Us Gym Traffic Stabilizes After Record-breaking 2025

Gym visits dipped very slightly in Q2 2026, marking the industry’s first year-over-year slowdown since the post-pandemic boom. But a June rebound hints at strong momentum heading into the second half of the year

It was always going to be tough to beat the record gym traffic operators saw last year, and new data shows that fitness facilities aren’t quite seeing the numbers 2025 brought. 

U.S. gyms and studios had one of their best years ever in 2025, with record fourth-quarter foot traffic, prolonging the post-pandemic fitness boom and the industry’s 19-quarter growth streak, a Health & Fitness Association (HFA) report showed.

Now, the HFA’s Fitness Industry Traffic (FIT) Tracker reflects a drop in visits for most gym categories in Q2 of this year, except boutique studios, which maintained strong performance.

After analyzing anonymized foot traffic data from more than 10,000 locations across the United States, the HFA report showed that U.S. commercial fitness facilities averaged 48,805 visits per location in the second quarter of 2026, down 0.5% from an all-time high in Q2 of 2025, marking the industry’s first year-over-year slowdown since the beginning of 2021.

High-value low-price (HVLP) gym operators saw a 0.2% drop in Q2 year over year, with mid-priced and luxury facilities declining 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively. Second-quarter performance appears to be favoring boutique studios, whose visits per location rose 2.5%.

Still, average visits per location through the first half of 2026 were up 1.5% compared to last year, with high-value low-price (HVLP) gyms seeing a 0.5% increase.

As we move into the summer, things could be looking up for all operators, the report found. Dips in April and May were countered by a June uptick, as visits increased month over month across all four facility segments, with HVLP gyms seeing the largest increase of 10% from May. Mid-priced facilities, luxury clubs and boutique studios also recorded gains.

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