Gym statistics describe several different realities: facility membership, visits, company revenue, and broader physical-activity behavior. In the United States, 2024 estimates and company filings show a large fitness market, while CDC survey data shows that guideline adherence varies substantially by age, income, education, geography, disability, health, and BMI category.
Key Gym Statistics
The following figures provide a concise starting point:
- In 2024, 77 million people were members of U.S. fitness facilities, according to an HFA estimate.
- In 2024, U.S. fitness facilities served nearly 96 million total customers.
- In 2024, nearly 19 million additional non-member users engaged with U.S. fitness facilities.
- At December 31, 2024, Planet Fitness had approximately 19.7 million members worldwide.
- At December 31, 2024, Planet Fitness operated 2,722 clubs worldwide.
- At December 31, 2024, Life Time reported more than 1.5 million individual members.
- In 2024, Life Time centers recorded more than 114 million visits.
- In 2024, Planet Fitness reported $1.181654 billion in total revenue.
- In 2024, Planet Fitness equipment revenue was $256.120 million.
- In 2024, Life Time reported $2.620995 billion in total revenue.
- In 2024, 47.2% of U.S. adults age 18 and older met federal aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 54.0% of U.S. adults ages 18–34 met federal aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 38.4% of U.S. adults age 65 and older met federal aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 56.5% of U.S. adults at 400% of the federal poverty level or more met aerobic guidelines.
- In 2024, 58.5% of U.S. adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher met aerobic guidelines.
- In 2024, 40.2% of adults in nonmetropolitan U.S. areas met aerobic guidelines.
- In 2024, 22.4% of U.S. adults with disabilities met aerobic guidelines.
- In 2024, 38.0% of U.S. adults classified as having obesity met aerobic guidelines.
Contents
- U.S. facility membership and customer scale
- Gym attendance and operator trends
- Gym revenue, clubs, and equipment business data
- Physical-activity participation and guideline adherence
- Gym participation gaps by income, education, and location
- Disability, body size, and health patterns
U.S. Gym Facility Membership and Customer Scale
The Health & Fitness Association’s 2024 estimate separates members, total customers, and non-member users. These are facility-use measures, not a count of unique people who visited a gym during the year.
- U.S. gyms, studios, and other fitness facilities had 77 million members in 2024.
- U.S. fitness facilities served nearly 96 million total customers in 2024.
- Non-member users represented nearly 19 million additional people engaging with fitness facilities in 2024.
Source: Health & Fitness Association, “How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out”.
Major operators illustrate how different business models contribute to the overall scale:
| Operator and measure | Period | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Planet Fitness members | December 31, 2024 | Approximately 19.7 million |
| Planet Fitness clubs | December 31, 2024 | 2,722 |
| Life Time individual members | December 31, 2024 | More than 1.5 million |
| Life Time memberships | December 31, 2024 | More than 866,000 |
Planet Fitness’s worldwide system included 2,445 franchised clubs and 277 corporate-owned clubs at year-end 2024. Life Time operated more than 175 athletic country-club centers across 31 U.S. states and one Canadian province; its centers are premium athletic clubs rather than a complete count of all gyms.
Source: Planet Fitness, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K and Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K.
The HFA figures describe facility members and customers, while company filings use different definitions for members, memberships, individuals, and clubs. Those units should not be added together as though they measured the same population.
Gym Attendance Trends at Major Fitness Operators
Life Time’s reported center visits show rising activity across the three years provided, but visits count uses rather than unique people. The operator reported 86 million visits in 2022, 103 million in 2023, and more than 114 million in 2024.
| Life Time center measure | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center visits | 86 million | 103 million | More than 114 million |
| Year-end center memberships | — | 763,216 | 812,062 |
Life Time reported an average of 143 visits per center membership in 2024. It also reported average revenue per center membership of $3,160 in 2024, a company-defined revenue measure rather than a monthly membership price.
Planet Fitness opened 86 clubs during 2024, including 78 franchisee-owned and 8 corporate-owned clubs. At year-end, it had contractual commitments to open approximately 900 new clubs, but commitments are not completed openings and may change.
Source: Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K and Planet Fitness, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K.
These figures show why attendance and membership should be read separately. A membership is an account or membership relationship, whereas a visit is an instance of facility use.
