Fitness employment spans personal training, group instruction, recreation, exercise physiology, therapy, and the businesses that host these services. In the United States, the core exercise-trainer and group-fitness occupation had 388.4 thousand jobs in 2024, while Census data counted 40,786 fitness and recreational sports center establishments in 2022.
Key Fitness Employment Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, 388.4 thousand exercise trainer and group fitness instructor jobs were estimated in the United States.
- The BLS projects 416.9 thousand exercise trainer and group fitness instructor jobs in 2034 in the United States.
- From 2024 to 2034, 28.5 thousand jobs are projected to be added in the U.S. exercise trainer and group fitness instructor occupation.
- The BLS projects 7.3% employment growth for U.S. exercise trainers and group fitness instructors from 2024 to 2034.
- The 2024–34 BLS table lists 14.8 thousand average annual openings for U.S. exercise trainers and group fitness instructors.
- The current BLS OOH projects about 68,000 openings per year for U.S. fitness trainers and instructors from 2025 to 2035.
- The median annual wage for U.S. fitness trainers and instructors was $47,160 in May 2025.
- The median hourly wage for U.S. fitness trainers and instructors was $22.67 in May 2025.
- U.S. fitness and recreational sports centers had 41,556 employer establishments in 2023 under NAICS 713940.
- The 2022 Census County Business Patterns count was 40,786 U.S. fitness and recreational sports center establishments under NAICS 71394.
- The industry reported $12,090,908 thousand in annual payroll in 2022 in the United States.
- In 2022, 17,464 U.S. establishments had fewer than five employees in fitness and recreational sports centers.
- In 2022, 14,092 U.S. fitness-center establishments were S-corporations.
- Recreation workers had 346.9 thousand U.S. jobs in 2024.
- Exercise physiologists had 21.2 thousand U.S. jobs in 2024.
- Exercise physiologists are projected to grow 12.8% in the United States from 2024 to 2034.
- Recreational therapists had 15.6 thousand U.S. jobs in 2024.
- Postsecondary recreation and fitness studies teachers had 15.2 thousand U.S. jobs in 2024.
Contents
- Fitness trainer and instructor workforce size
- Fitness employment growth and annual openings
- Fitness trainer pay and wage data
- Fitness-center establishments and payroll
- Fitness-center size classes and legal forms
- Related recreation and fitness occupations
Fitness Trainer and Instructor Workforce Size
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines the core occupation as exercise trainers and group fitness instructors, SOC 39-9031. Its 2024 estimate covers wage-and-salary and self-employed workers across industries, so it is broader than payroll employment at gyms alone.
According to Occupational projections and worker characteristics, the occupation had 388.4 thousand jobs in 2024 and is projected to reach 416.9 thousand in 2034. The same table projects a 28.5-thousand-job increase and 7.3% growth over 2024–34.
The table also lists 14.8 thousand average annual openings and 68.0 thousand total openings over the decade. These openings include replacement demand as well as growth, and the 68.0-thousand figure belongs to the 2024–34 projection table.
| BLS measure | 2024–34 result | Definition and scope |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 employment | 388.4 thousand jobs | U.S. SOC 39-9031 estimate |
| 2034 employment | 416.9 thousand jobs | U.S. projection |
| Numeric change | 28.5 thousand jobs | Projected change |
| Percent change | 7.3% | Projected employment growth |
| Average annual openings | 14.8 thousand | Includes replacement demand |
| Total decade openings | 68.0 thousand | Projection-table total |
A separate BLS Monthly Labor Review projection overview presents a different projection vintage: 370.1 thousand jobs in 2024, 414.2 thousand in 2034, and a 44.1-thousand increase. It reports 11.9% growth and ranks the occupation 45th of 832 detailed occupations by projected percent change.
Those MLR figures should not be combined with the current OOH or the BLS projection-table levels as though they were one continuous series. They are separate publication vintages and table series.
Recreation workers, SOC 39-9032, provide a broader comparison rather than an identical measure. The BLS estimates 346.9 thousand U.S. jobs in 2024 and projects 361.9 thousand in 2034, a 15.0-thousand increase and 4.3% growth; its table lists 0.2 thousand average annual openings and 67.0 thousand total openings.
Fitness Employment Growth and Annual Openings
The current Fitness Trainers and Instructors: Occupational Outlook Handbook uses a newer 2025–35 projection series. It lists 388,400 jobs for its 2025 base year, a projected 28,500-job increase, 7% growth, and about 68,000 openings per year.
| Projection source | Base or reference | Projected change | Openings measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current BLS OOH | 2025 base year: 388,400 jobs | 7% growth, 28,500 jobs, 2025–35 | About 68,000 per year |
| BLS 2024–34 table | 2024: 388.4 thousand jobs | 7.3% growth, 28.5 thousand jobs | 14.8 thousand per year |
| BLS MLR table | 2024: 370.1 thousand jobs | 11.9% growth, 44.1 thousand jobs | Not supplied in this table |
The apparent differences reflect measurement vintage and presentation, not necessarily a contradiction. The OOH’s annual openings include replacement needs, so they should not be read as only newly created positions.
