Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Watertown is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, ranked 263rd of 357 in Wisconsin, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 56% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 63% of Wisconsin towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $328K, 3.9 years of the Watertown area’s $84K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 15 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include First Kindergarten and Octagon House. 26% of working residents work locally in Watertown, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 8%. Watertown is home to Maranatha Baptist University.
Where Watertown beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,451 in 1850, 22,926 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 3 maps from 1892 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), 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 Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Watertown.
Watertown is safe by national standards but not by Wisconsin’s and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin.
5.8 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. Brandt / Quirk Park, at 189 acres with 2.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brandt / Quirk Park | 2.9 mi | 189 |
| 2. Riverside Park | 0.7 mi | 57 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Watertown Unified School District. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 616 | C+ |
| Watertown HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,012 | C− |
| Webster ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 381 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 19 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Watertown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About one in 4 of Watertown’s working residents works in town. 6.9% of Watertown workers work from home. The top destinations are Madison (6%), Oconomowoc (5%) and Milwaukee (3%).
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.9% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.9% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records; January nights average 11.5°.
Watertown has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Watertown is 12°F. About 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 12°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Watertown beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 42% of adults have obesity in Watertown.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Watertown | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.2% | 8% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 30.3% | 26.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.3% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 16.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 56% of Wisconsin’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 285 to 162 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 6.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,052 a month | $1,080 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 Wisconsin.
15 places in Watertown on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Watertown.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Watertown is a city in Jefferson and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 22,926 at the 2020 census, of which 14,674 were in Jefferson County and 8,252 were in Dodge County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. Watertown is a principal city of the Watertown–Fort Atkinson micropolitan statistical area which is in turn a sub-market of the larger Milwaukee–Waukesha–Racine combined statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Watertown.
Watertown and Emmet have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Watertown and Emmet report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Watertown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Watertown grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #263 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health, B for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
14 notable people were born here, including Daniel Brandenstein and Joseph Edward Davies.
