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Fitness Club Revenue Statistics: U.S. and Global Benchmarks

Explore U.S. fitness center revenue series, operator margins, and global health club market benchmarks across reported years.

November 12, 2026 9 min read fitnessbodyequipment.com Editorial Team

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Fitness club revenue statistics: U.S. industry revenue over time

U.S. industry revenue figures depend on the statistical series being used. The Census Bureau’s Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), presented by FRED, reports revenue for all establishments in fitness and recreational sports centers in thousands of U.S. dollars. Its annual observations show a rise across the five years provided: $23,746,445 thousand in 2020, $29,445,860 thousand in 2021, $36,042,321 thousand in 2022, $39,644,984 thousand in 2023, and $43,559,523 thousand in 2024. These are not seasonally adjusted annual figures. The final observation is a 2024 measure, not a current-year estimate. Source: FRED, Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers, All Establishments: Revenue

YearAIES revenue (thousands of U.S. dollars)
202023,746,445
202129,445,860
202236,042,321
202339,644,984
202443,559,523

A separate FRED table reports Service Annual Survey revenue for all establishments that are employer firms, in millions of dollars. The supplied historical observations are $10,797 million in 1998, $21,842 million in 2009, and $35,947 million in 2019. The same table then records $25,057 million in 2020, $31,333 million in 2021, and $38,684 million in 2022. This series provides a longer historical reference point and a consistent set of units within its own reported years. Source: FRED, Total Revenue for Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers, All Establishments, Employer Firms

YearService Annual Survey revenue (millions of dollars)
199810,797
200921,842
201935,947
202025,057
202131,333
202238,684

The two tables describe related U.S. industry activity, but their survey sources, populations, and units differ. The Service Annual Survey series is explicitly for employer firms; the AIES series is described as covering all establishments. Even in overlapping years, the reported values should be read within their own series rather than stitched into a single time line. The 2020 Service Annual Survey observation is lower than its 2019 value, while the AIES observations rise from 2020 through 2024; that contrast reflects what each series reports and is not, by itself, evidence of a particular cause. Sources: FRED AIES series; FRED Service Annual Survey table

Fitness club revenue statistics: revenue by federal income tax status

The Service Annual Survey tables also separate revenue for employer-firm establishments subject to federal income tax from establishments exempt from federal income tax. These are revenue totals for the specified tax-status groups, in millions of dollars. In the taxable group, reported revenue was $8,412 million in 1998, $16,339 million in 2009, $28,415 million in 2019, $19,321 million in 2020, $24,796 million in 2021, and $31,051 million in 2022. Source: FRED, Total Revenue for Establishments Subject to Federal Income Tax

YearTaxable establishments (millions of dollars)
19988,412
200916,339
201928,415
202019,321
202124,796
202231,051

The tax-exempt employer-firm series reports $2,385 million in 1998 and $5,503 million in 2009. Its later observations are $7,532 million in 2019, $5,736 million in 2020, $6,537 million in 2021, and $7,633 million in 2022. Keeping the two categories distinct makes the scope of each figure clear: the labels refer to federal income tax status, not to a comparison of club formats, ownership structures, or service offerings. Source: FRED, Total Revenue for Establishments Exempt from Federal Income Tax

YearTax-exempt establishments (millions of dollars)
19982,385
20095,503
20197,532
20205,736
20216,537
20227,633

Both tax-status tables are annual Service Annual Survey measures for employer firms. In each, the supplied 2020 value is below the 2019 value, followed by higher reported figures in 2021 and 2022. These observations show the path in the reported series, but do not identify why revenue changed or characterize individual facilities. They also should not be treated as a full census of every type of fitness operation outside the tables’ stated employer-firm scope. Sources: FRED taxable-establishment table; FRED tax-exempt-establishment table

Fitness club revenue statistics: operator revenue growth and margins

Industry totals and operator benchmarks answer different questions. The Health & Fitness Association (HFA) benchmarking results describe surveyed companies, rather than estimating total market revenue. In its report on 2024 performance, reporting operators posted median revenue growth of 9.9% and a median EBITDA margin of 23.6%. The release says the benchmarking data came from 175 companies representing more than 17,000 fitness facilities. The report methodology states that responses were collected from April through June 2025; the performance period for these results is 2024. Source: HFA, 2025 Fitness Industry Benchmarking Report release

The report’s global sample encompassed 175 companies, more than 17,000 fitness facilities, and 27 countries. Within it, 114 U.S. respondents represented over 8,000 locations. Those counts describe the survey’s coverage, not the number of all companies or locations in the fitness sector. Source: HFA, 2025 Fitness Industry Benchmarking Report

