Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Iowa
Gyms in the Spirit Lake, IA area
How the Spirit Lake, IA 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 44 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #323 of 506 scored small-town markets
#7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 9
- 3 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $8.5M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $958 a household
- Spending per listing
- $942K
- 28% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.2
- 34% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 9 gyms in the Spirit Lake area. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 28% across the U.S. That is 10.2 per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Households in the Spirit Lake area spend about $8.5M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $958 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $942K of household spending for each gym on map listings, 28% below 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 8 businesses with payroll in the Spirit Lake area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 1,106 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.
Population estimates put the population change in the Spirit Lake area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms, the Spirit Lake area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #323 of 506 scored small-town markets and #7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Spirit Lake area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.2 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $942K | $1M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 1,106 | 3,306 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.7% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $958 | $890 | $983 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 44 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 106
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 93 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for gyms, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Marshalltown, IA | 71 | 5 | 3.2 | $2.4M | −0.5% | #41 of 506 |
| 2Le Mars, IA | 62 | 7 | 6.8 | $1.3M | 0.0% | #124 of 506 |
| 3Pella, IA | 55 | 12 | 9.0 | $1M | +2.3% | #208 of 506 |
| 4Burlington, IA-IL | 52 | 11 | 5.5 | $1.3M | −2.5% | #232 of 506 |
| 5Oskaloosa, IA | 50 | 6 | 6.9 | $1.1M | −1.2% | #251 of 506 |
| 6Clinton, IA | 48 | 14 | 7.2 | $1.1M | −0.9% | #277 of 506 |
| 7Spirit Lake, IA | 44 | 9 | 10.2 | $942K | +1.7% | #323 of 506 |
| 8Ottumwa, IA | 44 | 11 | 7.9 | $912K | −0.3% | #324 of 506 |
| 9Muscatine, IA | 40 | 12 | 6.9 | $1.1M | −3.0% | #354 of 506 |
| 10Mason City, IA | 39 | 19 | 8.4 | $976K | −1.5% | #368 of 506 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake, IA area?
The Spirit Lake area has 9 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $8.5M a year, or $958 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 gyms on map listings, it comes to $942K per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Spirit Lake area has 10.2 gyms per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $942K, 28% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 7, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,106 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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. 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 Spirit Lake area scores 44 for gyms (lower middle), #323 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.