Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · California

Gyms in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area

The gyms in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #97 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
531
166 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
315
All fitness and recreational sports centers · −5.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.4B
On memberships, classes and admissions · $2,128 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
2.1 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.8
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,984,473
−0.6% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 531 gyms in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. 166 of them (31%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.8, 3% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.

At $2,128 per household (2.2 times the U.S. average), households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area spend about $1.4B a year on memberships, classes and admissions. Spread across 531 gyms, that is $2.7M per gym, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area was 315 in 2023, down 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,158 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, 36 SBA-backed loans worth $19.5M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 60 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #97 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.

Gyms in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.87.97.6
Spending per listing$2.7M$1.8M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)2,1582,5223,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−5.7%+9.4%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$2,128$1,435$983
Median household income$162,111$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6060

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
315All fitness and recreational sports centers · −5.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,910
Annual payroll, 2023
$145.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
531166 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,112The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
36
Amount
$19.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,984,473−0.6% since 2020
Households
679,914
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,680 sq. mi.
People per square mile
735
Median household income
$162,111+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$224,488
Median home value
$1,447,800
Jobs located here
1,157,383
Daytime population
2,140,529Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.

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The highest-scoring metro areas in California for gyms, numbered among those based in California, with the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA881737.1$1.8M+5.5%#2 of 387
2Yuba City, CA82376.0$1.8M+3.3%#6 of 387
3Visalia, CA78845.9$1.7M+2.4%#15 of 387
4Fresno, CA762346.3$1.7M+3.2%#19 of 387
5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA731,0097.0$1.8M+3.5%#26 of 387
6Merced, CA72596.9$1.3M+5.1%#32 of 387
7Bakersfield-Delano, CA711846.5$1.5M+2.3%#35 of 387
8Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA687048.0$1.7M+3.2%#44 of 387
9Hanford-Corcoran, CA67286.4$1.5M+1.0%#55 of 387
10Vallejo, CA661247.9$1.7M+0.6%#58 of 387
12San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA605317.8$2.7M−0.6%#97 of 387

Other business types in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area?

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 531 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 166 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 315 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, down 5.7% 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $1.4B a year, or $2,128 per household. That is 2.2 times the U.S. average (an index of 216, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 531 gyms on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 679,914 households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 7.8 gyms per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $2.7M, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area would have about 1,112, against 531 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,158 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area at 1,984,473 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 679,914 households. The median household income in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is $162,111 a year, twice the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.4% 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 60 for gyms (upper middle), #97 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.