Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · California

Gyms in the Visalia, CA metro area

How the Visalia, 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 78 out of 100: High

Ranked #15 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
84
20 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
25
All fitness and recreational sports centers · −3.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$139.6M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $975 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
28% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
485,146
+2.4% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Visalia 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 Visalia 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 Visalia metro area has a Groundwork market score of 78 (high): #15 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for gyms.

As of September 2026, map listings count 84 gyms in the Visalia metro area. Of those, 20 are chain locations, or 24%, against 28% across the U.S. That is 5.9 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Visalia metro area comes to about $139.6M a year: $975 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $1.7M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 28% above 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 25 businesses with payroll in the Visalia metro area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers, down 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 5,728 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, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Visalia metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Visalia metro area grew 2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Visalia 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 Visalia, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureVisalia metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.97.97.6
Spending per listing$1.7M$1.8M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)5,7282,5223,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−3.8%+9.4%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$975$1,435$983
Median household income$71,300$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score7860

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25All fitness and recreational sports centers · −3.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
372
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
8420 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
107The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Visalia 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 Visalia metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
485,146+2.4% since 2020
Households
143,195
Median age
32.7
Homes lived in by their owners
58%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
4,824 sq. mi.
People per square mile
99
Median household income
$71,300+43.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,178
Median home value
$330,100
Jobs located here
170,584
Daytime population
466,926Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Visalia 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 Visalia 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 California for gyms, numbered among those based in California, with the Visalia 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

Other business types in the Visalia metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Visalia, CA metro area?

The Visalia metro area has 84 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 20 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, down 3.8% 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 Visalia, CA metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $139.6M a year, or $975 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 84 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 143,195 households in the Visalia metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Visalia, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Visalia metro area has 5.9 gyms per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.7M, 28% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Visalia metro area would have about 107, against 84 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,728 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Visalia, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Visalia metro area at 485,146 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 143,195 households. The median household income in the Visalia metro area is $71,300 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 43.5% 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 Visalia metro area scores 78 for gyms (high), #15 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 Visalia 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 Visalia metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Visalia 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 Visalia 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.