Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Connecticut

Gyms and studios in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area

The gyms and studios in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #199 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
197
30 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
61
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$114.4M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $988 a household
Spending per listing
$581K
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.0
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
284,015
+2.0% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 197 gyms and studios in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.0, 14% above the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area comes to about $114.4M a year: $988 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $581K per location, 12% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area was 61 in 2023. That is one for every 1,898 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms and studios, ranking #199 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.

How the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area compares

The same measures for Connecticut 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNorwich-New London-Willimantic metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.019.914.9
Spending per listing$581K$582K$662K
Households per official establishment1,8981,2261,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.7%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$988$1,158$983
Median household income$86,586$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score4942

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
61
Employees, 2023
655
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
19730 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
173The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$1.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
284,015+2.0% since 2020
Households
115,768
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
468
Median household income
$86,586
Average household income
$111,769
Median home value
$323,400
Jobs located here
118,380
Daytime population
270,328Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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.

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Gyms, studios and classes across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waterbury-Shelton, CT5928515.8$644K+3.2%#103 of 387
2Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT4919717.0$581K+2.0%#199 of 387
3Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT4789619.3$586K+3.0%#219 of 387
4Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT4687024.5$574K+3.7%#231 of 387
5New Haven, CT3847420.5$520K+2.5%#304 of 387

Other business types in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area?

There are 197 gyms and studios on map listings in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area as of September 2026. 30 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 61 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $114.4M a year, or $988 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 197 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $581K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 115,768 households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area has 17.0 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $581K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area would have about 173, against 197 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,898 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

How fast is the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area at 284,015 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 115,768 households. Median household income in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area is $86,586, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area scores 49 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #199 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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.