Welcome to Watertown ...
The city of Watertown is located in Codington County<1> and is the County Seat for Codington County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Watertown, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Watertown has a population of 22,240 people<2> (see below for details).
Watertown is 1,730 feet [527 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Watertown lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Watertown: (605)
The ZIP code for Watertown: 57201<4>
Websites for Watertown ...
Official Website: www.watertownsd.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Watertown had an population of 22,240 people. This is an increase of 3.53% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 9.9% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Watertown had a population of 21,482 people (which is 78.9% of the total population of Codington County). This makes Watertown the county's most populous community.
The population of Watertown represents 2.64% of the total population of South Dakota (which has 814,180 people), making it the state's 5th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 21,482 people, the population of Watertown increased 6.15% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 20,237 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Watertown.
Communities Also Named Watertown ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 20 communities that are also named Watertown - they are located in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois (3), Kansas (3), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Saskatchewan, Tennessee (2) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Watertown.
Communities near Watertown ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Watertown.
- Castlewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castlewood
- Castlewood is located in Hamlin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 648 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Castlewood <5>
- Hayti
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti
- Hayti is located in Hamlin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayti <5>
- Florence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Florence is located in Codington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <5>
- Kampeska
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
- Kampeska is located in Codington County
- Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
- Thomas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Thomas is located in Hamlin County
- Estimated population in 2014: 290 people
- Henry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Henry is located in Codington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <5>
- South Shore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Shore
- South Shore is located in Codington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Shore <5>
- Kranzburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kranzburg have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kranzburg
- Kranzburg is located in Codington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kranzburg <5>
- Grover
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Goodwin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwin have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
- Goodwin is located in Deuel County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodwin <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Watertown. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Watertown.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Watertown. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watertown.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Watertown. Our list includes 17 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Watertown.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Watertown ...
Looking for more information about Watertown? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Watertown, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Watertown.
Adding Watertown to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Watertown in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Watertown was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Watertown on a map titled Rand McNally Map of South Dakota (1937).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Watertown.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Watertown: www.watertownsd.com/
The official website for Codington County: www.codington.org/
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Codington, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Watertown. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Watertown - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Watertown). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Watertown or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |