Real estate · Small-town market · South Dakota
Real estate businesses in the Watertown, SD area
How the Watertown, SD area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #457 of 536 scored small-town markets
#7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 33
- 3 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 35
- +16.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $168.1M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,421 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 118
- 18% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 26.3
- 32% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Watertown area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #457 of 536 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.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 33 real estate businesses in the Watertown area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 26.3, 32% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
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 18% 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 businesses take in.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Watertown area was 35 in 2023, up 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 358 households, against one for every 414 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 | 26.3 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 118 | 98 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 358 | 487 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +16.7% | +29.3% | +15.8% |
| 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 | 35 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 35+16.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 55
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 105Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 333 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 39The 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 real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 businesses 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 across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for real estate businesses, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yankton, SD | 64 | 16 | 16.5 | 191 | +1.5% | #93 of 536 |
| 2Pierre, SD | 55 | 20 | 23.4 | 140 | −0.5% | #199 of 536 |
| 3Mitchell, SD | 46 | 24 | 21.9 | 141 | +0.6% | #313 of 536 |
| 4Huron, SD | 45 | 15 | 19.9 | 153 | +2.4% | #322 of 536 |
| 5Brookings, SD | 39 | 45 | 32.6 | 96 | +9.6% | #404 of 536 |
| 6Aberdeen, SD | 36 | 38 | 21.2 | 149 | −1.5% | #436 of 536 |
| 7Watertown, SD | 35 | 33 | 26.3 | 118 | +4.3% | #457 of 536 |
| 8Vermillion, SD | 35 | 15 | 27.0 | 110 | +0.2% | #458 of 536 |
| 9Spearfish, SD | 31 | 62 | 51.4 | 61 | +14.0% | #499 of 536 |
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 real estate businesses are in the Watertown, SD area?
There are 33 real estate businesses on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. 3 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 16.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 105 one-person businesses without payroll.
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 33 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 18% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses 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 businesses?
The Watertown area has 26.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 118, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 39, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 358 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for 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 35 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #457 of 536 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 businesses 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 businesses · 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.