Gym attendance statistics describe several related measures rather than one single count. In the United States, membership, facility customers, reported visits, location-based traffic, and physical-activity behavior are measured differently. The latest figures show a large and growing market, but membership estimates should not be treated as a complete count of check-ins.
Contents
- U.S. membership scale
- Attendance and facility traffic
- Who participates
- Equipment and training formats
- Attendance and physical-activity outcomes
- Workforce and operating context
U.S. membership scale
The Health & Fitness Association (HFA) estimated that U.S. fitness facilities had 77 million members in 2024. The same estimate counted nearly 96 million total customers, a broader category that included people using facilities through arrangements such as aggregators, pay-as-you-go access, insurance programs, and employer programs. Membership increased 5.6% in 2024, and membership penetration reached 24.9% of Americans aged 6 and older. When all customer types were included, penetration was 31.0% of the population aged 6 and older. How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out: New HFA Data Reveals Shifting Equipment, Training, and Membership Trends
The next HFA report estimated 81 million U.S. fitness-facility members in 2025, with membership penetration at 26.1% of Americans aged 6 and older. Membership increased 5.2% from 2024 to 2025, and more than 100 million people used a U.S. fitness facility as members or non-members during 2025. These are rolling 12-month survey estimates, not a complete administrative register of memberships or visits. 81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds
Factual callout: HFA estimated 7 billion visits to U.S. fitness facilities in 2025, while 81 million Americans were fitness-facility members.
For an earlier comparison, HFA estimated 90.7 million U.S. fitness-facility users, including members and non-members, in 2023. Because the definitions and reporting periods differ across membership, customer, user, and visit measures, these figures should be read as related indicators rather than combined into one total. U.S. Fitness Facility Membership Reaches Historic High
| Measure | Period | U.S. estimate | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness-facility members | 2024 | 77 million | Members of fitness facilities |
| Total fitness-facility customers | 2024 | Nearly 96 million | Members plus broader customer access categories |
| Fitness-facility members | 2025 | 81 million | Members of fitness facilities |
| Members and non-members using facilities | 2025 | More than 100 million | People using a fitness facility |
The HFA membership, customer, attendance, activity, and outcomes figures are U.S. rolling 12-month survey estimates unless a FIT Tracker location-data measure is explicitly identified. They are not necessarily direct gym check-ins.
Attendance and facility traffic
Average visits per member provide a different view from membership totals. HFA reported that the average U.S. fitness-facility member visited 81 times in 2023. The corresponding averages were 78 visits in 2022, 72 in 2021, and 119 in 2019. The figures show a lower reported average in 2021 and 2022 than in 2019, followed by an increase in 2023, but they do not establish why those changes occurred. U.S. Fitness Facility Membership Reaches Historic High
FIT Tracker location data reported by HFA showed visits to U.S. commercial gyms, studios, and other fitness facilities rising 3.5% in the first half of 2025 compared with the first half of 2024. Monthly visits per fitness-facility user increased 1.4% year over year over the same period. This is an observed location or occupational measure with coverage and definitions limited to the cited dataset. 2025 Fitness Industry Foot Traffic Trends: Budget Gyms Booming, Engagement Up Across All Segments
Traffic varied by facility segment. High-volume, low-price facilities averaged 193,000 visits per location in the first half of 2025, and their visits increased 3.8% from the first half of 2024. Mid-priced gym visits increased 3.7% year over year. Luxury facilities recorded more than 315,000 visits per location, while luxury-facility visitors averaged 5.2 monthly visits per person and 86 minutes per visit. Average luxury-facility visits declined 0.9% year over year.
Boutique-studio visits increased 0.8% year over year in the first half of 2025, and boutique-studio users averaged 2.5 visits per month. Regional performance also differed: mid-priced gyms in the Mid-Atlantic had 12.6% year-over-year total-visit growth in the first half of 2025. These segment and regional measures should not be generalized to every U.S. gym.
