Groundwork

Fitness and classes · County · Illinois

Gyms in Champaign County, IL

How Champaign County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #574 of 1,792 scored counties
#12 of 68 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
60
20 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
21
All fitness and recreational sports centers · −8.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$72.7M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $851 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
7% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.0
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
209,972
+1.8% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in Champaign 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 Champaign County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $851 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in Champaign County spend about $72.7M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.

Champaign County has 60 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 20 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.0, 8% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

In 2023, official counts showed 21 businesses with payroll in Champaign County classed as fitness and recreational sports centers, down 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 4,070 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 $580K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in Champaign County.

Population estimates show Champaign County grew 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms, Champaign County has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #574 of 1,792 scored counties and #12 of 68 scored counties in Illinois.

How Champaign County 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.

Gyms in Champaign County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChampaign CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.07.77.6
Spending per listing$1.2M$1.4M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)4,0703,1073,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−8.7%+2.9%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$851$1,054$983
Median household income$63,683$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5950

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
23 → 21All fitness and recreational sports centers · −8.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
239
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
6020 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
56The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$580K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in Champaign 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 Champaign County

Population, 2025 estimate
209,972+1.8% since 2020
Households
85,472
Median age
35.2
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
996 sq. mi.
People per square mile
210
Median household income
$63,683+20.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,413
Median home value
$211,500
Jobs located here
92,426
Daytime population
220,386Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Champaign 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 Champaign County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for gyms, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Champaign County marked.

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Boone County, IL71105.1$1.9M+0.4%#198 of 1,792
2Piatt County, IL6957.2$1.4M+0.6%#254 of 1,792
3Clinton County, IL66106.9$1.4M+0.6%#321 of 1,792
4Kendall County, IL66429.3$1.4M+9.9%#323 of 1,792
5Will County, IL652028.3$1.5M+2.2%#356 of 1,792
6Kankakee County, IL63215.1$1.7M−1.7%#415 of 1,792
7Kane County, IL621709.2$1.3M+1.8%#456 of 1,792
8Cook County, IL611,4586.9$1.6M−1.3%#482 of 1,792
9McHenry County, IL611139.6$1.3M+2.5%#497 of 1,792
10Monroe County, IL59107.2$1.7M−0.3%#547 of 1,792
12Champaign County, IL59607.0$1.2M+1.8%#574 of 1,792

Other business types in Champaign County

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

Questions

How many gyms are in Champaign County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 60 gyms in Champaign County. 20 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, down 8.7% 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 Champaign County, IL spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $72.7M a year, or $851 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 60 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 85,472 households in Champaign County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Champaign County, IL compare with the U.S. for gyms?

Champaign County has 7.0 gyms per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.2M, 7% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, Champaign County would have about 56, against 60 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,070 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Champaign County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Champaign County at 209,972 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 85,472 households. Median household income in Champaign County is $63,683, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.6%, 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. Champaign County scores 59 for gyms (upper middle), #574 of 1,792 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Champaign 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 Champaign County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Champaign 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 Champaign 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.