Pets · Small-town market · South Dakota
Veterinarians in the Watertown, SD area
How the Watertown, SD area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for veterinarians: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #316 of 398 scored small-town markets
#2 of 5 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 8
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.8M
- On pets · $780 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 55% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.4
- 94% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the veterinarians around any address in the Watertown area
The site report maps the veterinarians 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 veterinarians in the Watertown area is 34 (lower middle), #316 of 398 scored small-town markets and #2 of 5 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 8 veterinarians in the Watertown area. None of them are chain locations, against 19% across the U.S. That comes to 6.4 for every 10,000 households, 94% above the U.S. rate of 3.3.
At $780 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Watertown area spend about $9.8M a year on pets. That works out to $1.2M per clinic, 55% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. That spending covers all pets, which veterinarians share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Watertown area classed as veterinary services. That is one for every 2,088 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown area from 2020 to 2025 at +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. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the veterinarians 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 | 6.4 | 4.5 | 3.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1.9M | $2.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,088 | 2,389 | 3,767 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.2% | +6.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $780 | $835 | $909 |
| Median household income | $72,727 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 39
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 80 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 veterinary services 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 veterinarians 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 cardVeterinarians across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for veterinarians, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brookings, SD | 38 | 9 | 6.5 | $1.2M | +9.6% | #288 of 398 |
| 2Watertown, SD | 34 | 8 | 6.4 | $1.2M | +4.3% | #316 of 398 |
| 3Aberdeen, SD | 28 | 11 | 6.1 | $1.3M | −1.5% | #341 of 398 |
| 4Mitchell, SD | 28 | 9 | 8.2 | $958K | +0.6% | #346 of 398 |
| 5Pierre, SD | 27 | 6 | 7.0 | $1.2M | −0.5% | #348 of 398 |
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
Pets
- Pet businesses34
- Veterinarians34
- Pet grooming and boarding32
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many veterinarians are in the Watertown, SD area?
There are 8 veterinarians on map listings in the Watertown area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in 2023.
How much do households in the Watertown, SD area spend on pets?
About $9.8M a year, or $780 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 veterinarians on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per clinic. The spending figure covers all pets, not only veterinarians. 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 veterinarians?
The Watertown area has 6.4 veterinarians per 10,000 households, 94% above the U.S. rate of 3.3. Spending per clinic is $1.2M, 55% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. At the national ratio of veterinarians to household spending, the Watertown area would have about 4, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,088 households, against one for every 3,767 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 34 for veterinarians (lower middle), #316 of 398 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 veterinarians 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 veterinarians · 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.