1 in 5 Americans Belonged to a Health Club in 2019, IHRSA Reports

Slightly more than one in five Americans—64.2 million consumers—belonged to a health club in 2019, according to new data released by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and Physical Activity Council (PAC).

2019 marked the fifth consecutive year of growth for American health club memberships as well as a 28 percent total increase since 2010.

“A decade of growth attests to the critical role health clubs play in meeting the physical activity and wellness needs of consumers,” IHRSA President Joe Moore said in a media release. “As we anticipate strong membership numbers in other key markets, continued member growth in the U.S. shows promise for the industry’s goal of reaching 230 million members worldwide by 2030.”

Approximately 24 percent of Americans visited at least one club during 2019, according to IHRSA. Meanwhile, total club visits among members and non-members has grown from 4.7 billion in 2010 to 6.7 billion in 2019.

IHRSA's data is based on an online survey of 18,000 Americans and will be fully published later this year via its annual Global Report. A summary of last year's report can be viewed here.

“Health club goers have come to rely on their health and fitness facilities to engage in regular exercise as average attendance reached an all-time high of 109 visits among members in 2019,” Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products, said in the release. “Results from the PAC highlight how important fitness is to the public as more than two-thirds of Americans (67.3 percent) engage in fitness-related activities, including cardio, resistance training and group-based exercise.”

Three million more Americans began exercising in 2019, according to a recent report by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). This report also highlighted the relationship between household income and exercise; households earning less than $50,000 per year are much less active than households earning more than $50,000.

For more coverage of recent fitness-related studies, click here.