Who participates
Participation differs by age and demographic group, and membership is not the same measure as aerobic activity. In 2025, Gen Z adults aged 18–24 had the highest fitness-facility membership penetration reported in the HFA data, at 35.5%. Membership among adults aged 65 and older grew 8.6% year over year in 2025. 81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds
CDC data on aerobic physical activity provide broader population context. In 2024, 47.2% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older met the aerobic guideline. The rate was 52.3% for men and 42.4% for women. Adults aged 18–34 had a 54.0% adherence rate, while adults aged 65 and older had a 38.4% rate. These figures concern self-reported leisure-time activity among the civilian noninstitutionalized population; they are not direct gym-attendance measures. Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024
The same 2024 CDC release reported a 49.2% aerobic-guideline adherence rate among non-Hispanic White adults and 41.4% among non-Hispanic Black adults. Adults below 100% of the federal poverty level had a 35.4% rate, while adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher had a 58.5% rate. These differences describe reported aerobic activity in the specified population groups, not the effect of gym membership.
Equipment and training formats
Among U.S. fitness-facility members in 2024, treadmills were used by 43.4%, dumbbells or free weights by 32.1%, and resistance machines by 26.6%. Resistance-machine use was down from 31.4% in 2021. Elliptical use was 18.8% in 2024, down from 23.2% in 2021. These are survey-based or self-reported measures of member use, not equipment check-in logs. How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out: New HFA Data Reveals Shifting Equipment, Training, and Membership Trends
Members also used a range of classes and activities. Yoga participation increased from 20.2% to 21.8% year over year in 2024. Pilates participation reached 8.1% in 2024. Pickleball participation rose from 3.3% in 2021 to 8.1% in 2024. Personal training was used by 22.6% of members, while small-group training was used by 32.3%.
Women’s personal-training participation rose 15.9% to 7.3 million participants in 2024. The measure is an estimate for U.S. women fitness-facility participants, and the reported change should not be interpreted as a causal effect of any specific program or equipment type.
Attendance and physical-activity outcomes
HFA estimated 7 billion visits to U.S. fitness facilities in 2025. It also reported that 4.6% of U.S. fitness-facility members did not use their membership during 2025. Among members, 49.4% met or exceeded federal aerobic-activity guidelines, and 4.7% reported no physical activity in a typical week. 81 Million Americans Were Members of a Fitness Facility in 2025, New HFA Report Finds
For comparison, among Americans who did not use fitness facilities in 2025, 24.5% met or exceeded federal aerobic-activity guidelines and 33.1% reported no physical activity in a typical week. This descriptive comparison does not show that facility use caused the difference; people who use facilities and people who do not may differ in other ways.
CDC’s 2020 data show how aerobic and muscle-strengthening measures can produce different participation categories. Among U.S. adults aged 18 and older, 24.2% met both guidelines, 22.7% met only the aerobic guideline, 6.8% met only the muscle-strengthening guideline, and 46.3% met neither. Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2020
These CDC figures are estimates based on self-reported leisure-time activity, while HFA member outcomes are facility-user comparisons. Neither source provides a direct causal estimate of how many gym visits are required to reach a guideline.
Workforce and operating context
Fitness attendance also supports a workforce that delivers instruction and training. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported about 388,400 fitness trainers and instructors jobs in 2025. Fitness and recreational sports centers employed 55% of workers in the occupation, while self-employed workers accounted for 15%. Fitness Trainers and Instructors: Occupational Outlook Handbook
The median annual wage was $47,160 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $28,800 annually, and the highest-paid 10% earned more than $83,100. These are occupational wage figures, not gym membership prices, personal-training prices, or facility operating costs.
BLS projected employment of fitness trainers and instructors to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings per year on average over that period. These are forecasts, not observed future outcomes. The opened official sources did not provide a comparable national average gym-membership cost, so no national price is stated here.