Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Minnesota

Gyms and studios in the Bemidji, MN area

The gyms and studios in the Bemidji, MN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #405 of 535 scored small-town markets
#17 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota

Listings
32
6 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$14.9M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $822 a household
Spending per listing
$467K
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.6
18% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
47,055
+1.8% since 2020

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

The Groundwork market score for gyms and studios in the Bemidji area is 39 (lower middle), #405 of 535 scored small-town markets and #17 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Bemidji area spend about $14.9M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $822 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That is about $467K of household spending for each location on map listings, 29% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

The Bemidji area has 32 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 19%, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 17.6 for every 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Bemidji area in 2023. That is one for every 1,817 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $125K have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Bemidji area. Population estimates put the population change in the Bemidji area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Bemidji area compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Bemidji, MN area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureBemidji areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.614.714.9
Spending per listing$467K$739K$662K
Households per official establishment1,8171,6741,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.1%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$822$1,085$983
Median household income$68,975$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score3962

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10
Employees, 2023
83
Annual payroll, 2023
$889K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
326 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
23The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$125K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
47,055+1.8% since 2020
Households
18,172
Median age
37.0
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,505 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$68,975+40.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,694
Median home value
$237,500
Jobs located here
21,323
Daytime population
47,553Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Bemidji 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.

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Gyms, studios and classes across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Bemidji area marked.

Top small-town markets in Minnesota

Small-town markets in Minnesota ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fergus Falls, MN753212.7$667K+1.6%#29 of 535
2Grand Rapids, MN701910.2$775K+0.9%#50 of 535
3Austin, MN702012.7$655K+2.3%#58 of 535
4Owatonna, MN641811.9$779K+0.2%#106 of 535
5Brainerd, MN645112.1$705K+4.3%#110 of 535
6Albert Lea, MN601410.9$743K−1.5%#149 of 535
7Worthington, MN581013.0$626K+0.6%#176 of 535
8Willmar, MN552514.2$609K+2.3%#213 of 535
9Faribault-Northfield, MN543816.2$589K+4.2%#228 of 535
Wahpeton, ND-MN541414.7$588K0.0%#229 of 535
17Bemidji, MN393217.6$467K+1.8%#405 of 535

Other business types in the Bemidji area

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

Fitness and classes

Funeral services

Questions

How many gyms and studios are in the Bemidji, MN area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 32 gyms and studios in the Bemidji area. 6 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the Bemidji, MN area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $14.9M a year, or $822 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $467K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,172 households in the Bemidji area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Bemidji, MN area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Bemidji area has 17.6 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $467K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Bemidji area would have about 23, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,817 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

How fast is the Bemidji, MN area growing?

Population estimates put the Bemidji area at 47,055 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,172 households. The median household income in the Bemidji area is $68,975 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.3% 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 Bemidji area scores 39 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #405 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 Bemidji 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 Bemidji area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bemidji area?

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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.