People across the world are driven by the fitness movement and owe it to the pandemic that people are now more conscious of their overall well-being than they were earlier.
Whether you are a personal trainer planning to start your own virtual class, a seasoned entrepreneur planning to set up a box fit gym in a posh locality, or a fitness enthusiast planning to start their own range of fitness equipment- the current marketplace is a wonderful place for you all.
But hey starting a business is not that easy. After all, you need an answer to a variety of questions such as
- What niche or fitness segment should I choose?
- Is my chosen marketplace profitable?
- Is the fitness industry growing?
- What are the emerging trends in my particular segment?
- Is the competitive marketplace saturated?
Well, reliable data and the analysis of that data can definitely help you get answers to all those questions.
This fitness industry statistics blog offers a thorough insight into the current and future marketplace with the latest data and statistics to help you make data-driven decisions.
So let’s get started.
Contents
Top Fitness Industry Statistics (Editor’s Picks)
- San Fransisco in California is the healthiest city in the US with an average citizen working out for 90 minutes or more every week.
- Boutique fitness studios contribute to a total of 42% of gym memberships.
- The average age of a gym member in health clubs and fitness centers is 20-64 years old.
- The home fitness equipment market is worth $11.6 billion in 2023.
- The average American spends between $20-$100 every month on their gym membership.
- LA Fitness, 24-hour Fitness, and Lifetime Fitness are the largest gym chains in the world.
- Boutique studios in the US are currently catering to nearly 5 million people across different segments.
- The Global virtual fitness market is expected to reach $106.4 billion by 2030 reporting a CAGR of 26.7%.
Global Fitness Industry Trends and Overview
The trends at the top are about to redefine the fitness industry in 2024 by introducing new elements and advancements in the current fitness scenario. Let’s have a look at these global fitness industry statistics offering a macro view of this magnificent industry.
The market of Global health and fitness clubs is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.67% between 2023 and 2030. (source)
The health and fitness industry which was recorded at 96.7 billion dollars in 2019 is expected to be worth 169.7 billion dollars by 2030. The predicted fitness industry growth shows a promising opportunity for emerging players in the market.
As of 2019, there were a total of 205,000 health and fitness clubs worldwide. (source)
This includes various health fitness centers, gyms, gym chains, boutique fitness studios, and group fitness classes comprising the health club industry.
Amongst the different trends, advancement in wearable technologies is going to rule 2024. (source)
The global wearable technology market size was valued at $54 billion in 2023 with nearly 1 billion users worldwide. Interesting statistics reveal that nearly 48.5% of spending in this sector is on smartwatches with Apple and Fitbit being the most popular.
The largest gym chains in the world in terms of revenue are LA Fitness, 24-hour Fitness, and LifeTime Fitness. (source)
If we consider the marketplace of the US specifically, LA Fitness centers and Life Time Fitness clubs generated a revenue of 2.1 US billion dollars and 1.32 US billion dollars respectively in 2019. Apart from these prominent chains, Anytime Fitness Centers and Planet Fitness Clubs also dominate the US fitness industry.
According to the Mindbody 2023 wellness index, San Fransisco in California is amongst the healthiest cities in America followed by Miami and San Diego. (source)
After remaining at the top for 3 consecutive years, Miami has passed the crown to a popular Northern California city for being the healthiest city in the nation.
Revenue in the fitness app market is expected to reach $6.86 billion in 2024. (source)
59% of smartphone users have at least one health app, making health and fitness the 11th most popular category on the app store. In terms of demographics, 41% of the user base for fitness apps are millennials and 75% of the total user base is women.
Wellness is a top priority for nearly 40% of people worldwide. (source)
Wellness encompasses the well-being of physical, mental, and spiritual health. Interestingly, mental wellness is so important that people place it above physical fitness while defining their fitness goals.
Gym and Fitness Club Statistics
Let’s check these gym-related fitness industry statistics offering a thorough insight into the market size of health clubs, their revenue, personal trainers, gym membership, pricing, and much more.
According to research by IHRSA, there were about 31,028 health and fitness clubs in the US as of Jan 2022. (source)
The US fitness industry noted a significant decline in revenue growth by 20.2 billion dollars as an impact of COVID-19 in 2020. The COVID impact continued to affect the marketplace so much that the number of health clubs in the marketplace declined from 32,269 in 2021 to 31,028 in 2022.
