Fitness and classes · Metro area · Kansas
Gyms in the Lawrence, KS metro area
How the Lawrence, KS 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 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #151 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas
- Listings
- 39
- 9 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $46.2M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $916 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.7
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 120,920
- +1.8% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 39 gyms in the Lawrence metro area. Chain locations make up 23% of them, against 28% across the U.S. That is 7.7 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6.
At $916 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Lawrence metro area spend about $46.2M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $1.2M per gym, 9% 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 Lawrence metro area was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 3,600 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $739K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Lawrence metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Lawrence metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Lawrence metro area scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #151 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas.
How the Lawrence metro area compares
The same measures for Kansas 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 | Lawrence metro area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1.2M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 3,600 | 3,888 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.0% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.8% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $916 | $911 | $983 |
| Median household income | $69,746 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 52 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 301
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 399 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 36The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $739K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Lawrence 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 Lawrence metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 120,920+1.8% since 2020
- Households
- 50,406
- Median age
- 35.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 50%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 456 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 264
- Median household income
- $69,746+17.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,109
- Median home value
- $309,400
- Jobs located here
- 51,342
- Daytime population
- 115,968Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kansas for gyms, numbered among those based in Kansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lawrence metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wichita, KS | 68 | 143 | 5.6 | $1.5M | +2.4% | #48 of 387 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 61 | 692 | 7.7 | $1.3M | +3.4% | #94 of 387 |
| 2Lawrence, KS | 54 | 39 | 7.7 | $1.2M | +1.8% | #151 of 387 |
| Joplin, MO-KS | 52 | 56 | 7.0 | $1M | +3.9% | #175 of 387 |
| 3Topeka, KS | 51 | 67 | 6.9 | $1.2M | +0.1% | #182 of 387 |
| 4Manhattan, KS | 40 | 50 | 9.8 | $809K | +1.4% | #290 of 387 |
| St. Joseph, MO-KS | 39 | 31 | 6.6 | $1.1M | −2.0% | #291 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lawrence 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 Lawrence, KS metro area?
There are 39 gyms on map listings in the Lawrence metro area as of September 2026. 9 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 14 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 Lawrence, KS metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $46.2M a year, or $916 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,406 households in the Lawrence metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lawrence, KS metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Lawrence metro area has 7.7 gyms per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.2M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Lawrence metro area would have about 36, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,600 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lawrence, KS metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lawrence metro area at 120,920 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 50,406 households. The median household income in the Lawrence metro area is $69,746 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 17.4% 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 Lawrence metro area scores 54 for gyms (upper middle), #151 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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.