Gym Industry Revenue, Clubs, and Equipment Business Data
Company revenue provides a view of selected operators, not total U.S. or global gym-industry revenue. Planet Fitness reported the following consolidated totals:
| Planet Fitness measure | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $936.772 million | $1.071326 billion | $1.181654 billion |
| Equipment revenue | — | — | $256.120 million |
Equipment revenue represented 21.7% of Planet Fitness’s consolidated revenue in 2024, which is a company segment mix rather than home-gym market share. Its 2024 corporate-owned club revenue was $502.287 million, while franchise segment revenue was $423.247 million.
Life Time reported $2.620995 billion in total revenue in 2024, compared with $2.216593 billion in 2023. Its 2024 center revenue was $2.546651 billion, including $1.853963 billion in membership dues and enrollment fees.
Within the year-over-year increase in Life Time center revenue from 2023 to 2024, membership dues and enrollment fees represented 75.6%, while in-center revenue represented 24.4%. These are shares of the increase, not shares of total revenue.
Source: Planet Fitness, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K and Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K.
The financial measures cover issuer-reported businesses with different operating structures. They should not be interpreted as a complete estimate of equipment sales, club revenue, or the total gym economy.
Physical-Activity Statistics Relevant to Gym Participation
CDC/NHIS data measures leisure-time aerobic activity, not gym membership or gym attendance. The federal guideline definition used here is at least 150–300 moderate-intensity minutes, 75–150 vigorous-intensity minutes, or an equivalent combination per week.
In 2024, 47.2% of U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adults age 18 and older met the federal aerobic-activity guidelines. The rate was 52.3% for men and 42.4% for women.
Age differences were also substantial:
- 54.0% of adults ages 18–34 met the guidelines in 2024.
- 49.8% of adults ages 35–49 met the guidelines in 2024.
- 44.6% of adults ages 50–64 met the guidelines in 2024.
- 38.4% of adults age 65 and older met the guidelines in 2024.
Race and ethnicity estimates were 49.2% for White non-Hispanic adults, 47.9% for Asian non-Hispanic adults, 43.8% for Hispanic adults, and 41.4% for Black non-Hispanic adults in 2024. NHIS categories define Hispanic adults as potentially any race or combination of races, while the specified non-Hispanic groups use single-race categories.
Source: CDC, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”.
These survey results provide context for potential gym participation, but they do not identify where activity occurred. Walking, sports, home exercise, work-related movement, and gym workouts can all contribute to physical activity.
Gym Participation Gaps by Income, Education, and Location
Income, education, and place are associated with different rates of meeting aerobic guidelines in the 2024 NHIS estimates. The measures are not direct indicators of gym access, affordability, or membership ownership.
| U.S. adult category | Met aerobic guidelines in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Below 100% of federal poverty level | 35.4% |
| 100% to under 200% of federal poverty level | 36.7% |
| 200% to under 400% of federal poverty level | 43.8% |
| 400% of federal poverty level or more | 56.5% |
| Less than high school diploma/GED | 32.3% |
| High school diploma/GED | 38.6% |
| Associate degree or some college | 47.4% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 58.5% |
Regional rates ranged from 44.1% in the South to 51.9% in the West. The Northeast rate was 48.4%, and the Midwest rate was 46.4%.
Urbanization differences were also reported: 51.5% of adults in large central metropolitan areas met the guidelines, compared with 40.2% in nonmetropolitan areas.
Source: CDC, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”.
Because the CDC measure captures activity rather than facility use, these gaps should not be read as proof that gym memberships or gym prices caused the differences. They identify populations with different reported levels of leisure-time aerobic guideline adherence.
Gym, Disability, Body Size, and Health Statistics
The same CDC survey shows large differences by disability status, BMI category, and self-rated health. These comparisons describe associations in survey responses and do not establish causation or measure whether facilities were accessible.
- 49.8% of adults without disabilities met aerobic guidelines in 2024, compared with 22.4% of adults with disabilities.
- 54.8% of adults in the healthy-weight BMI category met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
- 49.8% of adults classified as overweight met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
- 38.0% of adults classified as having obesity met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
- 57.8% of adults reporting excellent or very good health met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
- 39.3% of adults reporting good health met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
- 23.7% of adults reporting fair or poor health met aerobic guidelines in 2024.
BMI categories are not direct measures of fitness, strength, or gym use. Likewise, self-rated health and activity are survey measures, and the disability definition follows the NHIS survey instrument.
Source: CDC, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”.
For interpretation, the central distinction is measurement: facility datasets count memberships, customers, visits, clubs, and revenue, while NHIS counts reported leisure-time activity against a federal threshold. Keeping those definitions, populations, periods, and limitations visible makes gym statistics more useful for comparing market scale with participation outcomes.