Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Gyms and studios in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area

The gyms and studios in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #178 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
4,008
782 chain locations (20%)
Official establishments
1,807
+4.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.7B
On memberships, classes and admissions · $1,080 a household
Spending per listing
$665K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.2
9% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,329,118
+1.4% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 4,008 gyms and studios in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area. 782 of them (20%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That is 16.2 per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 14.9.

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area comes to about $2.7B a year: $1,080 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. Spread across 4,008 gyms and studios, that is $665K per location, in line with the U.S. figure of $662K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area was 1,807 in 2023, up 4.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,366 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 178 SBA-backed loans worth $91.7M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for gyms and studios in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area is 51 (upper middle), #178 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasurePhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.213.914.9
Spending per listing$665K$668K$662K
Households per official establishment1,3661,8341,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.3%+3.5%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$1,080$926$983
Median household income$91,289$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5149

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,807+4.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
25,656
Annual payroll, 2023
$494.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4,008782 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4,025The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
178
Amount
$91.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
6,329,118+1.4% since 2020
Households
2,467,761
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
4,603 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,363
Median household income
$91,289+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$126,166
Median home value
$351,900
Jobs located here
2,980,509
Daytime population
6,255,075Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Gettysburg, PA82399.5$944K+3.6%#6 of 387
2York-Hanover, PA7419610.8$851K+3.6%#21 of 387
3Lancaster, PA7023411.0$877K+1.9%#33 of 387
4Chambersburg, PA69579.0$932K+3.0%#37 of 387
5Lebanon, PA67519.0$949K+2.2%#48 of 387
6Reading, PA6618311.2$799K+2.7%#56 of 387
7Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ6147514.0$694K+3.0%#91 of 387
8Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA5736714.9$617K+4.2%#122 of 387
9Williamsport, PA525110.9$647K−1.3%#165 of 387
10Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD514,00816.2$665K+1.4%#178 of 387

Other business types in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area?

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area has 4,008 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. 782 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 1,807 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 4.3% from 2019.

How much do households in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $2.7B a year, or $1,080 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4,008 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $665K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,467,761 households in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area has 16.2 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $665K, in line with the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area would have about 4,025, against 4,008 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,366 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area at 6,329,118 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,467,761 households. Median household income in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area is $91,289, 13% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.2%, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area scores 51 for gyms and studios (upper middle), #178 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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.