Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Illinois
Gyms in the Carbondale, IL area
How the Carbondale, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #147 of 506 scored small-town markets
#4 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 12
- 4 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $15M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $652 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.2
- 32% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 52,501
- −1.5% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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
Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Carbondale area comes to about $15M a year: $652 per household, 34% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.2M per gym, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.
There are 12 gyms on map listings in the Carbondale area as of September 2026. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.2, 32% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Carbondale area in 2023. That is one for every 7,652 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 $500K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Carbondale area.
Population estimates show the Carbondale area declined 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For gyms, the Carbondale area has a Groundwork market score of 60 (upper middle): #147 of 506 scored small-town markets and #4 of 19 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.
How the Carbondale area compares
The same measures for Illinois 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 | Carbondale area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.2 | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1.4M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 7,652 | 3,107 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.9% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $652 | $1,054 | $983 |
| Median household income | $48,763 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 26
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $392K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 124 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $500K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 52,501−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 22,955
- Median age
- 37.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 50%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 584 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 91
- Median household income
- $48,763
- Average household income
- $70,409
- Median home value
- $137,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,658
- Daytime population
- 57,693Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for gyms, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Carbondale area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rochelle, IL | 65 | 15 | 7.2 | $1.3M | −0.7% | #93 of 506 |
| 2Ottawa, IL | 64 | 36 | 5.8 | $1.4M | −1.6% | #100 of 506 |
| 3Pontiac, IL | 62 | 9 | 6.2 | $1.4M | −2.1% | #122 of 506 |
| 4Carbondale, IL | 60 | 12 | 5.2 | $1.2M | −1.5% | #147 of 506 |
| 5Effingham, IL | 60 | 15 | 8.3 | $1.1M | −0.9% | #153 of 506 |
| 6Sterling, IL | 59 | 14 | 6.1 | $1.2M | −2.6% | #160 of 506 |
| 7Marion-Herrin, IL | 59 | 20 | 6.9 | $1.1M | +0.2% | #161 of 506 |
| 8Taylorville, IL | 54 | 8 | 5.9 | $1.3M | −1.5% | #216 of 506 |
| 9Dixon, IL | 54 | 9 | 6.7 | $1.2M | −3.4% | #218 of 506 |
| Burlington, IA-IL | 52 | 11 | 5.5 | $1.3M | −2.5% | #232 of 506 |
Other business types in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale, IL area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 12 gyms in the Carbondale area. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 3 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 Carbondale, IL area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $15M a year, or $652 per household. That is 34% below the U.S. average (an index of 66, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.2M 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 22,955 households in the Carbondale area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Carbondale, IL area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Carbondale area has 5.2 gyms per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.2M, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,652 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Carbondale, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Carbondale area at 52,501 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,955 households. Median household income in the Carbondale area is $48,763, 40% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Carbondale area scores 60 for gyms (upper middle), #147 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 Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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.