Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · West Virginia

Gyms and studios in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area

How the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #206 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia

Listings
144
40 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
39
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$94M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $618 a household
Spending per listing
$653K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.5
36% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
365,965
−2.6% since 2020

See the gyms and studios around any address in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 144 gyms and studios in the Huntington-Ashland metro area. Of those, 40 are chain locations, or 28%, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.5, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9.

At $618 per household (37% below the U.S. average), households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area spend about $94M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. Spread across 144 gyms and studios, that is $653K per location, in line with the U.S. figure of $662K.

Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Huntington-Ashland metro area in 2023. That is one for every 3,902 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $946K have gone to businesses classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in the Huntington-Ashland metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Huntington-Ashland metro area declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For gyms and studios, the Huntington-Ashland metro area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #206 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia.

How the Huntington-Ashland metro area compares

The same measures for West Virginia 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 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureHuntington-Ashland metro areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.59.714.9
Spending per listing$653K$614K$662K
Households per official establishment3,9023,5541,641
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−6.8%+8.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$618$595$983
Median household income$60,078$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score4838

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
39
Employees, 2023
634
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
14440 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
142The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$946K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
365,965−2.6% since 2020
Households
152,165
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
2,916 sq. mi.
People per square mile
127
Median household income
$60,078
Average household income
$80,719
Median home value
$154,700
Jobs located here
137,552
Daytime population
362,067Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Huntington-Ashland 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.

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Gyms, studios and classes across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in West Virginia for gyms and studios, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Huntington-Ashland metro area marked.

Top metro areas in West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia ranked for gyms and studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV78978.2$901K+7.1%#11 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV633,73315.7$796K+3.3%#76 of 387
1Wheeling, WV-OH54447.6$842K−3.6%#142 of 387
Winchester, VA-WV537814.0$588K+6.5%#156 of 387
2Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH481449.5$653K−2.6%#206 of 387
3Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH395611.3$552K−3.6%#295 of 387
4Parkersburg-Vienna, WV364010.6$536K−2.3%#316 of 387
5Charleston, WV339811.2$526K−4.7%#336 of 387
6Beckley, WV314510.0$510K−4.3%#350 of 387
7Morgantown, WV269015.7$446K+1.3%#375 of 387

Other business types in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area?

There are 144 gyms and studios on map listings in the Huntington-Ashland metro area as of September 2026. 40 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms, fitness studios, martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as fitness centers and recreation instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $94M a year, or $618 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 144 gyms and studios on map listings, it comes to $653K per location. It is estimated from the incomes of the 152,165 households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms and studios?

The Huntington-Ashland metro area has 9.5 gyms and studios per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 14.9. Spending per location is $653K, in line with the U.S. figure of $662K. At the national ratio of gyms and studios to household spending, the Huntington-Ashland metro area would have about 142, against 144 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,902 households, against one for every 1,641 across the U.S.

How fast is the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Huntington-Ashland metro area at 365,965 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 152,165 households. Median household income in the Huntington-Ashland metro area is $60,078, 26% 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area scores 48 for gyms and studios (lower middle), #206 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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.