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Fitness and classes · Metro area · Ohio

Gyms in the Sandusky, OH metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for gyms in the Sandusky, OH metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #304 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio

Listings
47
10 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
11
All fitness and recreational sports centers
Household spending a year
$43.3M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $849 a household
Spending per listing
$921K
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.2
21% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
112,777
−2.6% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Sandusky 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 Sandusky 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

The Groundwork market score for gyms in the Sandusky metro area is 38 (lower middle), #304 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 47 gyms in the Sandusky metro area. 10 of them (21%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.2, 21% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Households in the Sandusky metro area spend about $43.3M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $849 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $921K of household spending for each gym on map listings, 29% 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 Sandusky metro area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 4,635 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, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $642K have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Sandusky metro area. Population estimates show the Sandusky metro area declined 2.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Sandusky metro area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Sandusky, OH metro area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureSandusky metro areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.27.07.6
Spending per listing$921K$1.3M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)4,6353,7583,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.7%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$849$884$983
Median household income$73,502$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score3851

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11All fitness and recreational sports centers
Employees, 2023
42
Annual payroll, 2023
$597K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4710 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
33The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$642K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
112,777−2.6% since 2020
Households
50,986
Median age
46.6
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
506 sq. mi.
People per square mile
226
Median household income
$73,502
Average household income
$96,712
Median home value
$207,500
Jobs located here
46,448
Daytime population
109,099Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sandusky 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 Sandusky 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 Ohio for gyms, numbered among those based in Ohio (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sandusky metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in Ohio ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Springfield, OH69234.1$1.8M−0.4%#39 of 387
2Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH632005.8$1.5M+1.5%#75 of 387
3Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN616377.0$1.4M+2.7%#93 of 387
4Columbus, OH597318.5$1.2M+4.7%#110 of 387
5Lima, OH58194.6$1.6M−1.2%#115 of 387
Wheeling, WV-OH52264.5$1.4M−3.6%#165 of 387
6Cleveland, OH516446.9$1.3M−0.8%#178 of 387
7Toledo, OH501566.1$1.3M−1.0%#190 of 387
8Akron, OH482247.6$1.2M0.0%#213 of 387
9Youngstown-Warren, OH471126.1$1.2M−1.4%#225 of 387
11Sandusky, OH38479.2$921K−2.6%#304 of 387

Other business types in the Sandusky metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Sandusky, OH metro area?

There are 47 gyms on map listings in the Sandusky metro area as of September 2026. 10 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 11 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 Sandusky, OH metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $43.3M a year, or $849 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 47 gyms on map listings, it comes to $921K per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,986 households in the Sandusky metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Sandusky, OH metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Sandusky metro area has 9.2 gyms per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $921K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Sandusky metro area would have about 33, against 47 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,635 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sandusky, OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Sandusky metro area at 112,777 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 50,986 households. The median household income in the Sandusky metro area is $73,502 a year, 9% 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 Sandusky metro area scores 38 for gyms (lower middle), #304 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 Sandusky 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 Sandusky metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sandusky 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 Sandusky 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.