Record Visitation in 2025 Caps Another Strong Year for the US Fitness Industry

Commercial fitness facilities mark 19 consecutive quarters of annual visitation growth.

During 2025, the Health & Fitness Association released nine research reports, the last of which showed that US commercial fitness facilities closed out 2025 with record visitation and sustained year-over-year growth. The final report of the quarterly Fitness Industry Traffic (FIT) Tracker for the year showed that, on average, gyms and studios recorded more than 184,000 visits per location in 2025, an increase of 4.2% from 2024 and roughly in line with the industry’s pre-pandemic peak.

That momentum was evident across much of the industry. High-volume, low-price (HVLP) gyms continued to lead overall foot-traffic growth, with visits per location rising 4.5% year-over-year to nearly 368,000. Mid-priced and boutique facilities also posted solid gains, while average visitation at luxury facilities declined modestly, down 2% from 2024.

Growth persisted through the end of the year despite familiar seasonal headwinds. The fourth quarter delivered a 3.4% increase in average visits per location compared with the same quarter the previous year, extending the industry’s expansion to a 19th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Gym and studio average visits per location in 2025

2025 Average Visitation per Location

Metric	Total Industry	HVLP	Mid-Priced	Luxury	Boutique
Visits/Location	184,043	367,747	149,077	606,153	43,348
YoY Visits/Location	4.2%	4.5%	2.8%	-2.0%	1.8%
Visits/Visitor/Month	3.8	3.9	3.9	5.1	2.5
YoY Visits/Visitor/Month	1.1%	1.3%	0.5%	2.5%	0.2%
Dwell Time (mins)	66	68	67	86	62

Quarterly Visits per Location, Change Year-Over-Year (2021-2025)*

*Total industry visitation in Q2 2021 was +285% year-over-year.

At the same time, longer-term trends suggest a shift in how visitation is distributed throughout the year. Compared with pre-pandemic patterns, seasonal swings in fitness facility usage have become less pronounced, particularly among HVLP and mid-priced gyms. While the first quarter still benefits from New Year-driven participation, indexed visitation data show that the second, third, and fourth quarters have consistently outperformed the first quarter relative to pre-pandemic norms since 2021. The pattern points to a softer post-first-quarter drop-off, with consumers more likely to maintain gym usage later into the year.

Quarterly Visits per Location Index* (2020-2025)

*An index value of 100 represents average foot traffic over the same quarter in 2019.

Beyond overall visit counts, the data point to strengthening engagement among fitness consumers with the average number of monthly visits per visitor increasing 1.1%. Although all four facility segments recorded year-over-year gains in visit frequency, it was most pronounced among luxury facilities, where visits per visitor rose 2.5%.

The strong visitation results in 2025 align with broader consumer sentiment heading into the new year. Separate research from HFA shows that Americans plan to spend an estimated $60 billion on health and fitness in 2026. Many Americans indicate that fitness-related expenses remain a priority within household budgets.

Taken together, the full-year and fourth-quarter FIT Tracker data suggest the fitness industry is entering 2026 with solid momentum. Continued growth in visitation and engagement indicates that fitness facilities remain a central part of how Americans pursue health and wellness.

HFA’s FIT Tracker is based on anonymized foot-traffic data from nearly 11,000 US fitness facilities, analyzed in partnership with Sports Marketing Surveys USA (a Buffalo Groupe company) and powered by Placer.ai.

The report covering fourth quarter and full-year 2025 provides detailed insights into visitation trends by facility segment, region, and consumer demographics and is available free to HFA members and for purchase by non-members here.

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Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading health and fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues, and news that impact the industry.

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