Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Alabama

Gyms and studios in the Gadsden, AL metro area

How the Gadsden, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for gyms and studios: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #246 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
35
9 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$20.6M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $523 a household
Spending per listing
$589K
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.9
40% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
103,886
+0.4% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Gadsden metro area

The site report maps the gyms and studios on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Gadsden metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 35 gyms and studios in the Gadsden metro area. Of those, 9 are chain locations, or 26%, against 20% across the U.S. That is 8.9 per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Gadsden metro area comes to about $20.6M a year: $523 per household, 47% below the U.S. average. That works out to $589K per location, 11% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Gadsden metro area in 2023. That is one for every 4,379 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.1M has gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Gadsden metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Gadsden metro area grew 0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Gadsden metro area scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms and studios, ranking #246 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.

How the Gadsden metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all memberships, classes and admissions by the gyms and studios counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Gyms, studios and classes in Gadsden, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureGadsden metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.911.714.9
Spending per listing$589K$562K$662K
Households per official establishment4,3792,3521,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+12.3%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$523$656$983
Median household income$54,563$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4546

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
130
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
359 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Gadsden metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Gadsden metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
103,886+0.4% since 2020
Households
39,411
Median age
42.0
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
535 sq. mi.
People per square mile
193
Median household income
$54,563+22.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,295
Median home value
$167,100
Jobs located here
33,151
Daytime population
97,399Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Gadsden metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the gyms and studios on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Gadsden metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Gyms, studios and classes across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Gadsden metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Decatur, AL64518.1$818K+2.5%#66 of 387
2Tuscaloosa, AL58938.8$712K+2.9%#109 of 387
3Auburn-Opelika, AL527710.0$654K+7.1%#164 of 387
4Huntsville, AL4931015.0$569K+12.5%#200 of 387
5Gadsden, AL45358.9$589K+0.4%#246 of 387
6Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL457311.5$525K+3.5%#251 of 387
7Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL4218018.3$418K+14.8%#276 of 387
8Dothan, AL376811.1$521K+3.4%#311 of 387
9Birmingham, AL3662113.4$551K+1.4%#314 of 387
Columbus, GA-AL3214411.3$538K−1.3%#344 of 387

Other business types in the Gadsden metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many gyms and studios are in the Gadsden, AL metro area?

There are 35 gyms and studios on map listings in the Gadsden metro area as of September 2026. 9 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the Gadsden, AL metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $20.6M a year, or $523 per household. That is 47% below the U.S. average (an index of 53, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $589K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 39,411 households in the Gadsden metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Gadsden, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Gadsden metro area has 8.9 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $589K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Gadsden metro area would have about 31, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,379 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

How fast is the Gadsden, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Gadsden metro area at 103,886 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 39,411 households. Median household income in the Gadsden metro area is $54,563, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.2%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Gadsden metro area scores 45 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #246 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Gadsden metro area. It maps the gyms and studios on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for gyms and studios · All 56 business types in the Gadsden metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Gadsden metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Gadsden metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.