Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Watertown, SD Crime Grade
How Watertown grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of South Dakota — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
6/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
South Dakota
3/10
vs. South Dakota cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Watertown, SD was 181.4 per 100,000 residents (43 incidents over a population of 23,699). That puts Watertown 44% below the U.S. rate of 325.3 and 45% below the South Dakota statewide rate of 327.7.
That ranks Watertown #1,903 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 50% of them, and #3 of 13 in South Dakota. Violent crime is down 40% year over year and down 19% over the last five years.
Watertown, SD crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- C (6/10)
- South Dakota Grade
- A (3/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 181.4 / 100k
- National rank
- #1,903 of 3,771
- SD rank
- #3 of 13
- Safer than
- 50% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 40%
- 5-year change
- down 19%
- Population
- 23,699
- Reporting agency
- Watertown Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Watertown Police Department (FBI ORI SD0140100) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Watertown, SD
History
Named at the suggestion of John E. Kemp, the first settler, who had emigrated from Watertown, NY. (SD-T83/p. 136) Founded in 1879. Incorporated in 1885.
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Watertown (red), South Dakota (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Watertown vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 223.4(50) | 219.0(50) | 288.9(67) | 303.2(71) | 181.4(43) |
| Murder | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 76.0(17) | 92.0(21) | 56.1(13) | 64.1(15) | 59.1(14) |
| Robbery | 4.5(1) | 4.4(1) | 8.6(2) | 0.0(0) | 4.2(1) |
| Aggravated assault | 143.0(32) | 122.6(28) | 224.2(52) | 239.1(56) | 118.1(28) |
| Property crime | 1344.8(301) | 1559.2(356) | 1681.5(390) | 1029.2(241) | 734.2(174) |
| Burglary | 156.4(35) | 297.8(68) | 133.7(31) | 68.3(16) | 54.9(13) |
| Larceny | 1085.6(243) | 1125.6(257) | 1444.4(335) | 888.2(208) | 616.1(146) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 102.8(23) | 135.8(31) | 99.2(23) | 68.3(16) | 63.3(15) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Watertown, SD Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Watertown Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Watertown calculated?
- Watertown's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the South Dakota state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to South Dakota cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Watertown Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in South Dakota
Comparable South Dakota cities by population.
Compare Watertown to other places
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