Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Florida

Gyms and studios in the Ocala, FL metro area

How the Ocala, FL 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #95 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida

Listings
156
24 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
46
+27.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$95.3M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $578 a household
Spending per listing
$611K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.5
36% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
442,660
+17.3% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Ocala 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 Ocala 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

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Ocala metro area comes to about $95.3M a year: $578 per household, 41% below the U.S. average. Spread across 156 gyms and studios, that is $611K per location, 8% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

There are 156 gyms and studios on map listings in the Ocala metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.5, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Ocala metro area in 2023, up 27.8% from 2019. That is one for every 3,584 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Ocala metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ocala metro area grew 17.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for gyms and studios in the Ocala metro area is 61 (upper middle), #95 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Ocala metro area compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Ocala, FL metro area compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureOcala metro areaFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.516.014.9
Spending per listing$611K$477K$662K
Households per official establishment3,5841,6071,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+27.8%+15.6%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+17.3%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$578$764$983
Median household income$61,010$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score6134

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
46+27.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
419
Annual payroll, 2023
$8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
15624 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
144The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Ocala 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 Ocala metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
442,660+17.3% since 2020
Households
164,881
Median age
46.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,588 sq. mi.
People per square mile
252
Median household income
$61,010+34.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,982
Median home value
$243,100
Jobs located here
117,529
Daytime population
371,865Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ocala 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 Ocala 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Florida for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Ocala metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Florida

Metro areas in Florida ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wildwood-The Villages, FL86294.1$1.7M+21.1%#3 of 387
2Punta Gorda, FL73879.6$695K+15.5%#24 of 387
3Homosassa Springs, FL72557.7$745K+11.1%#27 of 387
4Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL682729.4$675K+19.8%#47 of 387
5Ocala, FL611569.5$611K+17.3%#95 of 387
6Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL6041112.5$607K+14.4%#99 of 387
7Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL6010612.0$581K+15.7%#100 of 387
8Sebring, FL59418.7$610K+9.7%#105 of 387
9Naples-Marco Island, FL5525715.5$615K+10.6%#140 of 387
10Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL529713.7$559K+7.7%#173 of 387

Other business types in the Ocala 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 Ocala, FL metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 156 gyms and studios in the Ocala metro area. 24 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 27.8% from 2019.

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

About $95.3M a year, or $578 per household. That is 41% below the U.S. average (an index of 59, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 156 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $611K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 164,881 households in the Ocala metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ocala metro area has 9.5 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $611K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Ocala metro area would have about 144, against 156 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,584 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 27.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Ocala, FL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Ocala metro area at 442,660 people in 2025, up 17.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 164,881 households. The median household income in the Ocala metro area is $61,010 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Ocala metro area scores 61 for gyms and studios (upper middle), #95 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 Ocala 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 Ocala metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ocala 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 Ocala 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.