Gym Usage and Attendance Statistics: Insights and Trends

Just a few short decades ago, gym memberships were reserved for only the most committed exercise enthusiasts: the professional athletes, bodybuilders and fitness fanatics whose entire lives revolved around the gym.

But as health and wellness awareness has increased, so too has the popularity of gyms, particularly in the Western world. These days there’s no archetypal ‘gym member’, because fitness enthusiasts come in all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities.

And these facts are backed up by the numbers, in the form of gym membership statistics.

In this article we’ll zoom in on some key gym statistics in 2024 - gym usage, gym attendance, member retention, economic impact and more - to understand the current health of the industry around the world, and to gain insight into where things might be headed, for gym owners who want to get ahead of the curve.

Key Statistics on Gym Membership

The fitness industry has been growing quickly for a long time. How quickly? Well, between 2008 and 2018, the number of gym memberships grew by 37.1%. By 2019, global industry revenue totaled US$96.7 billion worldwide, which then grew to $124.7 billion by 2024.

The best bit? This growth shows no sign of slowing. In fact, it’s expected to only increase. Total industry revenue is expected to reach $302 billion by 2034, powered by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% over the course of the next decade.

In short, the gym business is a good business to be in.

Other key gym membership stats:

• The global fitness app market is expected to grow even faster than the fitness industry, with a projected CAGR of 14.08% from 2024 to 2030.
• Anytime Fitness is the world’s largest gym franchise, with over 5000 locations.
• In 2019 boutique fitness memberships grew to 43% of health club revenue (a trend that has only continued in the five years since).

Global Gym Membership Trends

In 2020, 2.36% of the world’s population were gym members, which doesn’t sound particularly large. But the numbers grow significantly when we zoom in on the Western world, which can offer a glimpse of what the future might hold for the developing world.

Top countries by percentage of the population who are gym members:

• Sweden: 22%
• Norway: 22%
• USA: 21.2%
• Denmark: 18.9%
• Netherlands: 17.4%

On the flipside, India has the lowest gym membership rate of countries analyzed: just 0.15%. India’s huge population means that it is still home to 2.1 million gym goers, however, and if it managed to achieve a penetration rate of 10%, to choose an arbitrary but achievable number, it would have an incredible 145 million gym members.

Speaking of which, the top countries by total number of gym members:

• USA: 64.19 million
• Germany: 11.66 million
• UK: 10.39 million
• Brazil: 10.33 million
• France: 6.19 million

And the top countries by gym industry revenue:

• USA: $35.03 billion
• Germany: $6.17 billion
• UK: $6.17 billion
• China: $3.94 billion
• Japan: $3.94 billion

Gym Attendance Patterns

How often do people go to the gym? When do they go? Let’s look at some gym usage statistics to find out.

38% of US members prefer to attend the gym in the early morning, between 5am and 9am. On the flipside, only about 20% of gym members regularly attend their gym between 2pm and 5pm.

In terms of how regularly gym members attend:

• 21% attend daily or almost daily.
• 38% gym at least twice per week.
• 15% attend once a week.
• 18% never attend.
• (The remaining 8% did not provide an answer.)

In terms of seasonal fluctuations, there are two times of year that the fitness industry has long identified as peak periods:

• January: ‘Exercise more’ is the most popular New Year’s resolution, which leads to more gym memberships being sold in January than any other month.
• Spring: Attendance tends to be higher as people prepare their bodies for summer.

Factors Influencing Gym Attendance

Two factors play an outsized role in gym attendance:

• Time: A global survey found that while 58% of people would like to work out more, 37% say they don’t have the time.
• Money: Gym membership costs are the other major factor in gym attendance. Lack of money for membership fees is one of the most frequently reported barriers to physical activity (40.3%). 35% of Brits, for example, quit the gym due to cost of living pressures.

Gym Membership Retention Rates

A lot of gyms have a member retention problem. On top of the 18% of gym members who never go to the gym, half of all new members quit within the first six months.

Interestingly, group exercise can have a positive effect on member retention, as it helps to foster a sense of community within the gym. Members who visit the gym just three or four times per month to do classes are 20% more likely to be loyal members than those who go three times per week but only do solo exercise on the gym floor during those gym visits.

In the US the average gym membership length is 4.7 years, although there seems to have been a trend toward earlier membership cancellation in recent years.

Strategies to Improve Retention

How do you improve member retention at your gym? Effective retention strategies include:

• Classes and group exercise: As mentioned above, classes can significantly improve member retention at your gym by fostering a sense of community.
• Community-building events: Another community-focused retention strategy is to host regular events that help your members connect: fitness challenges, charity runs, social mixers and more. This community focus is why boutique gyms account for almost half of all health club revenue.
• Member rewards program: Loyalty programs see members earn points or prizes for attending your gym, referring friends or completing challenges.
• Flexible membership options: It might sound counterintuitive, but flexible memberships - month-to-month plans, seasonal passes - can help attract and retain more members, because they feel more in control than with a traditional gym membership that locks them in.
• Personalized fitness plans: Use gym management software to understand the fitness motivations and goals of every member, then design custom workout and nutrition plans to get them using their membership, and to encourage long-term commitment.

Economic Impact of Gyms

As mentioned at the top, the global fitness industry is expected to generate $124.7 billion in 2024, and over $300 billion by 2034.

But the economic contributions of the fitness industry extend far beyond the revenue that it generates. In Australia, for example, the health and fitness sector had a direct GDP contribution of AUS$1.52 billion (US$1.1 billion) and an indirect contribution of a further $2.49 billion (US$1.8 billion) from its supply chain. Then there are the knock-on health effects - inactivity costs the Australian healthcare system $2 billion per year, but that number would likely be far higher if not for gyms.

There are currently estimated to be a total of 184 million gym members globally. Then there are the workers - in the US alone, the fitness industry employs almost three-quarters of a million people, a figure that has grown 24% in the last decade.

Ultimately the global gym industry is big, and only getting bigger. If you’re looking to establish or expand your own gym business, there’s no time like the present.