For the broader recreation-and-fitness-workers summary group, the BLS projects employment to rise from 735.3 thousand jobs in 2024 to 778.8 thousand in 2034. That summary group is projected to add 43.5 thousand jobs, or 5.9%, and includes multiple occupations rather than only trainers and instructors.
Fitness Trainer Pay and Wage Data
The current OOH reports a $47,160 median annual wage and a $22.67 median hourly wage for U.S. fitness trainers and instructors in May 2025. These are median wages, not total compensation or self-employment income.
The BLS projection table provides May 2024 wage references for several adjacent occupations. They are useful for orientation, but they do not represent one uniform fitness job and should not be interpreted as direct substitutes for trainer pay.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Reference period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness trainers and instructors | $47,160 | May 2025, U.S. median |
| Recreation workers | $36,560 | May 2024 table reference, broader occupation |
| Exercise physiologists | $59,460 | May 2024 table reference, health occupation |
| Recreational therapists | $61,960 | May 2024 table reference, therapy occupation |
| Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary | $77,270 | May 2024 table reference, postsecondary teaching |
| Physical therapists | $102,760 | May 2024 table reference, licensed clinical occupation |
The BLS’s wage concepts also have scope limits. The supplied notes distinguish occupation projections, which include self-employed workers, from wage-and-salary estimates that generally exclude most self-employed workers; therefore, a median wage should not be treated as the earnings of every person working in fitness.
Fitness-Center Establishments and Payroll Statistics
Industry data describe establishments and employer payroll rather than every person who provides training. The Census Bureau’s Annual Integrated Economic Survey Summary Statistics, 2023 reports 41,556 employer establishments in U.S. NAICS 713940 fitness and recreational sports centers for 2023.
The County Business Patterns, 2022: Fitness and recreational sports centers count is 40,786 establishments for 2022 under NAICS 71394. The code covers establishments operating fitness and recreational sports facilities, but it is not a complete count of workers who provide personal training or instruction without a facility.
For 2022, annual payroll was $12,090,908 thousand. Census reports payroll in thousands of dollars, and the measure is employer payroll rather than independent-contractor earnings.
| Census industry measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Employer establishments, NAICS 713940 | 41,556 | 2023 |
| Establishments, NAICS 71394 | 40,786 | 2022 |
| Annual payroll | $12,090,908 thousand | 2022 |
The 2022 establishment total and 2023 employer-establishment profile use different years and code presentations. They should be read as period-specific industry counts, not as a single annual time series.
Fitness-Center Size Classes and Legal Forms
County Business Patterns shows how concentrated the industry is by establishment size. In 2022, the largest supplied size class was fewer than five employees, with 17,464 establishments; the next largest were 10–19 employees with 7,624 and 5–9 employees with 7,147.
| Employment-size class | Establishments in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 employees | 17,464 |
| 5–9 employees | 7,147 |
| 10–19 employees | 7,624 |
| 20–49 employees | 5,527 |
| 50–99 employees | 2,039 |
| 100–249 employees | 887 |
| 250–499 employees | 93 |
| 500–999 employees | 3 |
These are establishment counts, not counts of employees. They indicate the number of facilities in each employment-size class and do not show how many trainers work inside each facility.
By legal form, the 2022 data counted 5,810 C-corporations and other corporate forms, 14,092 S-corporations, and 4,866 individual proprietorships. The supplied legal-form categories are establishment classifications, not employee totals.
Selected intersections show how legal form appears among size classes: C-corporations had 2,245 establishments with fewer than five employees and 952 with 20–49 employees; S-corporations had 7,133 and 1,352 in those classes; individual proprietorships had 2,459 and 402.
Related Recreation and Fitness Occupations
Fitness employment reaches beyond the core trainer and instructor occupation. The BLS table places related work in education, health, therapy, and broader recreation categories, each with a different definition and labor-market pathway.
| Occupation | 2024 jobs | 2034 projected jobs | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary | 15.2 thousand | 15.6 thousand | +0.3 thousand; 2.2% |
| Exercise physiologists | 21.2 thousand | 23.9 thousand | +2.7 thousand; 12.8% |
| Recreational therapists | 15.6 thousand | 16.3 thousand | +0.8 thousand |
The figures come from Occupational projections and worker characteristics. The 0.3-thousand and 0.8-thousand changes are rounded BLS projection-table values.
Postsecondary recreation and fitness studies teachers are an education occupation, while exercise physiologists are a health occupation and recreational therapists are a therapy occupation. Their employment and wage statistics therefore broaden the picture of fitness-related work without measuring gym-floor employment directly.
The central distinction is between an occupation-based count and an industry-based count: BLS occupation totals cover workers across industries, while Census NAICS 71394/713940 counts establishments operating fitness and recreational sports facilities. Keeping those definitions, periods, units, and projection vintages separate is essential when interpreting fitness employment statistics.