Demographics of Watertown city, South Dakota

Watertown city, South Dakota had 23,736 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +1,060 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Watertown city, in four figures

23,736
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 23,044 ±23.; +4.7%
Change since July 2020: +1,060 people.; 39.5 ±1.1
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $69,600 ±$6,806
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Watertown city, South Dakota's population grew 4.7% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Watertown city, South Dakota's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Watertown city, South Dakota's population grew 4.7% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Watertown city, South Dakota's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	22,676	100.0	100.0
2021	22,798	100.5	100.2
2022	23,038	101.6	100.7
2023	23,209	102.4	101.6
2024	23,481	103.6	102.5
2025	23,736	104.7	103.1

Population of Watertown city, South Dakota on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	22,676	—
2021	22,798	+122
2022	23,038	+240
2023	23,209	+171
2024	23,481	+272
2025	23,736	+255

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 39.5 ±1.1: for men 38.6 ±1.0 and for women 40.7 ±2.4. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Watertown city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	South Dakota	United States
Under 5	1,224 ±124	5.3% ±0.5	6.3% ±0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	3,815 ±368	16.6% ±1.6	17.9% ±0.2	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	2,273 ±271	9.9% ±1.2	9.3% ±0.4	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	6,022 ±399	26.1% ±1.7	25.2% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	5,157 ±379	22.4% ±1.6	23.3% ±0.2	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	4,553 ±432	19.8% ±1.9	18.0% ±0.3	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $69,600 ±$6,806, and income per person $39,939 ±$3,158, in 2024 dollars. The median is $75,081 ±$888 in South Dakota and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Watertown city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	South Dakota	United States
Under $25,000	1,465 ±289	14.1% ±2.8	14.0% ±0.4	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	2,227 ±405	21.4% ±3.9	18.5% ±0.5	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	1,838 ±332	17.7% ±3.2	17.4% ±0.4	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	1,602 ±300	15.4% ±2.9	14.6% ±0.4	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	2,208 ±323	21.2% ±3.1	18.9% ±0.5	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	649 ±175	6.2% ±1.7	8.5% ±0.3	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	405 ±152	3.9% ±1.5	8.1% ±0.4	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Watertown city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	South Dakota	United States
All ages	2,045 ±341	9.0% ±1.5	11.9% ±0.4	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	245 ±110	4.9% ±2.2	14.3% ±0.6	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	1,310 ±291	11.1% ±2.4	11.8% ±0.5	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	490 ±158	8.3% ±2.6	9.7% ±0.4	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Watertown city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Watertown city	South Dakota	United States
Housing units	11,110 ±177	408,584 ±422	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	93.6% ±1.9	89.5% ±0.4	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	6.4% ±2.2	10.5% ±0.4	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	65.3% ±3.4	68.6% ±0.5	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	34.7% ±3.7	31.4% ±0.5	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$229,400 ±$14,753	$257,400 ±$3,051	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$942 ±$47	$946 ±$11	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1979 ±3	1980 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Watertown city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	South Dakota	United States
Hispanic or Latino	675 ±227	2.9% ±1.0	4.8% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	20,721 ±296	89.9% ±1.3	79.8% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	190 ±88	0.8% ±0.4	2.1% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	61 to 247	0.3% to 1.1%	1.4% ±0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	530 ±101	2.3% ±0.4	7.1% ±0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 19	0% to 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 260	0% to 1.1%	0.3% ±0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	667 ±155	2.9% ±0.7	4.4% ±0.2	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Watertown city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	South Dakota	United States
Born in the state	16,230 ±741	70.4% ±3.2	62.4% ±0.4	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	6,308 ±719	27.4% ±3.1	32.9% ±0.4	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	0 to 430	0% to 1.9%	0.7% ±0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	305 ±147	1.3% ±0.6	4.0% ±0.2	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	54 to 304	0.2% to 1.3%	1.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	58 to 194	0.3% to 0.8%	2.3% ±0.2	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Watertown city among the places of South Dakota

5th of 19 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the South Dakota page.

Places of South Dakota near Watertown city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Sioux Falls city	201,469 ±92
Rapid City city	77,946 ±44
Aberdeen city	28,189 ±42
Brookings city	23,948 ±22
Watertown city	23,044 ±23
Mitchell city	15,649 ±48
Yankton city	15,540 ±39
Huron city	14,385 ±34
Pierre city	13,948 ±24
Spearfish city	12,930 ±28

Rankings this appears in

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026