Fitness industry statistics: members, studios and spending

The latest fitness industry statistics show about 81 million Americans held a fitness facility membership in 2025, an all-time high. That figure comes from the Health & Fitness Association's 2026 U.S. Health & Fitness Consumer Report, as reported by Athletic Business, and represents a 5.2% increase from 2024 and 26.1% of the U.S. population aged six and older.

Counting non-members who used day passes or guest privileges, more than 100 million people used a fitness facility in 2025, and facilities recorded an estimated 7 billion visits, above the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. The share of members who never used their membership fell to 4.6%, an all-time low.

HFA's figures come from a national tracking study of about 18,000 U.S. residents aged six and older, run with Sports Marketing Surveys USA and the Physical Activity Council. It is the standard source for U.S. membership counts.

Young adults have the highest membership rate and older adults are growing fastest. HFA found adults aged 18 to 24 had the highest penetration of any age group at 35.5%, while members aged 65 and older grew 8.6% year over year, the fastest of any cohort.

Women are a growing share of training clients. HFA's 2025 report found women's use of personal training rose 16% year over year to 7.3 million.

For studios, these two groups want different things. A 22-year-old may find you on Instagram and book a class from their phone at 10 p.m. A 67-year-old may want to call, ask about accessibility or beginner options, and talk to a person before joining. Both journeys need to work.

Yes, multi-membership is common. HFA's 2025 Expanded Insights report found more than a quarter of members belong to more than one facility, and over 75% of studio users maintain at least one additional membership.

That changes how a boutique studio should think about competition. Most of your clients probably also belong to a big-box gym or another studio. You are competing for a share of their week, not their only membership, so the experience in your class and the ease of booking it decide how often they choose you.

It also means attendance is a better health signal than membership status. A member who drops from three classes a week to one is often splitting time with another facility, and that pattern usually shows up in your booking data weeks before a cancellation request does.

Strength, Pilates, yoga, pickleball and group training are growing. HFA's 2026 report found free weight use has grown faster than any other equipment category since 2021, with Pilates and tai chi growing steadily while traditional high-intensity and stand-alone cardio formats soften.

Yoga is the most widely practiced activity among members at 17.7 million, and HFA's 2025 report found yoga participation rising from 20% to nearly 22% year over year, with Pilates above 8%. Pickleball membership rose 21.3% to 7.6 million in 2025.

Training is shifting toward groups. HFA found 32% of members took part in small-group training in 2024 and 23% used a personal trainer, but personal training clients averaged 21 sessions a year, down from 28 in 2019.

Members who use these services also tend to be more active overall. HFA's 2026 report found 49.4% of members meet or exceed federal aerobic activity guidelines, compared with 24.5% of non-users, and members were about seven times less likely than non-users to report no physical activity in a typical week (4.7% against 33.1%). For studios, that is a useful message in marketing to people who are not yet members, and a reason to track whether new members are building a habit in their first weeks.

There were 40,307 fitness and recreational sports center establishments with paid employees in the U.S. in 2023, employing 693,499 people. Monvell summed the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 county records for NAICS 713940 to get that national total.

Fitness businesses are larger on average than most personal service businesses. In the same data, 38.9% had fewer than five employees and 55.1% had fewer than ten, compared with 68.3% and 85.8% for beauty salons. CBP counts businesses with paid employees only, so independent trainers and instructors working alone are not included.

Fitness operators find most new clients on Instagram and keep them with personal outreach. Mindbody's 2025 State of the Industry release, based on more than 1,400 fitness and wellness decision-makers, found Instagram is the top acquisition channel at 63%, with TikTok at 7%.

Mindbody found 56% of operators say personalized outreach is their most effective retention strategy, and described SMS as rivaling email as a direct engagement tool. Operators are confident overall: 72% are optimistic about performance, rising to 81% among businesses investing in technology.

New revenue lines are on the table too. Mindbody found one in three businesses plan to add retail and nearly 30% plan events and retreats.

The retention finding lines up with HFA's data on inactive members, whose share fell to an all-time low of 4.6%. Members who use their membership stay longer, and personal contact is one of the simplest ways to keep usage up. In practice that means a coach or front desk message after a first class, after a missed week, and before a package or contract runs out.

Membership, participation and demographic figures come from the Health & Fitness Association's 2025 and 2026 U.S. Health & Fitness Consumer Reports. HFA's tracking study surveys about 18,000 U.S. residents aged six and older each year, so it reflects people, not facilities. The 2026 figures were taken from Athletic Business coverage of HFA's headline trends, and the 2025 figures from HFA's own press release.

Operator sentiment and marketing channel figures come from Mindbody's 2025 State of the Industry press release, which surveyed more than 1,400 fitness and wellness decision-makers worldwide. Mindbody sells studio software and does not publish full methodology in the release, so treat those numbers as directional.

Establishment counts are Monvell's own sum of the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 county file for NAICS 713940 (fitness and recreational sports centers). That code also includes some recreational sports facilities, and it covers only businesses with paid employees.

For a gym or studio, the data shows a growing market where clients spread their time across several places. Winning more of their visits depends on making it easy to book, giving them a reason to come back, and reaching the age groups that are growing.

Steps that follow from the findings:

• Assume your clients have other memberships. Track visit frequency per member and reach out when it drops, before they cancel.
• Use personal outreach, not just broadcast emails. Mindbody's operators rank it the top retention strategy, and text is a practical channel for it.
• Build offers for adults 65 and over, the fastest-growing member group, and make sure your phone and website answer their questions about level, safety and access.
• Add or expand small-group training, which 32% of members already use and which fills a coach's hour more efficiently than one-to-one sessions.
• Make booking from Instagram one or two taps, since that is where 63% of operators find new clients.
• Review your class mix against the growth in strength, Pilates, yoga and pickleball.

Monvell builds booking, attendance-based follow-up and text outreach systems for fitness businesses, so a member who stops showing up gets a personal check-in instead of a cancellation notice. Our free digital audit reviews how your booking and follow-up work today.