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Fitness and classes · Metro area · District of Columbia

Martial arts and dance studios in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #110 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia

Listings
1,322
127 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
925
+2.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$3B
On memberships, classes and admissions · $1,252 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.6
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,465,724
+3.3% since 2020

See the martial arts and dance studios around any address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 $1,252 per household (27% above the U.S. average), households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area spend about $3B a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That works out to $2.2M per studio, 11% above the U.S. figure of $2M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only martial arts and dance studios.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 1,322 martial arts and dance studios on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 7% across the U.S. That is 5.6 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 4.9.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area was 925 in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,565 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 63 SBA-backed loans worth $25.7M have gone to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for martial arts and dance studios, ranking #110 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia.

How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area compares

The same measures for District of Columbia 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compared with District of Columbia and the U.S.
MeasureWashington-Arlington-Alexandria metro areaDistrict of ColumbiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.63.24.9
Spending per listing$2.2M$3.7M$2M
Households per official establishment2,5654,8433,473
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.8%−10.7%+11.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+3.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions$1,252$1,160$983
Median household income$126,684$109,870$80,734
Groundwork market score5883

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
925+2.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
8,036
Annual payroll, 2023
$189M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1,322127 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,473The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
63
Amount
$25.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
6,465,724+3.3% since 2020
Households
2,373,022
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
6,034 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,047
Median household income
$126,684
Average household income
$166,652
Median home value
$579,900
Jobs located here
3,140,160
Daytime population
6,505,668Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Other business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,322 martial arts and dance studios in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. 127 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 925 businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in 2023, up 2.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?

About $3B a year, or $1,252 per household. That is 27% above the U.S. average (an index of 127, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,322 martial arts and dance studios on map listings, it comes to $2.2M 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 2,373,022 households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compare with the U.S. for martial arts and dance studios?

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 5.6 martial arts and dance studios per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 4.9. Spending per studio is $2.2M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $2M. At the U.S. ratio of martial arts and dance studios to household spending, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area would have about 1,473, against 1,322 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,565 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area at 6,465,724 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,373,022 households. The median household income in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is $126,684 a year, 57% 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 58 for martial arts and dance studios (upper middle), #110 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.