CITY DATA
FACTS & STATS
Located in northeast South Dakota in Codington County, the City of Watertown is the fifth-largest city in the state. With a population of 22,655 residents, the City of Watertown lies in the Glacial Lakes region on the Big Sioux River between Lake Kampeska and Lake Pelican. The city serves as a regional economic and cultural hub. The data listed below was found on the U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts.
- Elevation: 1,739 feet
- Land Area: 17.45 square miles/ 1,231.3 people per square mile
Demographics
Population: 22,655
Number of Households: 10,878
Median household income: $56,520
Per capita income in past 12 months: $32,547
Housing Census Data
Owner-occupied housing unit rate: 62%
Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage: $1,256
Median selected monthly owner costs -without a mortgage: $449
Median gross rent: $822
14 MIN
AVERAGE
COMMUTE
TIME
174,900
MEDIAN LIST
HOME PRICE
36,000
DAYTIME
POPULATION
Infrastructure & Transportation
Watertown, South Dakota is centrally located in North America along Interstate-29 and US Highway 212. US Highways 81 and 20 also intersect in Watertown and connect Codington County with the contiguous states of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Utilities
Serving the Watertown, South Dakota community for over 60 years, Watertown Municipal Utilities provides electric, water and natural gas services to over 10,000 residential and 2,000 commercial customers. Watertown Municipal Utilities is committed to providing competitive utility rates for our customers and is consistently ranked among the lowest cost in comparison to other utility companies in the region.
As a provider of electric, water, and natural gas utility services to the residents and businesses in our community, it is their continuing endeavor to provide their customers with high quality, safe and efficient services at the lowest possible cost, while promoting conservation and responsible management of resources.
Learn MoreElectric
Watertown serves their customers through a looped 115 kv system with five 115/12.5 kv substations throughout the city. Total capacity of WMU’s distribution system is roughly 120 MW with a peak demand of 76 MW. 35% of WMU’s requirements are served from Western Area Power Administration (hydro), and 65% are from Missouri River Energy Services (MRES).
Natural Gas
WMU serves its customers through a looped 60-psi steel distribution system. Two separate natural gas transmission lines feed the community: Northern Border Pipeline is the primary feed, and Northern Natural Gas is the back-up feed.
Water
WMU has peak daily usage of 8 million gallons and operates a ground water treatment plant with a capacity of 14 million gallons per day. Additionally, WMU has more than adequate water rights to serve future needs.
Rail
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) provides Watertown with high level service and access to markets across the United States.
Learn MoreAir
The Watertown Regional Airport (Fly ATY) has daily commercial flights to both Denver International Airport (DIA) and Chicago International Airport (ORD) providing connections to anywhere within the United States and worldwide. In 2022, over 14,500 passengers travel through the Watertown Regional Airport each. In order to keep up with the growing demand for air travel, a brand-new terminal was completed in October 2022.
Learn More