Real estate · Small-town market · South Dakota
Real estate agents and brokers in the Watertown, SD area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate agents and brokers in the Watertown, SD area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #445 of 533 scored small-town markets
#7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 25
- 2 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 27
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $168.1M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,421 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 123
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.0
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers 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
The Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers in the Watertown area is 36 (lower middle), #445 of 533 scored small-town markets and #7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 25 real estate agents and brokers in the Watertown area. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 4% across the U.S. That is 20.0 per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.
Households in the Watertown area spend about $168.1M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $13,421 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 23% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in.
In 2023, official counts showed 27 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers. That is one for every 464 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Watertown area grew 4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Watertown area compares
The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Watertown area | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.0 | 26.5 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 123 | 96 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 464 | 802 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +36.1% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,421 | $13,945 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 27
- Employees, 2023
- 35
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 252 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The 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 offices of real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers 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 cardReal estate agents and brokers across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for real estate agents and brokers, 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 | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mitchell, SD | 50 | 18 | 16.4 | 150 | +0.6% | #257 of 533 |
| 2Yankton, SD | 48 | 16 | 16.5 | 152 | +1.5% | #288 of 533 |
| 3Pierre, SD | 44 | 19 | 22.2 | 117 | −0.5% | #340 of 533 |
| 4Huron, SD | 41 | 13 | 17.3 | 141 | +2.4% | #369 of 533 |
| 5Brookings, SD | 40 | 33 | 23.9 | 104 | +9.6% | #388 of 533 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 38 | 30 | 16.7 | 150 | −1.5% | #412 of 533 |
| 7Watertown, SD | 36 | 25 | 20.0 | 123 | +4.3% | #445 of 533 |
| 8Spearfish, SD | 31 | 52 | 43.1 | 58 | +14.0% | #500 of 533 |
| 9Vermillion, SD | 28 | 12 | 21.6 | 109 | +0.2% | #513 of 533 |
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
- Real estate35
- Real estate agents and brokers36
- Property management41
- Mortgage brokers and lenders
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Watertown, SD area?
The Watertown area has 25 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $168.1M a year, or $13,421 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 25 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 23% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in. 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 real estate agents and brokers?
The Watertown area has 20.0 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 123, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 31, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 464 households, against one for every 788 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 36 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #445 of 533 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 real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers · 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.