Fitness and classes · County · Florida
Gyms in Alachua County, FL
How Alachua County, FL compares with other counties and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,361 of 1,792 scored counties
#41 of 50 scored counties in Florida
- Listings
- 105
- 25 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- All fitness and recreational sports centers · +5.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $80.5M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $689 a household
- Spending per listing
- $766K
- 41% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.0
- 18% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 290,028
- +3.7% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in Alachua County
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 Alachua County. 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, Alachua County has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #1,361 of 1,792 scored counties and #41 of 50 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Alachua County spend about $80.5M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $689 per household, 30% below the U.S. average. Spread across 105 gyms, that is $766K per gym, 41% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.
Alachua County has 105 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 25 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 9.0 for every 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in Alachua County was 36 in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. That is one for every 3,244 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, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.7M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in Alachua County. Population estimates put the population change in Alachua County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Alachua County compares
The same measures for Florida 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 | Alachua County | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.0 | 8.0 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $766K | $951K | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 3,244 | 3,136 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.9% | +10.4% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $689 | $764 | $983 |
| Median household income | $61,949 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 34 → 36All fitness and recreational sports centers · +5.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 590
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10525 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 62The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $1.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in Alachua County, 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 Alachua County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 290,028+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 116,786
- Median age
- 36.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 876 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 326
- Median household income
- $61,949+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,386
- Median home value
- $288,800
- Jobs located here
- 139,721
- Daytime population
- 316,161Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Alachua County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Alachua County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across Florida
Every Florida market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Florida for gyms, numbered among those based in Florida, with Alachua County marked.
Top counties in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sumter County, FL | 87 | 17 | 2.4 | $2.9M | +21.1% | #22 of 1,792 |
| 2Citrus County, FL | 78 | 24 | 3.4 | $1.7M | +11.1% | #90 of 1,792 |
| 3Flagler County, FL | 75 | 27 | 5.1 | $1.5M | +21.0% | #136 of 1,792 |
| 4Charlotte County, FL | 74 | 45 | 5.0 | $1.3M | +15.5% | #154 of 1,792 |
| 5Polk County, FL | 70 | 142 | 4.9 | $1.3M | +19.8% | #237 of 1,792 |
| 6Clay County, FL | 69 | 51 | 6.1 | $1.3M | +9.4% | #258 of 1,792 |
| 7Nassau County, FL | 69 | 31 | 7.9 | $1.1M | +17.4% | #260 of 1,792 |
| 8Lake County, FL | 67 | 96 | 5.8 | $1.2M | +18.1% | #304 of 1,792 |
| 9Collier County, FL | 66 | 124 | 7.5 | $1.3M | +10.6% | #331 of 1,792 |
| 10Bay County, FL | 66 | 47 | 6.0 | $1.2M | +17.2% | #333 of 1,792 |
| 41Alachua County, FL | 36 | 105 | 9.0 | $766K | +3.7% | #1,361 of 1,792 |
Other business types in Alachua County
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 Alachua County, FL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 105 gyms in Alachua County. 25 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. 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 Alachua County, FL spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $80.5M a year, or $689 per household. That is 30% below the U.S. average (an index of 70, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 105 gyms on map listings, it comes to $766K 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 116,786 households in Alachua County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Alachua County, FL compare with the U.S. for gyms?
Alachua County has 9.0 gyms per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $766K, 41% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, Alachua County would have about 62, against 105 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,244 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.
How fast is Alachua County, FL growing?
Population estimates put Alachua County at 290,028 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 116,786 households. Median household income in Alachua County is $61,949, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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. Alachua County scores 36 for gyms (lower middle), #1,361 of 1,792 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Alachua County. 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 Alachua County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Alachua County?
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 Alachua County. 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.