Food and drink · Small-town market · South Dakota
Restaurants and cafes in the Watertown, SD area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Watertown, SD area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #256 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 134
- 69 chain locations (51%)
- Official establishments
- 61
- +5.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $45.6M
- On food away from home · $3,640 a household
- Spending per listing
- $340K
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 107.0
- 3% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 134 restaurants and cafes in the Watertown area. Chain locations make up 51% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 107.0, 3% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Watertown area comes to about $45.6M a year: $3,640 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $340K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 61 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 5.2% from 2019. That is one for every 205 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $400K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Watertown area.
Population estimates show the Watertown area grew 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Watertown area is 51 (upper middle), #256 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 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 food away from home by the restaurants and cafes 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 | 107.0 | 106.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $340K | $361K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 205 | 232 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.2% | +6.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,640 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 61+5.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,278
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $23.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 13469 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 123The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $400K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places 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 restaurants and cafes 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 cardRestaurants and cafes across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for restaurants and cafes, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Aberdeen, SD | 66 | 156 | 87.1 | $432K | −1.5% | #110 of 538 |
| 2Huron, SD | 64 | 73 | 96.9 | $369K | +2.4% | #134 of 538 |
| 3Pierre, SD | 58 | 93 | 108.9 | $364K | −0.5% | #186 of 538 |
| 4Brookings, SD | 56 | 160 | 116.0 | $324K | +9.6% | #206 of 538 |
| 5Watertown, SD | 51 | 134 | 107.0 | $340K | +4.3% | #256 of 538 |
| 6Yankton, SD | 43 | 116 | 119.6 | $313K | +1.5% | #350 of 538 |
| 7Mitchell, SD | 41 | 119 | 108.4 | $334K | +0.6% | #362 of 538 |
| 8Spearfish, SD | 38 | 200 | 165.9 | $223K | +14.0% | #393 of 538 |
| 9Vermillion, SD | 30 | 76 | 137.0 | $253K | +0.2% | #462 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
- Restaurants and cafes51
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops61
- Pizza48
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops71
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 restaurants and cafes are in the Watertown, SD area?
The Watertown area has 134 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 69 of them (51%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 61 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 5.2% from 2019.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on food away from home?
About $45.6M a year, or $3,640 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 134 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $340K per restaurant. 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 restaurants and cafes?
The Watertown area has 107.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $340K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 123, against 134 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 205 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% 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 51 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #256 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 restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · 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.