Groundwork

Fitness and classes · County · Illinois

Gyms in Kankakee County, IL

How Kankakee 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 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #415 of 1,792 scored counties
#6 of 68 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
21
5 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
10
All fitness and recreational sports centers
Household spending a year
$35.7M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $871 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
31% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.1
33% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
105,525
−1.7% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in Kankakee 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 Kankakee County. 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

At $871 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Kankakee County spend about $35.7M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $1.7M per gym, 31% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.

Kankakee County has 21 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 5.1 for every 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in Kankakee County classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 4,100 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.

Population estimates put the population change in Kankakee County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Kankakee County scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #415 of 1,792 scored counties and #6 of 68 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Kankakee 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 Kankakee County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureKankakee CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.17.77.6
Spending per listing$1.7M$1.4M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)4,1003,1073,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.9%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$871$1,054$983
Median household income$71,281$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score6350

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10 → 10All fitness and recreational sports centers
Employees, 2023
319
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
215 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
27The 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee County

Population, 2025 estimate
105,525−1.7% since 2020
Households
40,996
Median age
39.8
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
677 sq. mi.
People per square mile
158
Median household income
$71,281+21.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,302
Median home value
$192,600
Jobs located here
41,664
Daytime population
98,238Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for gyms, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Kankakee 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

Other business types in Kankakee County

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

Questions

How many gyms are in Kankakee County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 gyms in Kankakee County. 5 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 10 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 Kankakee County, IL spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $35.7M a year, or $871 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.7M 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 40,996 households in Kankakee County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kankakee County has 5.1 gyms per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.7M, 31% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, Kankakee County would have about 27, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,100 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.

How fast is Kankakee County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Kankakee County at 105,525 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 40,996 households. Median household income in Kankakee County is $71,281, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.0%, 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. Kankakee County scores 63 for gyms (upper middle), #415 of 1,792 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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.