Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Small-town market · North Carolina

Gyms and studios in the North Wilkesboro, NC area

How the North Wilkesboro, 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 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #352 of 535 scored small-town markets
#12 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
25
2 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$12.9M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $475 a household
Spending per listing
$515K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.2
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
66,233
+0.6% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the North Wilkesboro 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 North Wilkesboro 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 25 gyms and studios in the North Wilkesboro area. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That is 9.2 per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Households in the North Wilkesboro area spend about $12.9M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $475 per household, 52% below the U.S. average. That works out to $515K per location, 22% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the North Wilkesboro area in 2023. That is one for every 6,777 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the North Wilkesboro area grew 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms and studios, the North Wilkesboro area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #352 of 535 scored small-town markets and #12 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.

How the North Wilkesboro 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.

Gyms, studios and classes in North Wilkesboro, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureNorth Wilkesboro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.214.014.9
Spending per listing$515K$531K$662K
Households per official establishment6,7771,6751,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.5%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.6%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$475$743$983
Median household income$51,721$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4440

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
68
Annual payroll, 2023
$862K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
252 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The 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 North Wilkesboro 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 North Wilkesboro area

Population, 2025 estimate
66,233+0.6% since 2020
Households
27,107
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
754 sq. mi.
People per square mile
87
Median household income
$51,721+17.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$66,361
Median home value
$168,800
Jobs located here
19,607
Daytime population
59,600Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the North Wilkesboro 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 North Wilkesboro 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 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 North Wilkesboro area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anderson Creek, NC70448.8$744K+12.3%#53 of 535
2Forest City, NC66197.1$722K+2.1%#86 of 535
3Henderson, NC6574.3$1.2M+0.2%#89 of 535
4Lumberton, NC59276.3$699K+3.4%#161 of 535
5Mount Airy, NC57268.7$623K+1.3%#188 of 535
6Wilson, NC54278.2$687K+1.7%#222 of 535
7Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC52318.0$707K+3.4%#246 of 535
8Elizabeth City, NC511811.4$535K+4.5%#278 of 535
9Rockingham, NC50116.5$701K−1.6%#282 of 535
10Washington, NC45199.8$593K0.0%#337 of 535
12North Wilkesboro, NC44259.2$515K+0.6%#352 of 535

Other business types in the North Wilkesboro area

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

Questions

How many gyms and studios are in the North Wilkesboro, NC area?

There are 25 gyms and studios on map listings in the North Wilkesboro area as of September 2026. 2 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the North Wilkesboro, NC area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $12.9M a year, or $475 per household. That is 52% below the U.S. average (an index of 48, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 25 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $515K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,107 households in the North Wilkesboro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the North Wilkesboro, NC area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The North Wilkesboro area has 9.2 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $515K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the North Wilkesboro area would have about 19, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,777 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

How fast is the North Wilkesboro, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the North Wilkesboro area at 66,233 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,107 households. Median household income in the North Wilkesboro area is $51,721, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 17.3%, 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 North Wilkesboro area scores 44 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #352 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 North Wilkesboro 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 North Wilkesboro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the North Wilkesboro 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 North Wilkesboro 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.