Fitness and classes · Metro area · Missouri
Gyms in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
The gyms in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #191 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri
- Listings
- 891
- 253 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 402
- All fitness and recreational sports centers · +13.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.2B
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $999 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.7
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,814,421
- −0.2% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 891 gyms in the St. Louis metro area. Of those, 253 are chain locations, or 28%, against 28% across the U.S. That is 7.7 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the St. Louis metro area comes to about $1.2B a year: $999 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. Spread across 891 gyms, that is $1.3M per gym, in line with the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 402 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the St. Louis metro area in 2023, up 13.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,887 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, 51 SBA-backed loans worth $21.5M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the St. Louis metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the St. Louis metro area declined 0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For gyms, the St. Louis metro area has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #191 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.
How the St. Louis 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.
| Measure | St. Louis metro area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.7 | 7.0 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $1.2M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 2,887 | 3,599 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.8% | +11.3% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $999 | $869 | $983 |
| Median household income | $80,196 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 402All fitness and recreational sports centers · +13.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,672
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $132.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 891253 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 891The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 51
- Amount
- $21.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,814,421−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 1,160,386
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 7,864 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 357
- Median household income
- $80,196+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,353
- Median home value
- $244,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,400,208
- Daytime population
- 2,847,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for gyms, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the St. Louis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson City, MO | 64 | 31 | 5.3 | $1.6M | +2.2% | #67 of 387 |
| 2Kansas City, MO-KS | 61 | 692 | 7.7 | $1.3M | +3.4% | #94 of 387 |
| 3Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 59 | 25 | 6.5 | $1.2M | +1.7% | #112 of 387 |
| 4Joplin, MO-KS | 52 | 56 | 7.0 | $1M | +3.9% | #175 of 387 |
| 5St. Louis, MO-IL | 50 | 891 | 7.7 | $1.3M | −0.2% | #191 of 387 |
| 6Columbia, MO | 47 | 63 | 7.3 | $1.2M | +3.9% | #224 of 387 |
| 7Springfield, MO | 45 | 167 | 8.4 | $922K | +5.1% | #249 of 387 |
| 8St. Joseph, MO-KS | 39 | 31 | 6.6 | $1.1M | −2.0% | #291 of 387 |
Other business types in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis, MO-IL metro area?
The St. Louis metro area has 891 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 253 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 402 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 13.8% 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 St. Louis, MO-IL metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $1.2B a year, or $999 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 891 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,160,386 households in the St. Louis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The St. Louis metro area has 7.7 gyms per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.3M, in line with the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,887 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Louis metro area at 2,814,421 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,160,386 households. The median household income in the St. Louis metro area is $80,196 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% 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 St. Louis metro area scores 50 for gyms (upper middle), #191 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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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.