Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Minnesota

Gyms and studios in the Rochester, MN metro area

How the Rochester, MN 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #50 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
122
36 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
52
+29.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$103.8M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $1,118 a household
Spending per listing
$851K
29% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.1
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
231,184
+2.0% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 122 gyms and studios in the Rochester metro area. 36 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 13.1 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Households in the Rochester metro area spend about $103.8M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $1,118 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. That is about $851K of household spending for each location on map listings, 29% above the U.S. figure of $662K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Rochester metro area was 52 in 2023, up 29.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,786 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $8M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Rochester metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Rochester metro area grew 2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms and studios, the Rochester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle): #50 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Rochester metro 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 Rochester, MN metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureRochester metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.114.714.9
Spending per listing$851K$739K$662K
Households per official establishment1,7861,6741,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+29.7%+2.1%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$1,118$1,085$983
Median household income$91,882$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6762

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
52+29.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
781
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
12236 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
157The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$8M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
231,184+2.0% since 2020
Households
92,880
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,477 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$91,882+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,471
Median home value
$306,500
Jobs located here
129,873
Daytime population
235,233Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Rochester metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochester, MN6712213.1$851K+2.0%#50 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN6314713.3$701K+7.7%#81 of 387
2Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI622,30715.6$776K+2.6%#84 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN585512.6$662K+0.8%#113 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN5518815.3$629K+9.5%#137 of 387
3St. Cloud, MN4911915.2$583K+3.0%#198 of 387
4Duluth, MN-WI4617014.1$595K+0.2%#230 of 387
5Mankato, MN455814.3$621K+1.2%#241 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN3511415.8$550K+0.4%#321 of 387

Other business types in the Rochester 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 Rochester, MN metro area?

The Rochester metro area has 122 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. 36 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 52 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 29.7% from 2019.

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

About $103.8M a year, or $1,118 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 122 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $851K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 92,880 households in the Rochester metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Rochester metro area has 13.1 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $851K, 29% above the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Rochester metro area would have about 157, against 122 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,786 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 29.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Rochester, MN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Rochester metro area at 231,184 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 92,880 households. Median household income in the Rochester metro area is $91,882, 14% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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 Rochester metro area scores 67 for gyms and studios (upper middle), #50 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 Rochester 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 Rochester metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rochester 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 Rochester 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.