Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · South Dakota
Grocery and convenience stores in the Watertown, SD area
The grocery and convenience stores 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #171 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 27
- 10 chain locations (37%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $73.3M
- On groceries · $5,848 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 20% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.6
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the grocery and convenience stores 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 groceries in the Watertown area comes to about $73.3M a year: $5,848 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The Watertown area has 27 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 37%, against 42% across the U.S. That is 21.6 per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,392 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show the Watertown area grew 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Watertown area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #171 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 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 groceries by the grocery and convenience stores 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 | 21.6 | 24.7 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $2.4M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,392 | 1,576 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.4% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,848 | $6,012 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 607
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2710 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 cardGrocery and convenience stores across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for grocery and convenience stores, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yankton, SD | 82 | 14 | 14.4 | $4.1M | +1.5% | #14 of 538 |
| 2Spearfish, SD | 81 | 21 | 17.4 | $3.4M | +14.0% | #16 of 538 |
| 3Brookings, SD | 76 | 29 | 21.0 | $2.8M | +9.6% | #37 of 538 |
| 4Pierre, SD | 69 | 19 | 22.2 | $2.7M | −0.5% | #91 of 538 |
| 5Vermillion, SD | 64 | 9 | 16.2 | $3.5M | +0.2% | #128 of 538 |
| 6Watertown, SD | 61 | 27 | 21.6 | $2.7M | +4.3% | #171 of 538 |
| 7Aberdeen, SD | 55 | 38 | 21.2 | $2.8M | −1.5% | #238 of 538 |
| 8Mitchell, SD | 54 | 25 | 22.8 | $2.6M | +0.6% | #249 of 538 |
| 9Huron, SD | 32 | 29 | 38.5 | $1.5M | +2.4% | #447 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
- Grocery and convenience stores61
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores61
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Watertown, SD area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 27 grocery and convenience stores in the Watertown area. 10 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on groceries?
About $73.3M a year, or $5,848 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per store. 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 grocery and convenience stores?
The Watertown area has 21.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.7M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 22, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,392 households, against one for every 1,293 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 61 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #171 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 grocery and convenience stores 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 grocery and convenience stores · 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.