Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Alabama
Gyms in the Fort Payne, AL area
The gyms in the Fort Payne, AL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #343 of 506 scored small-town markets
#8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 13
- 1 chain location (8%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $12.8M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $487 a household
- Spending per listing
- $981K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.0
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,085
- +3.4% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Fort Payne area
The site report maps the gyms 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 Fort Payne 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 gyms in the Fort Payne area. One of them (8%) is a chain location, against 28% across the U.S. That is 5.0 per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.
At $487 per household (50% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Payne area spend about $12.8M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $981K per gym, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Fort Payne area: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Payne area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Fort Payne area scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #343 of 506 scored small-town markets and #8 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama.
How the Fort Payne area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all memberships, classes and admissions by the gyms 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 | Fort Payne area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $981K | $936K | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | n/a | 4,035 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.7% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $487 | $656 | $983 |
| Median household income | $51,204 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/aAll fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 131 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The 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 and recreational sports centers in the Fort Payne 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. These official figures cover all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms.
Population and households in the Fort Payne area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,085+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 26,181
- Median age
- 40.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 777 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 93
- Median household income
- $51,204+26.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,235
- Median home value
- $152,700
- Jobs located here
- 22,918
- Daytime population
- 67,317Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Payne 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 on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Fort Payne area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for gyms, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Payne area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ozark, AL | 65 | 5 | 2.5 | $2.1M | +1.3% | #84 of 506 |
| LaGrange, GA-AL | 65 | 19 | 4.7 | $1.2M | +3.0% | #94 of 506 |
| 2Cullman, AL | 59 | 24 | 6.8 | $906K | +6.7% | #164 of 506 |
| 3Enterprise, AL | 58 | 13 | 6.2 | $1.1M | +6.3% | #175 of 506 |
| 4Albertville, AL | 56 | 29 | 8.0 | $800K | +6.0% | #193 of 506 |
| 5Alexander City, AL | 54 | 8 | 4.7 | $1.2M | −0.8% | #219 of 506 |
| 6Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 49 | 21 | 5.5 | $971K | 0.0% | #270 of 506 |
| 7Scottsboro, AL | 47 | 15 | 6.9 | $768K | +3.3% | #290 of 506 |
| 8Fort Payne, AL | 42 | 13 | 5.0 | $981K | +3.4% | #343 of 506 |
| 9Russellville, AL | 37 | 6 | 5.0 | $990K | +1.1% | #393 of 506 |
Other business types in the Fort Payne 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
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms are in the Fort Payne, AL area?
There are 13 gyms on map listings in the Fort Payne area as of September 2026. One of them (8%) is a chain location. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. No official count is published for fitness and recreational sports centers in the Fort Payne area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Fort Payne, AL area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $12.8M a year, or $487 per household. That is 50% below the U.S. average (an index of 50, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 gyms on map listings, it comes to $981K per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,181 households in the Fort Payne area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Payne, AL area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Fort Payne area has 5.0 gyms per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $981K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Fort Payne area would have about 10, against 13 on map listings.
How fast is the Fort Payne, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Payne area at 74,085 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,181 households. The median household income in the Fort Payne area is $51,204 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.6% 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 Fort Payne area scores 42 for gyms (lower middle), #343 of 506 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Payne area. It maps the gyms 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 · All 56 business types in the Fort Payne area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Payne 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 Fort Payne 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.