People firmly believe that attending an in-person class is much better for their fitness journey than training on their own. (source)
81% of gym goers agree that they feel more motivated and accountable towards their fitness journey when they attend an in-person class. Besides, getting access to a wide range of equipment motivates 67% of the people to choose in-person fitness and health clubs.
The US health and fitness clubs generated a total revenue of 30.8 billion US dollars in 2023. (source)
One of the primary drivers, driving the US fitness industry revenue is the health and fitness club memberships. As of 2019, nearly 64.2 million, i.e. 19% of the US population had a health club membership or were gym members.
74% of people prefer to work out under the expert guidance of an instructor. (source)
Now this instruction could be in the form of group fitness classes, online coaching, YouTube videos, or personal training. Nearly 14% of gym goers avail the services of a personal trainer to achieve their desired fitness goals.
79.2% of the US population didn’t have any sort of gym membership in 2019. (source)
Although nearly 19% of the population was part of some sort of health club, more than 4/5th of the population is totally unrelated to health and fitness clubs. This leaves ample opportunities for fitness centers and entrepreneurs to tap into this potential market space.
Nearly 60% of the gym goers hold year-round membership (source)
While annual memberships are usually cheaper, approximately 40% of people still prefer monthly or short-term contractual membership agreements.
Only 20% of gym-goers actively use their gym membership. (source)
The average member uses their health club membership twice every week and has an attrition rate of 30%. Only 49% of gym members visit their gym more than 100 times a year.
The cost of gym membership varies between $20-$100 every month. (source)
While gym franchise like Planet Fitness offers membership at $20-$30 every month, high-end gyms offer their memberships for as high as $80-$100 every month.
The US personal training industry is as large as 14 billion dollars. (source)
The demand for fitness trainers is at a tremendous rise providing employment opportunities to nearly 834,000 people. Moreover, the average personal trainer charges anywhere between $250-$400 every month for twice a week session.
Gyms and health clubs usually entertain people in the age demographic of 20-64 years. (source)
While the average age of a gym member is 40 years, millennials and Gen Z are populating the gyms with their regularity. Of the total active gym members, nearly 36% of the active members in the gym are millennials.
Boutique Fitness Statistics
The demand for specialized workout studios like Pilates, yoga, cross-fit boxes, HIIT, and much more is taking over the demand for traditional health clubs and gyms.
Let’s explore a few statistics to help you understand the pricing, demand, demographics, consumer spending, challenges, and emerging trends in this boutique fitness segment of the gym industry.
The boutique fitness industry is expected to have a market size of 51.6 billion dollars in 2024. (source)
The boutique fitness studios reported a 400% growth over the last decade which will slow down a bit in upcoming years. However, this industry will continue to grow at an annual rate of 7.6% making it a 79-billion-dollar industry by 2029.
The average cost of a boutique fitness studio membership is $90 every month. (source)
Despite being substantially higher than the average price of a gym membership, people are willing to splurge. Noticeably, women are likely to frequent classes for pilates, yoga, and barre while men are likely to invest in cross-training and boot camp classes.
The average age of a member at a boutique fitness studio is 30 years. (source)
Millennials and Gen Z are the target demographics of boutique fitness studios. Rather than spending on standard fitness clubs, these people are willing to splurge on boutique studios to access their favorite fitness training.
More than 5 million customers are actively a part of one or the other US boutique fitness studio. (source)
21% of the entire fitness club market is dominated by boutique fitness classes and nearly 48% of all gym memberships come from boutique studios.
55% of the studio attendees participate in group fitness training making it the most popular form of boutique classes. (source)
Yoga and pilates(9.2%), indoor cycling( 7.3%), cross-training(4.5%), martial arts and boxing classes(3.7%) follow this. Nearly 31% of the members in these studios attend at least 4 paid classes in a week.
Boutique fitness attendees are likely to participate in more than 1 health club. (source)
A statistic reveals that 21% of the members at boutique studios are part of different health clubs. Interestingly, boutique studios bring in nearly 43% of revenue for health clubs.
The spending on boutique studios has increased by 25% over the past two years. (source)
The prices of boutique studio classes are already the highest in the fitness industry. However, this is not it. Over the past 2 years, nearly 72% of attendees have increased their spending considerably on their boutique classes.
Online Fitness Training Statistics
The Pandemic dramatically changed the way people thought of virtual training programs. However, the end of the pandemic was not an end for the virtual fitness market.
Over the years, this market is expected to grow prolifically and contribute largely to the fitness industry’s revenue. It’s wise to check these online fitness industry statistics offering an insight into its market space, emerging trends, type of virtual programs, and much more.
The prominence of virtual fitness will continue to grow over the years.(source)
The Global virtual fitness market is expected to reach $106.4 billion by 2030 reporting a CAGR of 26.7% from 2023-2030. As of 2022, the virtual fitness market was merely 16.4 billion dollars.
The live-streaming market space is expected to grow by 35% every year till 2026. (source)
Live streaming holds the largest market share of the online and virtual fitness industry. Nearly 75% of the users reported using some sort of live fitness program to stay in line with their fitness goals.
Although the overall fitness industry revenue declined in 2023, niche segments like online training and home equipment experienced significant growth. (source)
Between 2022 and 2023, the overall fitness industry reported a decline of 15.7% in terms of revenue. However, during the same time, the online and virtual fitness industry grew from $15.65 billion to $21.82 billion, reporting a 39.4% CAGR.
The demand for on-demand video fitness classes grew by 311% post-COVID. (source)
Overall the userbase of people using video workouts grew by 177% after COVID. While live streaming still dominates the market space, 70% of consumers prefer on-demand fitness videos to work out at their convenience.
Virtual fitness classes prove itself to be a strong tool for acquisition and retention. (source)
Virtual programs are an effective way to try and experiment with new programs. Nearly 35% of Americans started visiting in-person training programs they discovered virtually.
43% of millennials and 30% of Gen Z are likely to attend an in-person class they have attended virtually. (source)
Millennials and Gen Z are the fastest-growing demographics for an online fitness class. Not only that, 34% of Gen X (41-56 years old) are likely to visit an in-person class if they are satisfied with the virtual counterpart of that class.
Live streaming classes are more expensive than on-demand fitness content. (source)
The average price of an online fitness class varies anywhere between $15-$60. The cost for live stream classes can span anywhere from $10-$20 per session or $20-$60 monthly. On the other hand, the pricing for on-demand classes spans between $15-$30 each month.
Between March and August 2020, the number of minutes spent streaming an online fitness video, increased by 1300%. (source)
The demand for fitness videos and online workouts will continue to rise even in the upcoming years. To stay in the competition, gyms and health clubs have started offering on-demand and live-streaming fitness classes to their members.
Fitness Equipment Industry Statistics
Look out for the advancements in the equipment industry if you are planning to set up a business venture in the fitness industry.
From fitness industry revenue (equipment) to the total number of equipment sales and investment in boutique studios- uncover micro details in this section of fitness industry statistics.
In 2023, the fitness equipment industry is expected to be worth 13.8 billion dollars. (source)
The equipment industry caters to the commercial and consumer markets each valued at $2.2 billion and $11.6 billion respectively. This market is matured and saturated as the big players continue to compete for the top positions.
The Global functional equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 47.7% between 2022 and 2031. (source)
By 2031, the functional fitness equipment market is expected to generate a revenue of nearly 273,000 million dollars making it a potential market for entrepreneurs planning to venture on this path.
The overall spending on fitness equipment is less than $5000 for boutique studios and small fitness centers. (source)
Compared to gyms, boutique studios spend considerably less on fitness equipment. Statistics reveal that 30% of the studios spend less than $1000 on equipment which affects their ability to generate higher revenues initially.
The home fitness equipment market witnessed a 150% spike in growth during the pandemic. (source)
Pandemic compelled the people to start working out from home. Not only fitness enthusiasts, but even the people who rarely exercised placed fitness as their top priority, which ultimately led to this unprecedented spike.
The global treadmill market is expected to be a market of 6122.02 million dollars by 2030. (source)
Treadmills and other cardio equipment have the most expansive market space in the fitness equipment industry. In 2020, treadmill sales spiked so much that 2.8 million units were sold in the US itself.
Fitbit is amongst the top health and fitness apps generating a revenue of nearly 6 million US dollars in 2023. (source)
The market of fitness apps is expected to see an upward trajectory in growth for years to come. My fitness pal, at a second position, is a calorie-tracking fitness app that generates nearly $2 million in revenue.
The Bottom Line
Summing up, the thriving fitness industry encompasses a wide array of markets, presenting endless opportunities for entrepreneurs who wish to venture into the fitness world.
Numbers offer a clear direction to think and we hope this curated list of fitness industry statistics helps you make informed choices whether it is to start a new business, expand the current one, or advance into a new territory.
Regardless, it can be sealed with certainty that the fitness industry is a welcoming market for business enthusiasts for the years to come.
