Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Texas

Gyms in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area

How the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 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 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #193 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
2,454
842 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
1,078
All fitness and recreational sports centers · +20.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.7B
On memberships, classes and admissions · $919 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.5
12% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
8,477,157
+10.6% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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

Households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area spend about $2.7B a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $919 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area has 2,454 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 842 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 8.5 for every 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,078 businesses with payroll in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers, up 20.9% from 2019. That is one for every 2,682 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. That count covers all fitness and recreational sports centers (yoga, Pilates and fitness studios included), not only gyms. Since fiscal 2022, 182 SBA-backed loans worth $91M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #193 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas.

How the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.58.47.6
Spending per listing$1.1M$970K$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)2,6823,1733,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+20.9%+18.9%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$919$810$983
Median household income$90,275$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score5041

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,078All fitness and recreational sports centers · +20.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
16,544
Annual payroll, 2023
$325.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2,454842 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,041The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
182
Amount
$91M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
8,477,157+10.6% since 2020
Households
2,891,725
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
8,676 sq. mi.
People per square mile
920
Median household income
$90,275+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,389
Median home value
$359,500
Jobs located here
4,175,571
Daytime population
8,229,586Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Texas for gyms, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Odessa, TX56396.0$1.2M+5.0%#133 of 387
2Sherman-Denison, TX56417.4$953K+12.8%#134 of 387
3Midland, TX55568.0$1.2M+9.8%#146 of 387
4Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX532,1448.1$1.1M+10.3%#163 of 387
5Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX502,4548.5$1.1M+10.6%#193 of 387
6Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX499549.6$1.1M+14.0%#206 of 387
7Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX48865.8$1.2M+0.5%#215 of 387
8San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX457697.9$964K+9.5%#248 of 387
9Killeen-Temple, TX411407.9$819K+7.2%#275 of 387
10Amarillo, TX39727.0$994K+2.7%#295 of 387

Other business types in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,454 gyms in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area. 842 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 1,078 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 20.9% from 2019. The official count takes in all fitness and recreational sports centers, not only gyms: yoga, Pilates and fitness studios are counted too.

How much do households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $2.7B a year, or $919 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,454 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per gym. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which gyms share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,891,725 households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area has 8.5 gyms per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area would have about 2,041, against 2,454 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,682 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area at 8,477,157 people in 2025, up 10.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,891,725 households. Median household income in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area is $90,275, 12% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area scores 50 for gyms (upper middle), #193 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.