FITNESS MARKET TRENDS: Most Current Fitness Industry Statistics

Posted by Lawrence Fagan

We have recently seen an immense increase in profitability of the fitness industry. This also means that there is an attractive prospect in terms of jobs and businesses in the industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that the number of jobs within this industry is expected to increase by more than 23% over the next 10 years. The bureau also said that the number of jobs available under “fitness and recreational sports centers” even went up to 484,200 in 2010.

Economists justify this prediction by looking at how businesses and corporations are offering health club
memberships to their employees as incentives.[iii] Besides this, baby boomers are being encouraged to exercise regularly, so that they can stay healthy and fight the effects of aging. Let’s look at the current situation of fitness centers and jobs in the fitness industry:

Number of health clubs, gyms, and training studios

According to the annual surveys conducted by the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), there has been a significant increase in the number of health clubs, gyms, and other fitness centers. From the list found in the Yellow Pages, there are 30,500 fitness centers in the US as of January 2012. Back in 2005, this number was just around 26,830 and gradually increased over the years.

The number of people deciding to join a fitness center has also risen to a significant amount. According to the IHRSA statistics, the number of health club or gym memberships has increased from 41.3 million in 2005 to 50.2 million in 2012. The most current reports show number of people who have at least used a health club in 2012 increased those with memberships by 8 million in the same year. This means that as of January 2013, there are approximately 58.5 million Americans who are utilizing fitness center via membership or other type of status.

Number of personal trainers

With these statistics, it might be safe to say that there are attractive prospects for jobs in the fitness industry. The number of personal trainers has also risen incredibly over the past few years. According to the Labor Department, there were 231,500 personal trainers in America as of 2011. This is a 44% increase in the numbers from 2001. That’s why you find so many people who are trying to turn their passion for fitness into a successful career.

Economists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that occupations like fitness instructors and personal trainers are the driving force in the success of the fitness industry.  According to their calculations, the number of people in these occupations is expected to increase by 31.7% by 2020.

Profitability of fitness industry

The IHRSA also reported that the total revenue in the fitness industry reached $21.8 billion in 2012. This is a significant increase from the $20.3 billion made in 2010 by the industry.  Since 2008, health club memberships rose by 10%, while the number of non-member patrons also increased by 5%.  This particular number went up from 7.7 million patrons in 2008 to 8.3 in 2012.

The Physical Activity Council Topline Report revealed that over 60% of Americans regularly participate in fitness sports as of 2012. This is the fifth consecutive year in which these numbers have remained stable at 60% or more. This goes to show that the fitness trend is not going away soon in America and the fitness industry is only going to grow stronger each year. All in all, fitness is a profitable industry in the US and the numbers will only continue to rise.