Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Gyms and studios in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area

How the Pittsburgh, PA 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #258 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
1,503
314 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
612
+2.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$951.4M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $896 a household
Spending per listing
$633K
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.2
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,421,992
−1.3% since 2020

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

Households in the Pittsburgh metro area spend about $951.4M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $896 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $633K per location, 4% below the U.S. figure of $662K.

There are 1,503 gyms and studios on map listings in the Pittsburgh metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 21% of them, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.2, 5% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Pittsburgh metro area was 612 in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,735 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 63 SBA-backed loans worth $32.1M have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Pittsburgh metro area.

Population estimates show the Pittsburgh metro area declined 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Pittsburgh metro area scores 43 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms and studios, ranking #258 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasurePittsburgh metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.213.914.9
Spending per listing$633K$668K$662K
Households per official establishment1,7351,8341,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.4%+3.5%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$896$926$983
Median household income$75,762$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score4349

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
612+2.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
7,038
Annual payroll, 2023
$125.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1,503314 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,437The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
63
Amount
$32.1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
2,421,992−1.3% since 2020
Households
1,061,705
Median age
43.8
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
5,640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
433
Median household income
$75,762
Average household income
$103,604
Median home value
$215,000
Jobs located here
1,169,523
Daytime population
2,467,515Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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
11Pittsburgh, PA431,50314.2$633K−1.3%#258 of 387

Other business types in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1,503 gyms and studios in the Pittsburgh metro area. 314 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 612 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019.

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

About $951.4M a year, or $896 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,503 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $633K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,061,705 households in the Pittsburgh metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Pittsburgh metro area has 14.2 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $633K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Pittsburgh metro area would have about 1,437, against 1,503 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,735 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +8.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Pittsburgh, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Pittsburgh metro area at 2,421,992 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,061,705 households. The median household income in the Pittsburgh metro area is $75,762 a year, 6% below 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 Pittsburgh metro area scores 43 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #258 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 Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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.