Fitness and classes · Small-town market · South Dakota
Gyms in the Watertown, SD area
The gyms 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #353 of 506 scored small-town markets
#5 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 12
- 4 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $9.7M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $773 a household
- Spending per listing
- $807K
- 38% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.6
- 26% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the gyms 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 12 gyms in the Watertown area. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 28% across the U.S. That is 9.6 per 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.
At $773 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the Watertown area spend about $9.7M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $807K of household spending for each gym on map listings, 38% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Watertown area in 2023. That is one for every 2,505 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count takes in all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms: yoga, Pilates and fitness studios are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $322K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers 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%). For gyms, the Watertown area has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #353 of 506 scored small-town markets and #5 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 memberships, classes and admissions by the gyms 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 | 9.6 | 8.7 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $807K | $1M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 2,505 | 3,207 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −5.0% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $773 | $876 | $983 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 15
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $296K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 124 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $322K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers 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 fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms.
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 gyms 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 cardGyms across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for gyms, 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 | 61 | 6 | 6.2 | $1.3M | +1.5% | #133 of 506 |
| 2Brookings, SD | 60 | 10 | 7.2 | $1.1M | +9.6% | #149 of 506 |
| 3Mitchell, SD | 47 | 9 | 8.2 | $953K | +0.6% | #287 of 506 |
| 4Spearfish, SD | 46 | 14 | 11.6 | $715K | +14.0% | #303 of 506 |
| 5Watertown, SD | 41 | 12 | 9.6 | $807K | +4.3% | #353 of 506 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 30 | 22 | 12.3 | $690K | −1.5% | #439 of 506 |
| 7Pierre, SD | 29 | 12 | 14.0 | $646K | −0.5% | #448 of 506 |
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
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms are in the Watertown, SD area?
There are 12 gyms on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $9.7M a year, or $773 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 gyms on map listings, it comes to $807K per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. 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 gyms?
The Watertown area has 9.6 gyms per 10,000 households, 26% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $807K, 38% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 7, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,505 households, against one for every 3,109 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 41 for gyms (lower middle), #353 of 506 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 gyms 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 gyms · 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.