Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Small-town market · Wisconsin

Gyms in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area

How the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for gyms: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #278 of 506 scored small-town markets
#9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin

Listings
31
14 chain locations (45%)
Official establishments
12
All fitness and recreational sports centers
Household spending a year
$31.4M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $899 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.9
17% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
86,505
+0.3% since 2020

See the gyms around any address in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 31 gyms in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area. 14 of them (45%) are chain locations, against 28% across the U.S. That is 8.9 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 7.6.

Households in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area spend about $31.4M a year on memberships, classes and admissions, or $899 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That is about $1M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 22% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area classed as fitness and recreational sports centers. That is one for every 2,906 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.

Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Watertown-Fort Atkinson area scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #278 of 506 scored small-town markets and #9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin.

How the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureWatertown-Fort Atkinson areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.97.47.6
Spending per listing$1M$1.2M$1.3M
Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers)2,9062,9663,109
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.1%+5.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.3%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$899$921$983
Median household income$83,750$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score4841

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12All fitness and recreational sports centers
Employees, 2023
111
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
3114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area

Population, 2025 estimate
86,505+0.3% since 2020
Households
34,873
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
557 sq. mi.
People per square mile
155
Median household income
$83,750+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,082
Median home value
$274,100
Jobs located here
34,853
Daytime population
76,557Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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The highest-scoring small-town markets in Wisconsin for gyms, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area marked.

Top small-town markets in Wisconsin

Small-town markets in Wisconsin ranked for gyms by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Manitowoc, WI74195.4$1.4M+0.4%#30 of 506
2Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI67368.4$1.2M+0.8%#72 of 506
3Marinette, WI-MI64144.8$1.5M+0.3%#99 of 506
4Beaver Dam, WI64236.4$1.3M−0.3%#103 of 506
5Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI62175.3$1.5M−0.2%#121 of 506
6Shawano, WI60126.4$1.2M+1.4%#148 of 506
7Platteville, WI51157.5$1M+0.9%#245 of 506
8Baraboo, WI50258.9$985K+1.3%#254 of 506
9Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI48318.9$1M+0.3%#278 of 506
10Sparta, WI472212.0$655K+0.6%#292 of 506

Other business types in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area

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

Questions

How many gyms are in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area?

The Watertown-Fort Atkinson area has 31 gyms on map listings as of September 2026. 14 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count gyms and fitness centers. Official counts show 12 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $31.4M a year, or $899 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1M per gym. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms. It is estimated from the incomes of the 34,873 households in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area compare with the U.S. for gyms?

The Watertown-Fort Atkinson area has 8.9 gyms per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of gyms to household spending, the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area would have about 24, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,906 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.

How fast is the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area growing?

Population estimates put the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area at 86,505 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 34,873 households. The median household income in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area is $83,750 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.3% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area scores 48 for gyms (lower middle), #278 of 506 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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.