Watertown, SD, South Dakota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+41%. Republican peak: R+48 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 28,7672024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,7272024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+45 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+48 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Watertown, SD, SDOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,840 | 9,349 | 13,510 | ||
| R | 3,837 | 8,958 | 13,161 | ||
| R | 3,174 | 7,764 | 11,669 | ||
| R | 4,588 | 6,696 | 11,524 | ||
| R | 5,595 | 6,374 | 12,185 | ||
| R | 4,803 | 7,778 | 12,751 | ||
| D | 6,718 | 4,192 | 11,138 | ||
| R | 4,722 | 4,995 | 11,055 | ||
| R | 3,701 | 3,943 | 10,943 | ||
| R | 4,570 | 5,050 | 9,714 | ||
| R | 3,528 | 6,108 | 9,678 | ||
| R | 3,353 | 5,903 | 9,990 | ||
| D | 4,680 | 4,504 | 9,213 | ||
| R | 4,601 | 4,936 | 9,564 | ||
| D | 4,235 | 3,929 | 8,452 | ||
| D | 5,353 | 3,593 | 8,946 | ||
| R | 4,304 | 5,309 | 9,613 | ||
| R | 3,772 | 5,150 | 8,922 | ||
| R | 2,974 | 5,750 | 8,724 | ||
| D | 4,042 | 3,349 | 7,441 | ||
| R | 3,120 | 3,348 | 6,468 | ||
| R | 3,705 | 4,320 | 8,025 | ||
| D | 4,256 | 3,005 | 7,620 | ||
| D | 4,806 | 2,538 | 7,396 | ||
| R | 3,299 | 3,762 | 7,087 | ||
| O | 627 | 1,862 | 4,500 | ||
| R | 867 | 2,706 | 4,522 | ||
| D | 1,550 | 1,344 | 2,991 | ||
| O | 1,111 | 0 | 2,467 | ||
| R | 831 | 1,618 | 2,556 | ||
| R | 582 | 1,741 | 2,412 | ||
| R | 805 | 1,225 | 2,102 | ||
| R | 759 | 1,041 | 1,823 | ||
| R | 408 | 882 | 1,691 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
39.8%
Irish
9.1%
English
6.2%
American
4.1%
Polish
2.8%
French
1.6%
Italian
0.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$72,727
Watertown, SD ranks near the middle of US counties.
Watertown, SD$72,727
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.3%
Working age (18–64)9.3%
Seniors (65+)11.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.0%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Other languages0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 34.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Watertown anchors the northeast corner of South Dakota, drawing workers and voters from a wide rural catchment. Its Codington County electorate has leaned heavily Republican in recent presidential cycles, often by margins exceeding 30 points.
The Democratic margin in Watertown, SD peaked at forty-five points in 1912. By 2004 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $72,727 sits well below state and national norms, and 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Watertown, SD, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/47980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Watertown, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Watertown, SD, South Dakota voted Republican by 40.8 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 13,510 votes cast, 3,840 went Democratic and 9,349 went Republican.
What is Watertown, SD, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Watertown, SD, South Dakota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 24 times, and other 2 times.
When did Watertown, SD, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Watertown, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Watertown, SD, South Dakota?
Watertown, SD, South Dakota has a population of 28,767 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Watertown, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Watertown, SD, South Dakota is $72,727 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Watertown, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Watertown, SD, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.