Contrary to its name, LA Fitness has health clubs all around the U.S. and offers some of the best-priced gym memberships around. With the fitness industry booming and gym attendance increasing, we thought it’d be appropriate to list some LA Fitness statistics.
- LA Fitness is the leading health club in the U.S., reportedly generating $2.1 billion in 2019.
- In 2016, LA Fitness reported they had more than 4.9 million members.
- The U.S. fitness industry revenue was $33.25 billion in 2021.
- In February 2023, there were a total of 544 LA Fitness locations in the United States.
- The average gym membership cost at LA Fitness is between $30 and $50.
LA Fitness Gym Statistics
- By the end of 2016, LA Fitness gym owners reported 4.9 million members across the U.S.
- The first LA Fitness opened its doors in 1984 in Los Angeles.
- The first international LA Fitness club opened in Canada in 2007.
- By 2000, there were only 38 LA Fitness locations in the U.S.
- It’s estimated that there are more than 540 LA Fitness clubs open now.
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If you were unaware, LA Fitness has become the leader in fitness clubs and has the highest revenue when looking at the fitness market. LA Fitness has a lot to offer, making it an incredibly viable option for most potential gym-goers.
Reports indicate that people are very happy with the gym membership costs, the equipment, and the attitude of the staff. Thus, retaining members has become a lot easier for LA Fitness.
With membership retention higher than most gyms, LA Fitness has more money to invest in better advertising, better locations, and better equipment — which starts the whole process all over again.
Going International
Going viral seems pretty normal in today’s age. But going international as a company was pretty impressive 20-odd years ago. It still is today.
LA Fitness went international for the first time in 2007 when it opened a branch in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. Just 3 years later, a total of 325 locations were already in business worldwide.
To date, the upward trend is still present with all their fitness clubs worldwide, and gym usage statistics back this. Despite this, more people than ever are making use of online fitness clubs and memberships, making membership retention a lot harder than it’s ever been.
Why? Well, the average gym member realized during COVID that there are a lot of online fitness facilities to use. And with simple workout equipment at home, they can still lose weight, build muscle, and remain healthy.
LA Fitness Finances
- LA Fitness has an average revenue of $2.1B annually.
- The franchise’s revenue per employee ratio is $156,868, which is slightly lower than other professional services.
- You can expect to pay $30 – $50 per month for a membership at LA Fitness.
- It’s unclear just how much money LA Fitness lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the US gym market lost 58% of revenue in 2020.
- After the pandemic, 59% of gym members in the U.S. quit.
LA Fitness Is Making Coin
While many smaller gyms struggle a lot when opening their doors, LA Fitness clubs outshine their competition with clean health clubs and a great gym environment.
LA Fitness reports a $2.1B average annual revenue, which is still increasing. LA Fitness clubs also aren’t as expensive as more niche health and fitness clubs, making them a good choice for most gym members.
Combating the rise of online fitness clubs and young adults opting to exercise outside instead is the biggest obstacle that LA Fitness faces moving forward.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Health & Fitness Industry
LA Fitness couldn’t escape the catastrophe that was COVID-19. The pandemic had a massive impact on every single aspect of the fitness market. They also found themselves in hot water when they were sued by a member when gyms closed in 2020.
Later in 2021, LA Fitness ended up suing 11 insurers for $500 million after 1,200 employees contracted COVID-19. In a press release, an LA Fitness representative had the following to say,
“The coronavirus has and continues to physically alter and transform these surfaces into virus-spreading fomites,” Fitness International’s complaint said, which added that “no amount of routine surface cleaning could remove the aerosolized coronavirus suspended in the air in Fitness’s health clubs.”
General Fitness Industry Statistics
- The annual income of the average gym member is around $150,000.
- Most members quit the gym within the first 6 months of signing on.
- North Americans spend the most on gyms in the world, as the North American health and fitness industry reported more income than anyone else — $37.98 billion in revenue in 2019.
- The USA also had the most health clubs in the world, with 41,190 locations.
Despite the Benefits, Gym Members Quit For Odd Reasons
Health and fitness are on the rise, partly thanks to its representation on social media and partly thanks to modern science showing us just how impactful training can be on human health.
Despite this, gym memberships don’t always last. Most members quit within the first 6 months of becoming a gym member. The reasons why they quit are sometimes peculiar, including not liking the location, lacking confidence, or finding other members intimidating.
Gyms have to adapt to this and create new rules, ‘safe spaces,’ and more classes for members to use. This increases the cost of gym memberships even more, making it even more inaccessible to most people.
Americans Spend More Than Anyone Else On Fitness
It’s not uncommon for the U.S. to be at the top of many statistics. This includes how much people are willing to spend on ‘the active life.’ Americans spend over $6 billion more than those who spend the second most — Europe.
Despite this, American gyms often find themselves in debt and not able to create revenue. Perhaps this is due to taxes or because of high property fees, but the facts don’t lie. Somewhere, someone is making an awful lot of money from gyms and fitness centers.
There Are More Gyms In America Than Anywhere Else
Again, the United States has more gyms or health and fitness centers than any other country on the planet. If you add second and third place together, Brazil (29,525) and Mexico (12,871), you barely have more than the United States’ number of 41,190.
The reason for this is that the American health and fitness industry is a lot more focused on individual niches than anywhere else.
Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has a far better economy, and people want the things they like. They want gyms that offer the specific things they love to do, and they’re willing to pay the price financially and by driving further for specific exercise equipment.
We see this in CrossFit and powerlifting gyms popping up more regularly, but also in other forms of exercise like rock climbing and cycling.
The other reason is, of course, that the United States is a massive country spanning a vast area. This creates a lot of business opportunities for companies to expand and broaden their customer base. Thus, they need to open more branches as fast as possible to capitalize on all the markets they can.
LA Fitness Statistics FAQ
How Much Is LA Fitness’s Debt?
Many people will see debt as a bad thing, but when looking at it in terms of a business or entrepreneur, debt can be a lifesaver. In 2020, during the COVID-19 fiasco, LA Fitness managed to increase its debt to $1.7 billion to try to keep its gyms operational.
Gym attendance dropped dramatically, and they needed something to help them stay afloat. So the debt ended up saving them.
Who Owns LA Fitness Now?
Oftentimes, a company will exchange ownership throughout the years to ensure they stay relevant and revenue keeps increasing. This is quite common in the fitness club industry.
Currently, Louis Welch is President & co-CEO of Fitness International, LLC, according to the LA Fitness website.
How Much Do LA Fitness Owners Make?
Based on the data, it’d seem like LA Fitness owners don’t make a lot of money. According to Glassdoor.com, LA Fitness, business owners reported an annual income of only $34,136, which is 48% below the national average. However, this could be due to the high costs of rent, electricity, and other factors a gym owner has to cover.
