diff --git a/agent/consul/state/catalog_test.go b/agent/consul/state/catalog_test.go
index c21b203db4..07bcc49377 100644
--- a/agent/consul/state/catalog_test.go
+++ b/agent/consul/state/catalog_test.go
@@ -1709,8 +1709,10 @@ func TestStateStore_ServicesByNodeMeta(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	t.Run("Uses watchLimit to limit the number of watches", func(t *testing.T) {
+		patchWatchLimit(t, 10)
+
 		var idx uint64 = 6
-		for i := 0; i < 2*watchLimit; i++ {
+		for i := 0; i < watchLimit+2; i++ {
 			node := fmt.Sprintf("many%d", i)
 			testRegisterNodeWithMeta(t, s, idx, node, map[string]string{"common": "1"})
 			idx++
@@ -1731,6 +1733,16 @@ func TestStateStore_ServicesByNodeMeta(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+// patchWatchLimit package variable. Not safe for concurrent use. Do not use
+// with t.Parallel.
+func patchWatchLimit(t *testing.T, limit int) {
+	oldLimit := watchLimit
+	watchLimit = limit
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		watchLimit = oldLimit
+	})
+}
+
 func TestStateStore_ServiceNodes(t *testing.T) {
 	s := testStateStore(t)
 
@@ -1847,7 +1859,8 @@ func TestStateStore_ServiceNodes(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Overwhelm the node tracking.
 	idx = 19
-	for i := 0; i < 2*watchLimit; i++ {
+	patchWatchLimit(t, 10)
+	for i := 0; i < watchLimit+2; i++ {
 		node := fmt.Sprintf("many%d", i)
 		if err := s.EnsureNode(idx, &structs.Node{Node: node, Address: "127.0.0.1"}); err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
@@ -2616,7 +2629,8 @@ func TestStateStore_ServiceChecksByNodeMeta(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Overwhelm the node tracking.
-	for i := 0; i < 2*watchLimit; i++ {
+	patchWatchLimit(t, 10)
+	for i := 0; i < watchLimit+2; i++ {
 		node := fmt.Sprintf("many%d", idx)
 		testRegisterNodeWithMeta(t, s, idx, node, map[string]string{"common": "1"})
 		idx++
@@ -2796,7 +2810,8 @@ func TestStateStore_ChecksInStateByNodeMeta(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Overwhelm the node tracking.
-	for i := 0; i < 2*watchLimit; i++ {
+	patchWatchLimit(t, 10)
+	for i := 0; i < watchLimit+2; i++ {
 		node := fmt.Sprintf("many%d", idx)
 		testRegisterNodeWithMeta(t, s, idx, node, map[string]string{"common": "1"})
 		idx++
diff --git a/agent/consul/state/state_store.go b/agent/consul/state/state_store.go
index 3692deb9dc..bab348fefa 100644
--- a/agent/consul/state/state_store.go
+++ b/agent/consul/state/state_store.go
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ var (
 	ErrMissingIntentionID = errors.New("Missing Intention ID")
 )
 
-const (
+var (
 	// watchLimit is used as a soft limit to cap how many watches we allow
 	// for a given blocking query. If this is exceeded, then we will use a
 	// higher-level watch that's less fine-grained.  Choosing the perfect