Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Watertown gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $311K for a typical one, or 4.3 years of the Watertown area’s $73K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 18th of 35 in South Dakota. On the plus side, it has 10 miles of trail. 67% of working residents work locally in Watertown, where South Dakota’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Mellette House and Carnegie Free Public Library. Only 1 of the 35 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower July high than Watertown.
Where Watertown beats most towns.
Census counts: 746 in 1880, 22,655 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 2 maps from 1969 on.
28 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Watertown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Watertown, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Watertown.
Watertown is healthier than towns with similar incomes and fares better on crime within South Dakota than nationally, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its public schools are run by the Watertown School District 14-4. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown Middle School - 02Largest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 575 | B |
| Watertown High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,222 | B |
| Lincoln Elementary - 05Top results in townGrades 1–4 | Grades 1–4 | 361 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Watertown’s January low is 2°F. Watertown has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
369 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 33 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 369 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Watertown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average trip to work in Watertown is 13 minutes. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (9%), Brookings (2%) and Sheridan Township (1%). 4.8% of Watertown workers work from home.
| Watertown | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.8% | 6.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,488 U.S. towns with household incomes like Watertown’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within South Dakota it is less healthy than 85% of the 35 graded towns: South Dakota sets a high bar.
Watertown tracks South Dakota closely on all 26 CDC measures. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Watertown.
| Watertown | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 25% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.7 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Memorial Park, at 74 acres.
| Watertown | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 3.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Conservation Park | 1.5 mi | 29 |
| 2. Anza Soccer Complex | 0.7 mi | 43 |
| 3. Bramble Park | 0.6 mi | 68 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 21.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 55% of South Dakota’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 456 to 217 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Watertown | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 36% | 39% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $942 a month | $963 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Watertown
About 5 of every 100 Watertown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Dakota.
28 places in Watertown on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Watertown.
City in South Dakota, United States
Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center, which houses many of the works of wildlife artist Terry Redlin. Watertown is between Pelican Lake and Lake Kampeska, from which Redlin derived inspiration for his artwork. The population was 22,655 at the 2020 census, making Watertown South Dakota's 5th-most populous city. It is also the principal city of the Watertown Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Codington County. It is home to the Bramble Park Zoo. Watertown's residential real estate is considered the most expensive in South Dakota for cities of its size; the median price for a ho…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Watertown.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown | #18 | B | B+ | C+ | B+ | B |
| Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Elmira Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sheridan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pelican Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Richland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lake Township, Elmira Township, Sheridan Township, Pelican Township and Richland Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Watertown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Watertown grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #18 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
25 notable people were born here, including Kristi Noem and Patrick Spencer Johnson.
