Groundwork

Fitness and classes · Metro area · Alabama

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

How the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for martial arts and dance studios: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #73 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
26
3 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
17
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$66.2M
On memberships, classes and admissions · $626 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
26% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.5
49% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
281,850
+2.9% since 2020

See the martial arts and dance studios around any address in the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on memberships, classes and admissions in the Tuscaloosa metro area comes to about $66.2M a year: $626 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each studio on map listings, 26% above the U.S. figure of $2M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only martial arts and dance studios.

There are 26 martial arts and dance studios on map listings in the Tuscaloosa metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 12%, against 7% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.5, 49% 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 Tuscaloosa metro area was 17 in 2023. That is one for every 6,217 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Tuscaloosa metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For martial arts and dance studios, the Tuscaloosa metro area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #73 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureTuscaloosa metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.53.54.9
Spending per listing$2.5M$1.9M$2M
Households per official establishment6,2175,6423,473
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.6%+11.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$626$656$983
Median household income$61,517$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score6351

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
17
Employees, 2023
176
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
263 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
33The 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 sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
281,850+2.9% since 2020
Households
105,683
Median age
36.6
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,493 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$61,517+22.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,019
Median home value
$230,700
Jobs located here
106,684
Daytime population
281,020Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa, AL metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 26 martial arts and dance studios in the Tuscaloosa metro area. 3 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in 2023.

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

About $66.2M a year, or $626 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 martial arts and dance studios on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 105,683 households in the Tuscaloosa metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Tuscaloosa metro area has 2.5 martial arts and dance studios per 10,000 households, 49% below the U.S. rate of 4.9. Spending per studio is $2.5M, 26% above the U.S. figure of $2M. At the U.S. ratio of martial arts and dance studios to household spending, the Tuscaloosa metro area would have about 33, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,217 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S.

How fast is the Tuscaloosa, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Tuscaloosa metro area at 281,850 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 105,683 households. The median household income in the Tuscaloosa metro area is $61,517 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.0% 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. 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 Tuscaloosa metro area scores 63 for martial arts and dance studios (upper middle), #73 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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa 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.