Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Tennessee

Gyms in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area

How the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #238 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
641
217 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
320
All fitness and recreational sports centers · +22.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$707.2M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $853 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.7
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,197,416
+8.7% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 641 gyms in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area. Chain locations make up 34% of them, against 28% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.7, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6.

At $853 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area spend about $707.2M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. Spread across 641 gyms, that is $1.1M per gym, 15% 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area was 320 in 2023, up 22.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,591 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, 61 SBA-backed loans worth $29.8M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area grew 8.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms, the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #238 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee.

How the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureNashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.76.97.6
Spending per listing$1.1M$1M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)2,5913,5933,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+22.0%+15.8%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+8.7%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$853$703$983
Median household income$85,447$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4646

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
320All fitness and recreational sports centers · +22.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,156
Annual payroll, 2023
$122.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
641217 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
544The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
61
Amount
$29.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,197,416+8.7% since 2020
Households
829,134
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
6,302 sq. mi.
People per square mile
330
Median household income
$85,447
Average household income
$117,563
Median home value
$409,600
Jobs located here
1,132,736
Daytime population
2,203,082Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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.

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The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for gyms, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Morristown, TN59255.2$1.1M+7.9%#113 of 387
2Clarksville, TN-KY51796.3$996K+8.5%#187 of 387
3Knoxville, TN492576.8$1.1M+6.9%#205 of 387
4Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA46685.2$1.1M+2.3%#235 of 387
5Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN466417.7$1.1M+8.7%#238 of 387
6Cleveland, TN40377.4$840K+6.1%#287 of 387
7Johnson City, TN40627.0$834K+4.3%#288 of 387
8Memphis, TN-MS-AR363426.5$1.1M−0.3%#314 of 387
9Chattanooga, TN-GA352008.6$841K+5.3%#322 of 387
10Jackson, TN20527.2$809K+2.2%#378 of 387

Other business types in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area?

The Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area has 641 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 217 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 320 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 22.0% 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $707.2M a year, or $853 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 641 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 829,134 households in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area has 7.7 gyms per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.1M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area would have about 544, against 641 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,591 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 22.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area at 2,197,416 people in 2025, up 8.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 829,134 households. The median household income in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area is $85,447 a year, 6% above 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area scores 46 for gyms (lower middle), #238 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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.