Fitness and classes · Metro area · North Carolina
Gyms and studios in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for gyms and studios in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #247 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 387
- 75 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 201
- +7.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $222M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $894 a household
- Spending per listing
- $574K
- 13% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.6
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 625,485
- +7.5% since 2020
See the gyms and studios around any address in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 387 gyms and studios in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That is 15.6 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 14.9.
At $894 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area spend about $222M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $574K per location, 13% below the U.S. figure of $662K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area was 201 in 2023, up 7.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,235 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $8.2M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area grew 7.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms and studios, the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #247 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.
How the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Durham-Chapel Hill metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.6 | 14.0 | 14.9 |
| Spending per listing | $574K | $531K | $662K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,235 | 1,675 | 1,641 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.0% | +6.5% | +8.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $894 | $743 | $983 |
| Median household income | $83,500 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 201+7.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,036
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $44M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 38775 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 335The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $8.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 625,485+7.5% since 2020
- Households
- 248,256
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,759 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 342
- Median household income
- $83,500
- Average household income
- $120,978
- Median home value
- $396,100
- Jobs located here
- 363,261
- Daytime population
- 696,157Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rocky Mount, NC | 62 | 47 | 8.0 | $718K | +2.8% | #86 of 387 |
| 2Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 51 | 153 | 10.2 | $585K | +3.2% | #183 of 387 |
| 3Goldsboro, NC | 49 | 50 | 10.5 | $552K | +3.8% | #202 of 387 |
| 4Raleigh-Cary, NC | 48 | 1,010 | 17.6 | $568K | +12.6% | #209 of 387 |
| 5Winston-Salem, NC | 47 | 321 | 11.4 | $580K | +5.3% | #220 of 387 |
| 6Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 45 | 387 | 15.6 | $574K | +7.5% | #247 of 387 |
| 7Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 43 | 1,695 | 15.7 | $545K | +10.1% | #261 of 387 |
| 8Burlington, NC | 43 | 90 | 12.8 | $491K | +8.5% | #265 of 387 |
| 9Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 41 | 78 | 17.7 | $459K | +10.3% | #284 of 387 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 40 | 975 | 13.8 | $587K | +0.9% | #286 of 387 |
Other business types in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro 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 classes45
- Gyms55
- Yoga, Pilates and fitness studios38
- Martial arts and dance studios50
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms and studios are in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area?
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 387 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. 75 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 201 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 7.0% from 2019.
How much do households in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $222M a year, or $894 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 387 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $574K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 248,256 households in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 15.6 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $574K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area would have about 335, against 387 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,235 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at 625,485 people in 2025, up 7.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 248,256 households. Median household income in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area is $83,500, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area scores 45 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #247 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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.