NAICS 72

Accommodation and Food Services in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY

Metro Market Score 67.0 (Difficult), ranked #240 of 298 metros. 315 establishments, 4,049 jobs.

Metro Market Score 67.0

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national accommodation and food services average.

Watertown-Fort Drum's accommodation and food services sector saw employment decline over the past year (growth trend: 18.1). That contraction, combined with a 67.0 market score, puts this metro in the bottom quartile for market conditions. Understand why the local market is shrinking before committing.

Industry Concentration

60.7

LQ: 1.10

Rank #181 of 298 metros

Wage Competitiveness

54.7

$25,397 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 18.1

Employment growth index

Rank #245 of 298 metros

Wage Pressure

67.9

YoY wage change index

315 Accommodation and Food Services Firms in Watertown-Fort Drum

315

Establishments

+0.6% YoY

4,049

Total Employment

-2.2% YoY

$25,397

Average Annual Wage

+2.5% YoY

1.10

Location Quotient

Above national avg

Within New York

#12 of 13

accommodation and food services metros in state

New York state rank

#48 of 51

for accommodation and food services entry risk

vs State Median

+10.4

worse than median (56.6)

Watertown-Fort Drum vs New York Statewide

How this metro's accommodation and food services market compares to New York overall. The state ranks #48/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Watertown-Fort Drum	NY Statewide
Overall Score	67.0 Difficult	58.6 High
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#240 of 298 metros	#48 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in Watertown-Fort Drum

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 21.9 Finance and Insurance 33.6 Information 38.7 Construction 42.6 Other Services 48.6 Healthcare and Social Assistance 50.3 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 50.5 Administrative and Support Services 53.5 Retail Trade 74.3

Accommodation and Food Services in Other New York Metros

Binghamton 47.1 #97/298 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 48.4 #105/298 Utica-Rome 51.3 #124/298 Rochester 51.5 #128/298 Ithaca 54.9 #156/298 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 55.1 #158/298 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 56.6 #162/298 Syracuse 57.6 #170/298 Elmira 59.7 #182/298 New York-Newark-Jersey City 66.4 #237/298

+ 2 more metros. View all in New York →

Accommodation and Food Services Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Watertown-Fort Drum's 67.0 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Flagstaff, AZ 67.0 #241/298 Charlottesville, VA 66.9 #239/298 Grants Pass, OR 67.1 #242/298 Medford, OR 67.2 #243/298 Kingston, NY 66.7 #238/298 Bloomington, IL 67.3 #244/298 New Haven, CT 67.6 #245/298 Lawrence, KS 67.6 #246/298 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY 66.4 #237/298 Santa Fe, NM 66.3 #236/298

Accommodation and Food Services in States Bordering New York

State-level entry risk for accommodation and food services in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Massachusetts 28.4 #7/51 Pennsylvania 36.8 #24/51 Connecticut 37.3 #27/51 New Jersey 43.3 #34/51 Vermont 51.0 #43/51

Browse Accommodation and Food Services in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for accommodation and food services across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Watertown-Fort Drum's accommodation and food services sector, the employment growth component (81.9) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment