113 Gym Membership Statistics You Need to Know

For many gym-goers, most days look pretty identical: wake up, go to work, hit the gym, repeat. Not a bad routine.

Considering the gym is a daily activity for many people, it's not surprising if you've considered opening one of your own — or if you've simply wondered how many of these facilities exist across the country (or the world). Plus, how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the fitness industry?

Jump into these gym-membership stats to learn more about health clubs today.

The health-club and gym industry makes billions of dollars each year, with millions of facilities across the globe, according to the Global Health and Fitness Association's (IHRSA) 2020 report.

• In 2019, the global health club and gym industry made about $96.7 billion in revenue.
• Globally, there are about 210,000 health and fitness facilities and gyms in the world. These countries have the most facilities:
  • ‌United States:‌ 41,370
  • ‌Brazil:‌ 29,525
• U.S. gyms and health facilities had the most revenue in 2019, with about $35 billion total.
  • Germany and the U.K. tied for second, each earning about $6.2 billion in the same year.
• There are more than 210,000 health clubs across the world, according to Wellness Creative Co.'s 2021 Fitness Industry Statistics Report.

The number of gyms in the world sits at 210,00, but U.S. gyms bring in the most revenue and members, according to the IHRSA 2020 report.

• There are more than 184 million gym members around the world.
• These countries have the highest average numbers of members per gym, according to Expert Fitness:
  1. ‌China:‌ 2,558
  2. ‌Hong Kong:‌ 2,389
  3. ‌Taiwan:‌ 2,366
  4. ‌South Africa:‌ 2,072
  5. ‌Singapore:‌ 1,600
• Anytime Fitness is one of the biggest global chains, with about 4,520 locations worldwide.
  • Another top global chain, Planet Fitness has more than 16.5 million members and 2,324 locations, according to the franchise website.
  • Fit Body Boot Camp, one of the few international boot-camp franchises, has more than 800 locations across the world, according to the gym website.
• Here's a peek at the most expensive average monthly membership fees (more below on the cheapest) across the world (in U.S. dollars):
  1. ‌Qatar:‌ $110.08
  2. ‌Kuwait:‌ $107.74
  3. ‌Singapore:‌ $105.10
  4. ‌Switzerland:‌ $91.83
  5. ‌Saudi Arabia:‌ $86.99
     

For comparison, the average gym membership cost in the U.S. is about $37.71, according to RunRepeat's 2021 Gym Membership Price Analysis.

• In 2019, there were 7,239 gyms in the United Kingdom, according to RunRepeat's 2021 Gym Industry Global Analysis.
  • One in 7 people in the U.K. are gym members.
  • There are about 1,425 members per gym.
  • Each gym member makes the facility about $593.86 per year.

• There are about 6,587 gyms in the country, per RunRepeat's 2021 analysis.
  • Canada has more than 6.18 million members total.
  • There are an average of 938 members per gym.
  • Each gym member makes the facility about $467.87 annually.

• There are roughly 3,715 gyms in Australia, according to RunRepeat's 2021 analysis.
  • Australia has nearly 4 million total gym members.
  • About 15% of Australians are members of a gym.
  • There are an average of 1,004 members per gym.
  • Each gym in Australia makes about $762,045.76 each year.

• There are about 41,370 gym facilities in the U.S., according to the IHRSA.
• The U.S. gym industry made about $35 billion in 2019, per RunRepeat.
• Here are the top three revenue-earning health clubs in the U.S., based off of 2019 Club Industry statistics:
  1. ‌LA Fitness:‌ $2.15 billion
  2. ‌Life Time:‌ $1.9 billion
  3. ‌24 Hour Fitness:‌ $1.47 billion
• The average gym membership cost in 2021 is $37.71 per month, according to RunRepeat.
• These are the least expensive monthly memberships in the country:
  1. ‌Planet Fitness:‌ $10
  2. ‌Youfit:‌ $10
  3. ‌Work Out World:‌ $10
  4. ‌World Gym:‌ $15.99
  5. ‌Crunch:‌ $19.95
• Gyms make about $545.81 per gym member each year, according to RunRepeat.

