American fitness facilities are seeing gains in overall visits and visit frequency, according to new data from the industry’s top trade association
Fitness facility foot traffic is up 3.5% in the United States in the first half of 2025, continuing a trend of strong momentum post-pandemic, according to new data released by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA).
HFA, the top trade association for the American fitness industry, shared data from its new Fitness Industry Traffic (FIT) Tracker, which tracked anonymized foot traffic data from nearly 11,000 commercial facilities across the U.S.
In the first half of 2025, average visits per location across all industry segments were up 3.5% compared to the same period in 2024, per HFA. High-value, low-price (HVLP) gyms and mid-priced gyms saw the largest year-over-year increases, of 3.8% and 3.7%, respectively.
Additionally, average visit frequency (the number of times someone visited per month) was up 1.4% year-over-year across all segments, suggesting that American fitness enthusiasts are slightly more engaged than they were in 2024.
“The increase in both overall visits and visit frequency once again highlights the critical role that fitness facilities play in helping people stay active and engaged in their health,” said HFA president and CEO Liz Clark. “As more consumers make structured exercise a consistent part of their lifestyle, this data gives our industry valuable insight into how, where, and how often people are showing up.”
Diving a bit deeper into the numbers shows the extent to which HVLP clubs are flourishing in the post-pandemic era amid Gen Z’s love for low-priced fitness. According to HFA’s data, HVLP locations averaged nearly 193,000 visits per location in the first half of 2025, which is the segment’s best-ever start to a year in this metric.
Mid-priced gyms, which tend to occupy slightly smaller physical spaces than HVLP locations, averaged around 77,000 visits per location.
Luxury clubs continue to dominate in terms of overall foot traffic with around 315,000 visits per location, although it’s worth noting that number is down 0.9% from last year (luxury club members tend to be highly engaged, however). Visits per location at boutique fitness studios are up 0.8% from the first half of 2024.
The new data is the latest bit of good news for the American fitness industry, which has recovered strongly from COVID lockdowns a few years ago. In 2024, a record 77 million Americans were members of a fitness facility, according to HFA, representing around 25% of the entire U.S. population.
“The latest foot traffic data confirms that the U.S. fitness industry continues to build on the strong momentum of recent years,” HFA vice president of research Anton Severin told Athletech News.
“The takeaway is clear: more Americans are making fitness a regular part of their lives, both inside and outside traditional membership models,” Severin added.
For a deeper breakdown of the data and to see HFA’s Fitness Industry Traffic Tracker report in full, click here.
