Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Indiana

Gyms in the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for gyms in the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #92 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana

Listings
75
24 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
28
All fitness and recreational sports centers · +3.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$106.4M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $828 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.8
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
324,538
+0.1% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the South Bend-Mishawaka 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 South Bend-Mishawaka 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 75 gyms in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area. 24 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.8, 24% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Households in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area spend about $106.4M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $828 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Spread across 75 gyms, that is $1.4M per gym, 9% 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 28 businesses with payroll in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 4,588 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, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $2.6M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area.

Population estimates show the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for gyms in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area is 61 (upper middle), #92 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureSouth Bend-Mishawaka metro areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.86.37.6
Spending per listing$1.4M$1.4M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)4,5883,6753,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.7%+7.3%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$828$864$983
Median household income$67,217$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score6160

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
28All fitness and recreational sports centers · +3.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
315
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
7524 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
82The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$2.6M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
324,538+0.1% since 2020
Households
128,459
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
948 sq. mi.
People per square mile
342
Median household income
$67,217+26.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,813
Median home value
$196,600
Jobs located here
135,103
Daytime population
316,990Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the South Bend-Mishawaka 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 South Bend-Mishawaka 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 Indiana for gyms, numbered among those based in Indiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Indiana

Metro areas in Indiana ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN645967.1$1.4M+5.4%#70 of 387
2Fort Wayne, IN631065.8$1.4M+3.9%#76 of 387
3South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI61755.8$1.4M+0.1%#92 of 387
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN616377.0$1.4M+2.7%#93 of 387
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN562,8627.9$1.5M0.0%#129 of 387
4Michigan City-La Porte, IN55235.3$1.5M−0.9%#135 of 387
5Elkhart-Goshen, IN55476.5$1.2M+0.9%#143 of 387
6Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN55596.5$1.2M+2.1%#145 of 387
7Evansville, IN53716.2$1.3M+1.6%#158 of 387
8Columbus, IN51257.5$1.3M+4.3%#180 of 387

Other business types in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area?

The South Bend-Mishawaka metro area has 75 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 24 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 3.7% 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 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $106.4M a year, or $828 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 75 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 128,459 households in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The South Bend-Mishawaka metro area has 5.8 gyms per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.4M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area would have about 82, against 75 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,588 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area at 324,538 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 128,459 households. The median household income in the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area is $67,217 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.1% 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 South Bend-Mishawaka metro area scores 61 for gyms (upper middle), #92 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 South Bend-Mishawaka 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 South Bend-Mishawaka metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the South Bend-Mishawaka 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 South Bend-Mishawaka 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.