Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Missouri

Gyms in the Joplin, MO-KS metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for gyms in the Joplin, MO-KS metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #175 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
56
18 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
14
All fitness and recreational sports centers
Household spending a year
$57M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $717 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.0
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
208,796
+3.9% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Joplin 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 Joplin 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 56 gyms in the Joplin metro area. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.0, 8% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Households in the Joplin metro area spend about $57M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $717 per household, 27% below the U.S. average. Spread across 56 gyms, that is $1M per gym, 22% 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 14 businesses with payroll in the Joplin metro area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 5,679 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, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $3.6M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Joplin metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Joplin metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Joplin metro area scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #175 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Joplin metro area compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Joplin, MO-KS metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureJoplin metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.07.07.6
Spending per listing$1M$1.2M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)5,6793,5993,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+11.3%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$717$869$983
Median household income$61,901$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score5250

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14All fitness and recreational sports centers
Employees, 2023
340
Annual payroll, 2023
$5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
5618 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
6
Amount
$3.6M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
208,796+3.9% since 2020
Households
79,505
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,851 sq. mi.
People per square mile
110
Median household income
$61,901
Average household income
$80,895
Median home value
$165,500
Jobs located here
85,555
Daytime population
203,238Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Joplin 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 Joplin 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 Missouri for gyms, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Joplin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jefferson City, MO64315.3$1.6M+2.2%#67 of 387
2Kansas City, MO-KS616927.7$1.3M+3.4%#94 of 387
3Cape Girardeau, MO-IL59256.5$1.2M+1.7%#112 of 387
4Joplin, MO-KS52567.0$1M+3.9%#175 of 387
5St. Louis, MO-IL508917.7$1.3M−0.2%#191 of 387
6Columbia, MO47637.3$1.2M+3.9%#224 of 387
7Springfield, MO451678.4$922K+5.1%#249 of 387
8St. Joseph, MO-KS39316.6$1.1M−2.0%#291 of 387

Other business types in the Joplin metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Joplin, MO-KS metro area?

The Joplin metro area has 56 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 18 of them (32%) 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 Joplin, MO-KS metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $57M a year, or $717 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 79,505 households in the Joplin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Joplin, MO-KS metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Joplin metro area has 7.0 gyms per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Joplin metro area would have about 44, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,679 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.

How fast is the Joplin, MO-KS metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Joplin metro area at 208,796 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 79,505 households. The median household income in the Joplin metro area is $61,901 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Joplin metro area scores 52 for gyms (upper middle), #175 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 Joplin 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 Joplin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Joplin 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 Joplin 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.