Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Michigan
Gyms and studios in the Big Rapids, MI area
How the Big Rapids, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for gyms and studios: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #48 of 535 scored small-town markets
#4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 16
- 1 chain location (6%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $11.2M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $671 a household
- Spending per listing
- $700K
- 6% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.6
- 36% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,320
- +4.7% since 2020
See the gyms and studios around any address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For gyms and studios, the Big Rapids area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #48 of 535 scored small-town markets and #4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for gyms and studios.
Households in the Big Rapids area spend about $11.2M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $671 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. Spread across 16 gyms and studios, that is $700K per location, 6% above the U.S. figure of $662K.
There are 16 gyms and studios on map listings in the Big Rapids area as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 9.6 for every 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Big Rapids area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 5,569 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Big Rapids area grew 4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Big Rapids area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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.
| Measure | Big Rapids area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.6 | 12.5 | 14.9 |
| Spending per listing | $700K | $720K | $662K |
| Households per official establishment | 5,569 | 2,468 | 1,641 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.6% | +8.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.7% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $671 | $902 | $983 |
| Median household income | $60,951 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 36
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $385K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 161 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 17The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,320+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,708
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 74
- Median household income
- $60,951+35.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,230
- Median home value
- $178,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,143
- Daytime population
- 38,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Big Rapids area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Big Rapids area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms, studios and classes across Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Big Rapids area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 86 | 47 | 10.3 | $909K | +2.1% | #7 of 535 |
| 2Cadillac, MI | 80 | 13 | 6.6 | $1.1M | +2.0% | #14 of 535 |
| 3Hillsdale, MI | 75 | 12 | 6.7 | $1.1M | 0.0% | #26 of 535 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 71 | 20 | 6.8 | $1M | +0.3% | #42 of 535 |
| 4Big Rapids, MI | 71 | 16 | 9.6 | $700K | +4.7% | #48 of 535 |
| 5Coldwater, MI | 70 | 17 | 10.1 | $710K | +2.5% | #55 of 535 |
| 6Ludington, MI | 65 | 13 | 10.2 | $766K | 0.0% | #95 of 535 |
| 7Adrian, MI | 65 | 42 | 10.8 | $737K | −1.6% | #96 of 535 |
| 8Alma, MI | 56 | 14 | 9.5 | $752K | −1.1% | #193 of 535 |
| 9Owosso, MI | 56 | 33 | 11.7 | $644K | −0.4% | #198 of 535 |
Other business types in the Big Rapids area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
- Gyms, studios and classes71
- Gyms51
- Yoga, Pilates and fitness studios
- Martial arts and dance studios
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms and studios are in the Big Rapids, MI area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 16 gyms and studios in the Big Rapids area. One of them (6%) is a chain location. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.
How much do households in the Big Rapids, MI area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $11.2M a year, or $671 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $700K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,708 households in the Big Rapids area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Big Rapids, MI area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?
The Big Rapids area has 9.6 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $700K, 6% above the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Big Rapids area would have about 17, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,569 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.
How fast is the Big Rapids, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Big Rapids area at 42,320 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,708 households. The median household income in the Big Rapids area is $60,951 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.4% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Big Rapids area scores 71 for gyms and studios (upper middle), #48 of 535 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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.