Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Alabama

Martial arts and dance studios in the Birmingham, AL metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for martial arts and dance studios in the Birmingham, AL metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #237 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
170
17 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
108
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$342.5M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $736 a household
Spending per listing
$2M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.7
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,197,766
+1.4% since 2020

See the martial arts and dance studios around any address in the Birmingham metro area

The site report maps the martial arts and dance studios 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 Birmingham 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

At $736 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in the Birmingham metro area spend about $342.5M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $2M per studio, in line with the U.S. figure of $2M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only martial arts and dance studios.

There are 170 martial arts and dance studios on map listings in the Birmingham metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 7% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.7, 24% below the U.S. rate of 4.9.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Birmingham metro area was 108 in 2023. That is one for every 4,306 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $3.4M have gone to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Birmingham metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Birmingham metro area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For martial arts and dance studios, the Birmingham metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #237 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.

How the Birmingham metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all memberships, classes and admissions by the martial arts and dance studios counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Martial arts and dance studios in Birmingham, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureBirmingham metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.73.54.9
Spending per listing$2M$1.9M$2M
Households per official establishment4,3065,6423,473
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.6%+11.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$736$656$983
Median household income$71,498$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4651

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
108
Employees, 2023
798
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
17017 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
170The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$3.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Birmingham 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.

Population and households in the Birmingham metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,197,766+1.4% since 2020
Households
465,003
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,280 sq. mi.
People per square mile
224
Median household income
$71,498
Average household income
$100,521
Median home value
$240,200
Jobs located here
555,318
Daytime population
1,227,371Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Birmingham 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 martial arts and dance studios on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Birmingham metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Martial arts and dance studios across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for martial arts and dance studios, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Birmingham metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for martial arts and dance studios by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Tuscaloosa, AL63262.5$2.5M+2.9%#73 of 387
2Auburn-Opelika, AL63202.6$2.5M+7.1%#74 of 387
3Decatur, AL60121.9$3.5M+2.5%#92 of 387
4Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL57203.1$1.9M+3.5%#122 of 387
5Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL49515.2$1.5M+14.8%#207 of 387
6Birmingham, AL461703.7$2M+1.4%#237 of 387
7Huntsville, AL421195.8$1.5M+12.5%#270 of 387
8Montgomery, AL39573.8$1.7M+0.9%#295 of 387
Columbus, GA-AL38423.3$1.8M−1.3%#300 of 387
9Gadsden, AL37102.5$2.1M+0.4%#309 of 387

Other business types in the Birmingham metro area

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

Questions

How many martial arts and dance studios are in the Birmingham, AL metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 170 martial arts and dance studios in the Birmingham metro area. 17 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 108 businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in 2023.

How much do households in the Birmingham, AL metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $342.5M a year, or $736 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 170 martial arts and dance studios on map listings, it comes to $2M per studio. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which martial arts and dance studios share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 465,003 households in the Birmingham metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Birmingham, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for martial arts and dance studios?

The Birmingham metro area has 3.7 martial arts and dance studios per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 4.9. Spending per studio is $2M, in line with the U.S. figure of $2M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of martial arts and dance studios to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,306 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S.

How fast is the Birmingham, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Birmingham metro area at 1,197,766 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 465,003 households. The median household income in the Birmingham metro area is $71,498 a year, 11% 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 Birmingham metro area scores 46 for martial arts and dance studios (lower middle), #237 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 Birmingham metro area. It maps the martial arts and dance studios 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 martial arts and dance studios · All 56 business types in the Birmingham metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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.