Fitness and classes · Small-town market · California
Gyms in the Sonora, CA area
The gyms in the Sonora, CA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #151 of 506 scored small-town markets
#4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 22
- 2 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $24.5M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $1,079 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.7
- 28% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 53,160
- −4.0% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 22 gyms in the Sonora area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.7, 28% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Sonora area comes to about $24.5M a year: $1,079 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 14% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Sonora area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 5,673 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.
Population estimates put the population change in the Sonora area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for gyms in the Sonora area is 60 (upper middle), #151 of 506 scored small-town markets and #4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California.
How the Sonora 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 | Sonora area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.7 | 7.9 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $1.8M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 5,673 | 2,522 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.4% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $1,079 | $1,435 | $983 |
| Median household income | $77,404 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 60
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $850K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 222 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 53,160−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 22,690
- Median age
- 48.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,221 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 25
- Median household income
- $77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,064
- Median home value
- $433,200
- Jobs located here
- 16,129
- Daytime population
- 40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 small-town markets in California for gyms, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sonora area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Red Bluff, CA | 79 | 9 | 3.6 | $2.5M | −1.7% | #15 of 506 |
| 2Crescent City, CA | 68 | 5 | 5.3 | $1.7M | −4.4% | #58 of 506 |
| 3Clearlake, CA | 66 | 15 | 5.6 | $1.6M | −0.6% | #76 of 506 |
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 65 | 16 | 7.4 | $1.7M | +0.9% | #87 of 506 |
| 4Sonora, CA | 60 | 22 | 9.7 | $1.1M | −4.0% | #151 of 506 |
| 5Susanville, CA | 58 | 6 | 6.5 | $1.3M | −13.1% | #171 of 506 |
| 6Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 52 | 45 | 10.5 | $1.2M | −0.4% | #233 of 506 |
| 7Ukiah, CA | 50 | 26 | 7.5 | $1.3M | −3.5% | #250 of 506 |
| 8Bishop, CA | 50 | 8 | 10.0 | $1.1M | −4.4% | #252 of 506 |
| 9Eureka-Arcata, CA | 49 | 40 | 7.3 | $1.2M | −3.4% | #259 of 506 |
Other business types in the Sonora 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 Sonora, CA area?
There are 22 gyms on map listings in the Sonora area as of September 2026. 2 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms.
How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $24.5M a year, or $1,079 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Sonora area has 9.7 gyms per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.1M, 14% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 19, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,673 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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 Sonora area scores 60 for gyms (upper middle), #151 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.