Gym membership statistics show a large, growing market, but membership is not the same as regular attendance or measured outcomes. The figures below distinguish U.S. survey estimates, operator-reported results, international benchmarks, and modeled affordability scenarios by period and population.
Key Gym Membership Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2025, 81 million Americans aged 6 and older held a gym, studio, or other fitness-facility membership.
- In 2025, fitness-facility membership penetration was 26.1% of Americans aged 6 and older.
- In 2025, more than 100 million Americans used a fitness facility as members or non-member users.
- In 2025, U.S. fitness facilities recorded an estimated nearly 7 billion visits.
- In 2024, 77 million Americans aged 6 and older held a fitness-facility membership.
- Between 2019 and 2024, U.S. fitness-facility membership grew 20%.
- In 2024, average U.S. member attendance was about 1.5 visits per week.
- In 2025, only 4.6% of U.S. fitness-facility members did not use their membership at all.
- In the 2025 HFA benchmark, median member retention was 66.4% among participating operators in 27 countries.
- In 2025, Planet Fitness ended the year with approximately 20.8 million members.
- At December 31, 2025, Planet Fitness had 2,896 clubs across 50 U.S. states and seven other markets.
- In 2024, Basic-Fit reported 4.25 million memberships across six European markets.
- In 2024 research published in 2025, 61% of non-customers across 10 countries identified cost as a major barrier to buying fitness services.
- In a U.S. modeled scenario, a 10% reduction in membership fees could enable 17 million more Americans to participate in structured fitness.
- In 2024, 43.4% of U.S. fitness-facility members used treadmills.
- In 2025, 49.4% of U.S. fitness-facility members met or exceeded federal aerobic-activity guidelines, compared with 24.5% of non-users.
Contents
- How many people belong to gyms and fitness facilities?
- Who joins and how gym membership is changing
- Gym attendance, engagement, and retention data
- Facility models and operator scale
- Membership affordability, pricing, and access
- What members do and what outcomes are measured
How Many People Belong to Gyms and Fitness Facilities?
The Health & Fitness Association’s 2025 report counted 81 million U.S. fitness-facility members aged 6 and older, equal to 26.1% of that population. The same report counted more than 100 million Americans who used a facility either as members or as non-member users, so membership and total facility use are different measures. Health & Fitness Association, “81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds”
The 2025 U.S. facility picture also included an estimated nearly 7 billion visits. That is a visit estimate rather than a count of unique people, and the source notes that coverage and definitions can vary.
| U.S. measure | Period | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness-facility members, age 6+ | 2025 | 81 million |
| Membership penetration, age 6+ | 2025 | 26.1% |
| Members plus non-member users | 2025 | More than 100 million |
| Estimated facility visits | 2025 | Nearly 7 billion |
A separate HFA release reported 77 million U.S. fitness-facility members in 2024, up 20% from 2019. When members and non-member users were combined, 2024 fitness-facility customers totaled nearly 96 million, representing 31.0% penetration among Americans aged 6 and older. Health & Fitness Association, “One in Four Americans Belonged to a Gym in 2024”
These consumer figures generally use rolling 12-month participation and are survey-based. They describe participation and association; they do not establish that membership caused any later outcome.
Who Joins and How Gym Membership Is Changing
U.S. membership increased 5.2% from 2024 to 2025. Adults aged 18–24 had the highest reported membership penetration in 2025, at 35.5% of that age group, while members aged 65 and older grew 8.6% year over year.
Earlier HFA reporting recorded U.S. membership growth of 5.8% in 2023 and 5.6% in 2024. The series therefore points to continued expansion, although the percentages come from survey reporting for their respective periods rather than a single continuous administrative register. Health & Fitness Association, “How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out”
- Pickleball participation among U.S. fitness-facility members more than doubled from 3.3% in 2021 to 8.1% in 2024.
- Women’s personal-training participation rose 15.9% to 7.3 million participants in the United States in 2024.
The global commercial-fitness estimates cover nearly 30 countries across five regions. In 2024, memberships increased 6% year over year, facility counts increased nearly 4%, and commercial-fitness revenue increased an average of 8%; these are estimates from a participating-market sample, not a complete global census. Health & Fitness Association, “2025 Global Fitness Industry Report Shows Record Growth and What’s Next for the Market”
Gym Attendance, Engagement, and Retention Data
Membership counts do not reveal how often people attend. Average U.S. fitness-facility member attendance was about 1.5 visits per week in 2024, compared with 2.1 visits per week in 2019.
In 2025, only 4.6% of members reported not using their membership at all.
The 2025 HFA industry benchmark measured a 66.4% median member-retention rate for its 2024 benchmark among participating operators in 27 countries. It also reported average net-membership expansion of 5.5% among those operators.
