Fitness and classes · Metro area · California
Gyms in the El Centro, CA metro area
How the El Centro, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #309 of 387 scored metro areas
#25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 44
- 7 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $40.8M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $823 a household
- Spending per listing
- $928K
- 29% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.9
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,411
- +1.1% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro 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
For gyms, the El Centro metro area has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #309 of 387 scored metro areas and #25 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the El Centro metro area comes to about $40.8M a year: $823 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Spread across 44 gyms, that is $928K per gym, 29% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.
The El Centro metro area has 44 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 16%, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.9, 17% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the El Centro metro area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 3,546 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $450K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the El Centro metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the El Centro metro area grew 1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the El Centro metro area compares
The same measures for California 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 | El Centro metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.9 | 7.9 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $928K | $1.8M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 3,546 | 2,522 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.4% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $823 | $1,435 | $983 |
| Median household income | $57,681 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 122
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 447 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $450K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,411+1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 49,644
- Median age
- 33.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,176 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $57,681+21.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,363
- Median home value
- $309,600
- Jobs located here
- 63,081
- Daytime population
- 165,766Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for gyms, numbered among those based in California, with the El Centro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stockton-Lodi, CA | 88 | 173 | 7.1 | $1.8M | +5.5% | #2 of 387 |
| 2Yuba City, CA | 82 | 37 | 6.0 | $1.8M | +3.3% | #6 of 387 |
| 3Visalia, CA | 78 | 84 | 5.9 | $1.7M | +2.4% | #15 of 387 |
| 4Fresno, CA | 76 | 234 | 6.3 | $1.7M | +3.2% | #19 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 73 | 1,009 | 7.0 | $1.8M | +3.5% | #26 of 387 |
| 6Merced, CA | 72 | 59 | 6.9 | $1.3M | +5.1% | #32 of 387 |
| 7Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 71 | 184 | 6.5 | $1.5M | +2.3% | #35 of 387 |
| 8Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 68 | 704 | 8.0 | $1.7M | +3.2% | #44 of 387 |
| 9Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 67 | 28 | 6.4 | $1.5M | +1.0% | #55 of 387 |
| 10Vallejo, CA | 66 | 124 | 7.9 | $1.7M | +0.6% | #58 of 387 |
| 25El Centro, CA | 37 | 44 | 8.9 | $928K | +1.1% | #309 of 387 |
Other business types in the El Centro metro 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 El Centro, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 44 gyms in the El Centro metro area. 7 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023. The official count takes in all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms: yoga, Pilates and fitness studios are counted too.
How much do households in the El Centro, CA metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $40.8M a year, or $823 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 44 gyms on map listings, it comes to $928K per gym. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,644 households in the El Centro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the El Centro, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The El Centro metro area has 8.9 gyms per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $928K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, the El Centro metro area would have about 31, against 44 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,546 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the El Centro, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the El Centro metro area at 181,411 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,644 households. Median household income in the El Centro metro area is $57,681, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.1%, 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 El Centro metro area scores 37 for gyms (lower middle), #309 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 El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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.