A later HFA global operator snapshot reports calendar-year 2025 results compared with 2024. Across responding operators, median revenue increased 10.7%. Growth was reported across three annual revenue bands, with median gains ranging from 10.6% to 12.5%. The snapshot positions these as respondent benchmarks, not total-market estimates. Source: HFA, 2026 Global Report Operator Snapshot

The same snapshot reports median EBITDA margin of 22.1% and median pre-tax earnings margin of 12.0% among respondents for 2025. Recurring membership revenue represented an average of 76.2% of revenue. These measures describe different things: revenue growth compares revenue across periods, margins express earnings relative to revenue, and the membership figure is an average share of revenue. Source: HFA, 2026 Global Report Operator Snapshot

HFA respondent benchmarkPeriod and scopeReported result
Median revenue growth2024 performance; benchmarking respondents9.9%
Median EBITDA margin2024 performance; benchmarking respondents23.6%
Median revenue growth2025 compared with 2024; global operators10.7%
Median EBITDA margin2025; global respondents22.1%
Median pre-tax earnings margin2025; global respondents12.0%
Average recurring membership share of revenue2025; global respondents76.2%

HFA also identifies a high-profit cohort of 55 operators, defined as the top half of respondents ranked by EBITDA as a percentage of revenue. For 2025 results, this group’s median revenue growth was 12.7% and its median EBITDA margin was 31.0%. Its median payroll ratio was 32.4% of revenue, compared with 36.4% among all respondents. The cohort definition matters: the figures apply to this selected group and should not be generalized to every operator. Source: HFA, 2026 Global Report Operator Snapshot

The scale comparison in the snapshot reports median revenue growth of 12.2% for multi-site operators and 8.6% for single-site businesses in 2025 compared with 2024. Median payroll ratios were 35.5% of revenue for multi-site operators and 39.2% for single-site operators. These are subgroup medians; the figures show how the responding groups were reported, without establishing that site count caused the differences. Source: HFA, 2026 Global Report Operator Snapshot

Fitness club revenue statistics: global health club market revenue

A 2020 IHRSA Global Report release gives a historical worldwide market total: health club industry revenue totaled US$96.7 billion in 2019. The same report’s market context names the United States as the largest market by revenue, at US$35 billion in 2019. Germany and the U.K. were tied for second in industry revenue, each generating roughly US$6.2 billion that year. These are 2019 market figures reported in 2020, not present-day totals. Source: HFA/IHRSA, The 2020 IHRSA Global Report

The report states that the top 10 global markets generated 73% of worldwide industry revenue. This concentration figure belongs to the report’s 2019 market context. It complements the country-level amounts by indicating that revenue was concentrated among leading markets, while leaving the revenue generated by other markets outside the top 10 in the remaining share. Source: HFA/IHRSA, The 2020 IHRSA Global Report

A separate HFA release summarizing its 2025 Global Fitness Industry Report says global commercial fitness industry revenue increased an average of 8% in 2024. The release also says 91% of surveyed global fitness operators expected revenue gains in 2025. The 8% figure describes reported revenue growth during 2024; the 91% figure is an expectation for 2025, not a measured outcome. They therefore should not be presented as equivalent actual-revenue observations. Source: HFA, 2025 Global Fitness Industry Report

Taken together, the 2019 market total and the later 2024 growth report provide distinct historical reference points, but they do not create a continuous global revenue series. The sources describe different reporting years and forms of evidence: one gives a market total for 2019, while the later release reports average growth for 2024 and operator expectations for 2025. Sources: HFA/IHRSA, 2020 Global Report release; HFA, 2025 Global Fitness Industry Report

Fitness club revenue statistics: revenue growth by club model and scale

An earlier IHRSA Industry Data Survey offers a comparison by club model. Among leading clubs, overall revenue growth was 4.3% from 2017 to 2018. Clubs that were part of a chain reported 7.1% growth, while independent clubs reported 3% growth for the same period. The survey covered 98 club companies representing 10,859 locations. The results are historical subgroup benchmarks for participating leading clubs, not a current growth rate for all fitness businesses. Source: HFA/IHRSA, 2019 Profiles of Success

Participating club groupRevenue growth, 2017 to 2018
Leading clubs overall4.3%
Chain clubs7.1%
Independent clubs3%

The later global operator snapshot also separates results by scale. For 2025 compared with 2024, multi-site operators reported median revenue growth of 12.2%, compared with 8.6% among single-site businesses. The snapshot reports median payroll ratios of 35.5% and 39.2% of revenue for those groups, respectively. These results concern participating global operators and are distinct from the 2017–2018 leading-club survey. Differences in survey population and period mean the two comparisons should remain separate when assessing how club model and scale relate to reported revenue growth. Source: HFA, 2026 Global Report Operator Snapshot

Sources

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