Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Texas
Gyms and studios in the Bay City, TX area
How the Bay City, TX 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #136 of 535 scored small-town markets
#6 of 40 scored small-town markets based in Texas
- Listings
- 13
- 5 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.3M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $606 a household
- Spending per listing
- $719K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.4
- 44% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 36,463
- +0.5% since 2020
See the gyms and studios around any address in the Bay 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 Bay 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
At $606 per household (38% below the U.S. average), households in the Bay City area spend about $9.3M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. Spread across 13 gyms and studios, that is $719K per location, 9% above the U.S. figure of $662K.
The Bay City area has 13 gyms and studios on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 8.4 for every 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.
In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Bay City area classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction. That is one for every 5,146 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $250K has gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Bay City area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bay City area grew 0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Bay City area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms and studios, ranking #136 of 535 scored small-town markets and #6 of 40 scored small-town markets based in Texas.
How the Bay City area compares
The same measures for Texas 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 | Bay City area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.4 | 15.0 | 14.9 |
| Spending per listing | $719K | $539K | $662K |
| Households per official establishment | 5,146 | 1,718 | 1,641 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +19.7% | +8.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $606 | $810 | $983 |
| Median household income | $58,628 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 13
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $334K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 135 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $250K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Bay 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 Bay City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 36,463+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,439
- Median age
- 37.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,093 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $58,628+19.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,037
- Median home value
- $172,900
- Jobs located here
- 10,447
- Daytime population
- 29,261Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bay 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 Bay 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Texas for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Bay City area marked.
Top small-town markets in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Corsicana, TX | 70 | 16 | 8.4 | $733K | +8.2% | #54 of 535 |
| 2Palestine, TX | 67 | 14 | 8.0 | $711K | +3.2% | #80 of 535 |
| 3Dumas, TX | 66 | 5 | 7.0 | $812K | +3.0% | #85 of 535 |
| 4Athens, TX | 64 | 30 | 8.9 | $704K | +7.5% | #111 of 535 |
| 5Port Lavaca, TX | 62 | 6 | 6.9 | $1M | −2.3% | #123 of 535 |
| 6Bay City, TX | 61 | 13 | 8.4 | $719K | +0.5% | #136 of 535 |
| 7Fredericksburg, TX | 60 | 18 | 15.6 | $535K | +6.6% | #157 of 535 |
| 8Gainesville, TX | 57 | 23 | 13.9 | $544K | +6.5% | #190 of 535 |
| 9Jacksonville, TX | 55 | 18 | 9.9 | $610K | +5.4% | #212 of 535 |
| 10Bonham, TX | 55 | 17 | 13.3 | $539K | +9.2% | #217 of 535 |
Other business types in the Bay 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 classes61
- Gyms64
- Yoga, Pilates and fitness studios
- Martial arts and dance studios29
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms and studios are in the Bay City, TX area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 gyms and studios in the Bay City area. 5 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.
How much do households in the Bay City, TX area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $9.3M a year, or $606 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $719K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,439 households in the Bay City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bay City, TX area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?
The Bay City area has 8.4 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $719K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $662K. At the U.S. ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Bay City area would have about 14, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,146 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.
How fast is the Bay City, TX area growing?
Population estimates put the Bay City area at 36,463 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,439 households. The median household income in the Bay City area is $58,628 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.9% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Bay City area scores 61 for gyms and studios (upper middle), #136 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 Bay 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 Bay City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bay 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 Bay 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.