Because this is company- or operator-reported benchmarking, it may not represent unique people or a full census. Health & Fitness Association, “HFA Releases 2025 Fitness Industry Benchmarking Report”
| Engagement or retention measure | Period | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Average visits per member per week | 2019 | 2.1 |
| Average visits per member per week | 2024 | About 1.5 |
| Members reporting no use | 2025 | 4.6% |
| Median retention, participating operators | 2024 benchmark, published 2025 | 66.4% |
Observed commercial-facility data showed U.S. visits rising 3.5% year over year in the first half of 2025. Monthly visits per U.S. fitness-facility user increased 1.4% over the same first-half comparison; the source identifies these as operator-reported measures that may not represent a full census. Health & Fitness Association, “81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds”
Facility Models and Gym Operator Scale
Operator disclosures illustrate the scale of different facility models, but they should not be added to national membership totals. Brand-reported members, memberships, and clubs can use different counting conventions and may not represent unique people.
| Operator | Period | Scale reported |
|---|---|---|
| Planet Fitness | December 31, 2025 | 20.8 million members; 2,896 clubs |
| Basic-Fit | December 31, 2024 | 4.25 million memberships; 1,575 clubs |
| PureGym | December 31, 2023 | 601 gyms across six markets |
| PureGym | Q1 2024 | Approximately 1.9 million members; more than 600 gyms across six markets |
Planet Fitness opened 181 clubs in 2025, including 23 corporate-owned locations, and added approximately 1.1 million net members. Its total revenue was $1.324 billion in 2025, compared with $1.182 billion in 2024; 2025 franchise revenue was $468.0 million and corporate-owned-club revenue was $546.1 million. Planet Fitness, “Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2025 Results”
Basic-Fit had 1,575 clubs at year-end 2024, up 12% year over year, and reported 4.25 million memberships, also up 12%. Its 2024 revenue was €1,215.2 million, up 16% from 2023, across six European markets. Basic-Fit, “Annual Report 2024”
PureGym ended 2023 with 601 gyms across six markets, up from 555 in 2022. Its first-quarter 2024 investor presentation reported approximately 1.9 million members and more than 600 gyms across six markets. PureGym, “2023 Full Year Results Announcement” and PureGym, “Investor Presentation 16 May 2024”
Membership Affordability, Pricing, and Access
Cost is a reported barrier to participation. In 2024 research published in 2025, an average 61% of non-customers across 10 countries identified cost as a major barrier to buying fitness services. Health & Fitness Association, “Government Intervention Can Increase Access to Fitness, According to HFA Research”
The same research modeled, rather than observed, the possible effect of lower fees. A hypothetical 10% membership-fee reduction could motivate up to 14% of non-customers across the studied markets to join, while the modeled U.S. scenario estimated that 17 million more Americans could participate in structured fitness.
- The HFA affordability model estimated a 1.5-to-4-times social return on investment from a hypothetical 10% membership-fee reduction.
- These modeled figures are scenarios, not realized results, and should not be interpreted as causal evidence of what every price reduction would produce.
A December 19–27, 2024 survey of U.S. adults aged 18 and older found that nearly one-third cited cost as a top factor that could prevent their 2025 fitness goals. In that survey, 58% planned to maintain an existing fitness-facility membership, 23% planned to join a new facility, and 88% said facility access would be important to achieving their 2025 goals, including 61% who said it would be very important. Health & Fitness Association, “Health, Exercise, and Fitness Dominate Americans’ New Year’s Resolutions”
What Members Do and What Gym Outcomes Are Measured
Equipment and service-use data show that gym membership includes several distinct kinds of activity. In 2024, 43.4% of U.S. fitness-facility members used treadmills, while 32.1% trained with dumbbells or free weights.
| Activity or service | Period | Share or amount |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill use | 2024 | 43.4% of members |
| Dumbbell or free-weight training | 2024 | 32.1% of members |
| Personal-trainer use | 2024 | 22.6% of members |
| Small-group training | 2024 | 32.3% of members |
| Average personal-training sessions | 2024 | 21 per member |
Resistance-machine use declined from 31.4% of U.S. fitness-facility members in 2021 to 26.6% in 2024, while elliptical use declined from 23.2% to 18.8% over the same period. Yoga participation increased from 20.2% to 21.8% between 2023 and 2024, and the average member completed 21 personal-training sessions in 2024, down from 28 in 2019. Health & Fitness Association, “How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out”
The 2025 HFA consumer report compared self-reported activity among members and non-users. 49.4% of members met or exceeded federal aerobic-activity guidelines, compared with 24.5% of non-users; 4.7% of members reported no physical activity in a typical week, compared with 33.1% of non-users. Health & Fitness Association, “81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds”
These outcome comparisons are cross-sectional survey associations. They describe differences between reported member and non-user groups, not proof that joining a facility alone produced the activity difference.