Fitness and classes · Small-town market · North Carolina
Gyms and studios in the Morehead City, NC area
How the Morehead City, NC 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #391 of 535 scored small-town markets
#15 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 53
- 9 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $23.3M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $729 a household
- Spending per listing
- $440K
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.6
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 70,469
- +4.1% since 2020
See the gyms and studios around any address in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City 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 53 gyms and studios in the Morehead City area. 9 of them (17%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 16.6 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 14.9.
At $729 per household (26% below the U.S. average), households in the Morehead City area spend about $23.3M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $440K of household spending for each location on map listings, 34% below the U.S. figure of $662K.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Morehead City area classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction. That is one for every 2,284 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Morehead City area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for gyms and studios in the Morehead City area is 40 (lower middle), #391 of 535 scored small-town markets and #15 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Morehead City 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 | Morehead City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.6 | 14.0 | 14.9 |
| Spending per listing | $440K | $531K | $662K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,284 | 1,675 | 1,641 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.5% | +8.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $729 | $743 | $983 |
| Median household income | $72,322 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 139
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 539 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 35The 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 Morehead City 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 Morehead City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 70,469+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 31,977
- Median age
- 49.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 508 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 136
- Median household income
- $72,322+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,351
- Median home value
- $333,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,748
- Daytime population
- 65,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City 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 small-town markets in North Carolina for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Morehead City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 70 | 44 | 8.8 | $744K | +12.3% | #53 of 535 |
| 2Forest City, NC | 66 | 19 | 7.1 | $722K | +2.1% | #86 of 535 |
| 3Henderson, NC | 65 | 7 | 4.3 | $1.2M | +0.2% | #89 of 535 |
| 4Lumberton, NC | 59 | 27 | 6.3 | $699K | +3.4% | #161 of 535 |
| 5Mount Airy, NC | 57 | 26 | 8.7 | $623K | +1.3% | #188 of 535 |
| 6Wilson, NC | 54 | 27 | 8.2 | $687K | +1.7% | #222 of 535 |
| 7Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 52 | 31 | 8.0 | $707K | +3.4% | #246 of 535 |
| 8Elizabeth City, NC | 51 | 18 | 11.4 | $535K | +4.5% | #278 of 535 |
| 9Rockingham, NC | 50 | 11 | 6.5 | $701K | −1.6% | #282 of 535 |
| 10Washington, NC | 45 | 19 | 9.8 | $593K | 0.0% | #337 of 535 |
| 15Morehead City, NC | 40 | 53 | 16.6 | $440K | +4.1% | #391 of 535 |
Other business types in the Morehead City 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 classes40
- Gyms50
- Yoga, Pilates and fitness studios61
- Martial arts and dance studios45
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms and studios are in the Morehead City, NC area?
The Morehead City area has 53 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.
How much do households in the Morehead City, NC area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $23.3M a year, or $729 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $440K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,977 households in the Morehead City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Morehead City, NC area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?
The Morehead City area has 16.6 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $440K, 34% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Morehead City area would have about 35, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,284 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.
How fast is the Morehead City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Morehead City area at 70,469 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,977 households. Median household income in the Morehead City area is $72,322, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.5%, 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 Morehead City area scores 40 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #391 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 Morehead City 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 Morehead City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Morehead City 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 Morehead City 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.