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Fitness and classes · Metro area · Texas

Gyms in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area

The gyms in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #163 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
2,144
637 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
806
All fitness and recreational sports centers · +9.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.3B
On memberships, classes and admissions · $866 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.1
7% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,904,627
+10.3% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 2,144 gyms in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area. Of those, 637 are chain locations, or 30%, against 28% across the U.S. That is 8.1 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area spend about $2.3B a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $866 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Spread across 2,144 gyms, that is $1.1M per gym, 17% 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.

Official counts show 806 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 3,302 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, 176 SBA-backed loans worth $102.5M have gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area.

Population estimates show the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area grew 10.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For gyms, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #163 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas.

How the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.18.47.6
Spending per listing$1.1M$970K$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)3,3023,1733,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.1%+18.9%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.3%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$866$810$983
Median household income$82,168$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score5341

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
806All fitness and recreational sports centers · +9.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
13,091
Annual payroll, 2023
$249.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2,144637 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,771The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
176
Amount
$102.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
7,904,627+10.3% since 2020
Households
2,661,739
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
8,839 sq. mi.
People per square mile
842
Median household income
$82,168
Average household income
$117,837
Median home value
$298,000
Jobs located here
3,347,878
Daytime population
7,510,084Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Texas for gyms, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area?

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area has 2,144 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 637 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 806 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in 2023, up 9.1% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $2.3B a year, or $866 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,144 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 2,661,739 households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area has 8.1 gyms per 10,000 households, 7% 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 national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area would have about 1,771, against 2,144 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,302 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area at 7,904,627 people in 2025, up 10.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,661,739 households. The median household income in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area is $82,168 a year, 2% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area scores 53 for gyms (upper middle), #163 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.