Fitness and classes · Metro area · Wisconsin
Gyms in the Wausau, WI metro area
How the Wausau, WI 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #56 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 36
- 11 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Household spending a year
- $51.1M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $884 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.4M
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.2
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 139,432
- +1.0% since 2020
See the gyms around any address in the Wausau 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 Wausau metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $884 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in the Wausau metro area spend about $51.1M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each gym on map listings, 9% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only gyms.
There are 36 gyms on map listings in the Wausau metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 31% of them, against 28% across the U.S. That comes to 6.2 for every 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 7.6.
Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Wausau metro area in 2023. That is one for every 5,261 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $158K has gone to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Wausau metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Wausau metro area grew 1.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Wausau metro area scores 67 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for gyms, ranking #56 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Wausau metro 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.
| Measure | Wausau metro area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.2 | 7.4 | 7.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.4M | $1.2M | $1.3M |
| Households per official establishment (all fitness and recreational sports centers) | 5,261 | 2,966 | 3,109 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.1% | +5.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.0% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $884 | $921 | $983 |
| Median household income | $77,884 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11All fitness and recreational sports centers
- Employees, 2023
- 350
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3611 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 39The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $158K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as fitness and recreational sports centers in the Wausau 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 Wausau metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 139,432+1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 57,866
- Median age
- 42.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,545 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 90
- Median household income
- $77,884
- Average household income
- $97,899
- Median home value
- $219,600
- Jobs located here
- 72,449
- Daytime population
- 141,458Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Wausau 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 Wausau metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGyms across Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Wisconsin for gyms, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Wausau metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wausau, WI | 67 | 36 | 6.2 | $1.4M | +1.0% | #56 of 387 |
| 2Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 64 | 43 | 5.3 | $1.7M | +0.4% | #66 of 387 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 60 | 1,258 | 8.5 | $1.4M | +2.6% | #101 of 387 |
| 3Kenosha, WI | 59 | 49 | 7.1 | $1.3M | −0.4% | #108 of 387 |
| 4Sheboygan, WI | 58 | 28 | 5.6 | $1.5M | 0.0% | #116 of 387 |
| 5Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 57 | 40 | 5.5 | $1.6M | +1.4% | #122 of 387 |
| 6Janesville-Beloit, WI | 57 | 47 | 7.0 | $1.2M | +1.7% | #125 of 387 |
| 7Appleton, WI | 55 | 67 | 6.7 | $1.5M | +2.7% | #137 of 387 |
| 8Madison, WI | 54 | 253 | 8.4 | $1.3M | +4.1% | #149 of 387 |
| 9Green Bay, WI | 53 | 91 | 6.7 | $1.4M | +2.5% | #157 of 387 |
Other business types in the Wausau metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many gyms are in the Wausau, WI metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 36 gyms in the Wausau metro area. 11 of them (31%) 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. 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 Wausau, WI metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $51.1M a year, or $884 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 gyms on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 57,866 households in the Wausau metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Wausau, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for gyms?
The Wausau metro area has 6.2 gyms per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 7.6. Spending per gym is $1.4M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of gyms to household spending, the Wausau metro area would have about 39, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,261 households, against one for every 3,109 across the U.S.
How fast is the Wausau, WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Wausau metro area at 139,432 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 57,866 households. Median household income in the Wausau metro area is $77,884, 4% 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 Wausau metro area scores 67 for gyms (upper middle), #56 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 Wausau 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 Wausau metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wausau 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 Wausau 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.