | 6 | 7.0 | $1.6M | −0.5% | #312 of 387 |
| 5Mitchell, SD | 31 | 8 | 7.3 | $1.6M | +0.6% | #322 of 387 |
| 6Yankton, SD | 30 | 8 | 8.3 | $1.4M | +1.5% | #330 of 387 |
| 7Aberdeen, SD | 28 | 10 | 5.6 | $2M | −1.5% | #337 of 387 |
| 8Vermillion, SD | 28 | 5 | 9.0 | $1.2M | +0.2% | #340 of 387 |
| Watertown, SD | Not scored | 4 | 3.2 | $3.7M | +4.3% |
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 collision repair and body shops are in the Watertown, SD area?
There are 4 collision repair and body shops on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. The listings count collision repair and auto body shops. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as automotive body, paint and interior repair 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 4 collision repair and body shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per shop. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only collision repair and body shops. 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 collision repair and body shops?
The Watertown area has 3.2 collision repair and body shops per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 3.1. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 20% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of collision repair and body shops to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 5, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,789 households, against one for every 3,689 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 has no market score for collision repair and body shops: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.
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 collision repair and body shops 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 collision repair and body shops · 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.