• About 1 in 4 Americans went to a gym, exercise club or fitness studio in 2019, according to the IHRSA.
• The number of health-club-goers in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019 increased by 27% — from 58 million to 73.6 million people.
• About 6.3% of Americans don't ever use their gym membership, according to RunRepeat.
• But 49.9% of people go to the gym at least twice a week.
• In 2019, there were about 6.7 billion gym visits in the U.S.
  • That's a 45% increase from 2010.
• About 27.3 million people went to the gym 100 times (or more) in 2019.
  • That's a 24% increase from 2010.
• The average gym-goer keeps their membership for about 4.7 years.
  • Half of gym users say that location is the main reason why they keep their membership.
  • Approximately 38% say they keep their membership because of equipment.
• About half of new gym members quit in the first 6 months.
  • About 38% say they quit because of membership costs.
  • About 23% say they quit because they don't use their membership.
• Gym members with a household income more than $150,000 are more likely to make more than 100 gym visits annually, per the IHRSA.

Although most U.S. gyms are open to all ages, more than half of newer members are younger than 30. In fact, a majority of gym-goers are under the age of 45. Here are more gym membership demographics to know.

• Most gym members are between 36 and 37 years old, while new members are about 30 years old, according to a 2019 Consumer Fitness Survey by Les Mills.
  • More than 50% of new members are younger than 30.
• According to Les Mills, this is the generational breakdown of the average gym's membership:
  • ‌Gen Z (born between 1994 and 2002):‌ 35%
  • ‌Millennials (born between ‌1979 and 1993): 45%
  • ‌Gen X (born between ‌1964 and 1979): 14%
  • ‌Baby Boomers (born between ‌1949 and 1963): 6%

A stark majority of people who go to American gyms are white, according to RunRepeat. And both the number and percentage of white gym members have increased in the past 10 years.

• Here's a breakdown of the gym members based on their self-identified race or ethnicity, per RunRepeat. (The terms used below for race and ethnicity reflect the language used by RunRepeat.)
  1. ‌White:‌ 66.34%
  2. ‌Hispanic:‌ 12.78%
  3. ‌African American:‌ 12.3%
  4. ‌Asian:‌ 7.19%
• The number of white gym-goers has risen from 33.9 million in 2010 to 42.59 million in 2019.
  • That's a jump of about 25.6%.

For the first time, more than half of all people who go to the gym in the U.S. are female, according to RunRepeat. But new female gym-goers are still more likely to quit after a year of membership. (The terms used below for gender reflect the language used in the original sources.)

• More than half of all gym members are female, according to RunRepeat.
  • Since 2010, the number of female members increased by 32.2%.
  • Since 2010, the number of male members increased by 23.2%.
• About 20% to 40% of men say negative body image is a major motivator for gym attendance.
• About 8% of male gym-goers quit their membership after a year, according to Finances Online, a business software research platform.
  • About 14% of female members quit after a year.
• Women are twice as likely to use gym video-on-demand exercise programs from home than are men, according to RunRepeat.
• About 46% of men and 43% of women use smartphones while exercising at the gym.
• Women are more likely to participate in gym group classes like yoga, barre and Pilates.

When you open a gym in the U.S., you can either go with a pre-existing franchise or start an independent company. Although one option isn't necessarily better than the other, there are advantages and drawbacks to both.

• Opening a gym franchise can cost anywhere between $10,000 to $1,000,000, depending on the franchise you choose and the location, among other factors, according to the International Sports Science Association (ISSA).
  • Franchisees must pay annual fees to the franchise owner that range from $20,000 to $60,000, depending on the franchise.
  • Franchisees also pay the franchise owner a royalty fee each month or quarter of about 4% to 8% of all revenue the business makes.
• Increasing member retention by 5% can increase a gym's annual revenue by 25% to 95%, according to Glofox, a company that makes management software for fitness facilities and platforms.
• Most gyms and fitness clubs lose about 50% of new members within the member's first 6 months.

The COVID-19 pandemic's effects on gym memberships have been drastic. Most gyms fully closed for periods during the COVID-19 pandemic (and some continue to operate at only partial capacity).

• As of July 1 2021, 22% of U.S. gyms and studios had permanently closed, according to the IHRSA.
• U.S. gyms lost almost $14 billion from the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020 to the end of August 2020, according to RunRepeat's analysis on COVID's impact on the fitness industry.
• As of July 2020, 60% of gym members planned to fully cancel their memberships.
• As of 2020, 59% of Americans didn't plan to renew their memberships after the pandemic is over.
• During pandemic lockdowns, 74% of Americans tried fitness apps to stay fit.