Fitness and classes · Metro area · Iowa
Gyms in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #184 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 50
- 14 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $57.4M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $827 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.2
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 50 gyms in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Of those, 14 are chain locations, or 28%, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 7.2 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area spend about $57.4M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $827 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.1M per gym, 12% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area was 15 in 2023. That is one for every 4,626 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, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area grew 0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for gyms in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is 51 (upper middle), #184 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.2 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $1M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 4,626 | 3,306 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.7% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $827 | $890 | $983 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 334
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5014 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 44The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 metro areas in Iowa for gyms, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 52 | 325 | 8.3 | $1.2M | +4.2% | #170 of 387 |
| 1Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 51 | 50 | 7.2 | $1.1M | +0.5% | #184 of 387 |
| 2Iowa City, IA | 48 | 70 | 9.7 | $992K | +4.1% | #218 of 387 |
| 3Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 47 | 294 | 10.0 | $1M | +6.7% | #229 of 387 |
| 4Dubuque, IA | 44 | 29 | 7.1 | $1.3M | +0.1% | #252 of 387 |
| 5Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 39 | 42 | 7.6 | $1.1M | +1.0% | #292 of 387 |
| 6Cedar Rapids, IA | 38 | 110 | 9.6 | $965K | +1.0% | #301 of 387 |
| 7Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 34 | 152 | 9.4 | $925K | −0.9% | #325 of 387 |
| 8Ames, IA | 30 | 57 | 11.4 | $782K | +2.2% | #349 of 387 |
Other business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
There are 50 gyms on map listings in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area as of September 2026. 14 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 15 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $57.4M a year, or $827 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 7.2 gyms per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.1M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 44, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,626 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 51 for gyms (upper middle), #184 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.