Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Alabama

Gyms in the Montgomery, AL metro area

The gyms in the Montgomery, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #353 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
110
33 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
43
All fitness and recreational sports centers · +5.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$97.2M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $642 a household
Spending per listing
$884K
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.3
4% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
388,747
+0.9% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Montgomery metro 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 Montgomery 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

For gyms, the Montgomery metro area has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #353 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 110 gyms in the Montgomery metro area. 33 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 7.3 for every 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

At $642 per household (35% below the U.S. average), households in the Montgomery metro area spend about $97.2M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $884K of household spending for each gym on map listings, 32% 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.

Official counts show 43 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Montgomery metro area in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019. That is one for every 3,522 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count takes in all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms: yoga, Pilates and fitness studios are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $409K have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Montgomery metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Montgomery metro area grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Montgomery metro 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.

Gyms in Montgomery, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.37.07.6
Spending per listing$884K$936K$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)3,5224,0353,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.0%+10.7%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$642$656$983
Median household income$64,010$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score2939

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
43All fitness and recreational sports centers · +5.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
722
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
11033 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
75The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$409K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Montgomery 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. These official figures cover all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms.

Population and households in the Montgomery metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
388,747+0.9% since 2020
Households
151,438
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,714 sq. mi.
People per square mile
142
Median household income
$64,010+21.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,716
Median home value
$191,900
Jobs located here
168,224
Daytime population
403,321Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Montgomery 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 on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Montgomery metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for gyms, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Montgomery metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Huntsville, AL521547.5$1.1M+12.5%#172 of 387
2Decatur, AL51386.1$1.1M+2.5%#185 of 387
3Tuscaloosa, AL50565.3$1.2M+2.9%#192 of 387
4Auburn-Opelika, AL41476.1$1.1M+7.1%#272 of 387
5Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL4110710.9$703K+14.8%#276 of 387
6Gadsden, AL36205.1$1M+0.4%#315 of 387
7Dothan, AL36386.2$933K+3.4%#317 of 387
8Anniston-Oxford, AL32286.2$859K−0.3%#342 of 387
9Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL32497.7$783K+3.5%#343 of 387
10Birmingham, AL303738.0$918K+1.4%#348 of 387
11Montgomery, AL291107.3$884K+0.9%#353 of 387

Other business types in the Montgomery metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many gyms are in the Montgomery, AL metro area?

There are 110 gyms on map listings in the Montgomery metro area as of September 2026. 33 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 43 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms.

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

About $97.2M a year, or $642 per household. That is 35% below the U.S. average (an index of 65, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 110 gyms on map listings, it comes to $884K per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 151,438 households in the Montgomery metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Montgomery, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Montgomery metro area has 7.3 gyms per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $884K, 32% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Montgomery metro area would have about 75, against 110 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,522 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Montgomery, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Montgomery metro area at 388,747 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 151,438 households. The median household income in the Montgomery metro area is $64,010 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.6% 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. 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 Montgomery metro area scores 29 for gyms (lower middle), #353 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 Montgomery metro 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 Montgomery metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.