Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Michigan

Gyms and studios in the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area

How the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #228 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
159
29 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
59
+25.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$96.8M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $904 a household
Spending per listing
$609K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.8
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
263,795
+0.8% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

At $904 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area spend about $96.8M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $609K per location, 8% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

There are 159 gyms and studios on map listings in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 14.8 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 14.9.

In 2023, official counts showed 59 businesses with payroll in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction, up 25.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,815 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area grew 0.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms and studios, the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #228 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.

How the Kalamazoo-Portage metro 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.

Gyms, studios and classes in Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureKalamazoo-Portage metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.812.514.9
Spending per listing$609K$720K$662K
Households per official establishment1,8152,4681,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+25.5%+9.6%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.8%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$904$902$983
Median household income$72,532$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4662

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
59+25.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
954
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
15929 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
146The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
263,795+0.8% since 2020
Households
107,110
Median age
37.4
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
562 sq. mi.
People per square mile
467
Median household income
$72,532+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,205
Median home value
$241,800
Jobs located here
120,525
Daytime population
271,929Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Gyms, studios and classes across Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Kalamazoo-Portage metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monroe, MI75629.8$922K+0.7%#18 of 387
2Battle Creek, MI65489.0$838K−0.6%#60 of 387
3Jackson, MI656510.4$770K−0.4%#64 of 387
4Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI647110.5$692K+1.8%#72 of 387
5Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI632,23512.6$769K+0.1%#78 of 387
6Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI6261413.9$698K+2.8%#87 of 387
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI6114010.9$760K+0.1%#88 of 387
7Saginaw, MI617910.1$744K−1.1%#89 of 387
8Lansing-East Lansing, MI6127013.9$622K+1.4%#93 of 387
9Traverse City, MI5810115.4$612K+2.2%#115 of 387
14Kalamazoo-Portage, MI4615914.8$609K+0.8%#228 of 387

Other business types in the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 159 gyms and studios in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area. 29 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 59 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 25.5% from 2019.

How much do households in the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $96.8M a year, or $904 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 159 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $609K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 107,110 households in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Kalamazoo-Portage metro area has 14.8 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $609K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area would have about 146, against 159 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,815 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 25.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Kalamazoo-Portage, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area at 263,795 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 107,110 households. The median household income in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area is $72,532 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.4% 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. 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 Kalamazoo-Portage metro area scores 46 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #228 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 Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 Kalamazoo-Portage 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.