The personal training industry has seen sustained high growth over the past few decades.

In 2021, the industry had a profit margin of 10.1% and profits of $1.3 billion, an annualized 1.7% increase from 2016.

The personal training industry’s market outlook continues to be positive going forward, with continued high demand for personal trainers who offer one-on-one and small-group fitness training to clients.

In this article, we will discuss the following personal training industry statistics:

• Personal training market size and industry growth
• Personal training industry trends, drivers, and demand
• Personal training businesses and companies
• Personal trainer income and employment
• Personal trainer job outlook

After reading this article, you will be familiar with the ins and outs of the personal training industry.

Let’s dive right into the personal training industry statistics and analysis.

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Want to become a personal trainer?

The increased interest in health and fitness is nonetheless present more now than it ever was.

Seeking a career as a personal trainer may be your best bet, especially if you have the innate passion to help others become the best versions of themselves.

Do you have to be certified to be a personal trainer?

To work as a personal trainer, it is absolutely most beneficial to be certified.

Good news.

There are many high-quality personal trainer certifications that you can explore and choose from, such as, but not limited to:

• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
• International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE)

These are all NCCA-accredited certification programs.

NCCA-accredited certifications are the most respected in the industry, as they demonstrate the trainers’ utmost competence and endurance of arduous training.

You can even view some of my comparison articles to see how each compares to one another:

• NASM vs. ISSA
• NASM vs. ACE
• NASM vs. ACSM
• NASM vs. NSCA

Before moving on, I’d like to share some study materials as well:

• NASM study guide
• NASM practice test
• ACE study guide
• ACE practice test

According to the most recent statistics, the personal training industry has seen a growth of more than 50% from $8.5 billion in revenue in 2012 to a forecast of $12.9 billion in 2021.

This marks an annualized 5.4% increase in industry revenue from 2016 to 2021 and a 2.2% growth in 2021 alone.

Industry growth is expected to continue its rising trend, forecast to increase at an annualized rate of 1.4% to reach a total of $13.8 billion in 2026.

Of all the exercise science careers, personal training has seen several trends emerge, surrounding consumer disposable income, new segments, new opportunities, leisure and sports, niche markets, and health consciousness.

New target markets for personal trainers are also surfacing, especially the youth and senior segments of the population.

Overall, they point to an increase in demand for personal trainers in the foreseeable future.

The personal training industry has several key external drivers, namely:

• Disposable income: The services provided by the personal trainers industry are considered discretionary by most consumers. Consequently, demand for industry services is linked to per capita disposable income.
• Leisure and sports: Time spent on leisure and sports includes time spent exercising with personal trainers.
• Age group: Adults between the ages of 20 and 64 represent the personal trainers industry’s largest market.
• Physical fitness: When more people become aware of the importance of maintaining physical fitness, demand for personal trainers increases.
• Health and wellness: The healthy eating index measures the degree to which the U.S. population is concerned with personal health and wellness.

There is a demand for personal trainers across all age groups.

Individuals aged 45 to 54 and individuals aged 35 to 44 make up the largest segments of 28.0% and 26.2% respectively.

Collectively, these individuals contribute 54.2% of industry revenue.

This is followed closely by individuals aged 55 and older contributing to 23.4% of the demand and individuals aged 18 to 34 contributing to 16.8% of the demand. Individuals under the age of 18 make up only 5.6% of the demand.

This can be accounted for by the respective levels of disposable income across age groups.

According to the industry association IDEA and the World Health Organization, the baby boomer generation holds more than 50.0% of the nation’s discretionary income and spends more of their income on health than any other item.

Not only can you make great money as a personal trainer, but you can help people adopt healthier lifestyles.

Knowing that people are spending all sorts of money on health, you may want to become a nutrition coach as well.

Out of all the nutrition certifications, I recommend the ISSA Nutritionist certification and the NASM CNC certification.

But compare the ISSA Nutritionist vs. NASM CNC certifications before making a choice.

You can expand your business, and gain more clientele, which will positively impact your overall personal trainer salary.

Although children and adolescents only account for 5.6% of the industry’s revenue at the moment, this figure has been on the rise due to the rising incidence of childhood obesity.

According to the CDC, childhood obesity has affected an estimated 18.5% of, or 13.7 million, children and teens, a figure that has nearly tripled over the past 30 years.

Public health programs, designed to raise awareness of the danger of childhood obesity, have caused the demand for personal training services to increase.

Overall, with the latest trends suggesting a rise in both senior and youth segments’ demand, it is likely that individuals aged 55 and older and individuals under the age of 18 will see an increase in their share of the pie in the near future.

Athletes are another common group.

But it’s mostly the job of a strength and conditioning coach to train them.

If you’re already certified as a personal trainer and want to become a strength and conditioning coach, then I’d recommend that you first do some research on the best strength and conditioning certifications.

Overall, my top pick is always the NSCA-CSCS.

See if their curriculum resonated with you and read through this CSCS study guide.

It pairs well with its respective CSCS practice test, which can be utilized to put your knowledge to the test.

Strength and conditioning coach salary is similar to but oftentimes higher than, personal trainer salary, mostly due to the educational and experiential requirements.

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Currently, there are 740 thousand personal trainers in the world. This is a 4.4% annualized increase from 596 thousand in 2016.

The number of personal trainers is forecast to continue increasing at an annualized rate of 2.1% from now to 2026.

The U.S. constitutes a significant share of the market at 44%. In the U.S., there were 326 thousand personal trainers in 2021.

As of 2021, personal trainer services occur most in fitness centers.

The demand for personal trainers is met with a similarly growing rate in personal training businesses.

There are 728 thousand personal training businesses in the market, a 4.8% annualized growth rate from 577 thousand in 2016.

This figure is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 3.1% from now to 2026.

As the personal trainers market is saturated with competition, there are no major players in the personal training industry.

Each company holds a market share of less than 5%.

The 2 relatively well-known personal training company names in the U.S. are 24-Hour Fitness USA Inc. and Life Time Inc. Both have a market share of 0.6% each.

24-Hour Fitness is the largest privately owned fitness center chain in the U.S., with over 280 fitness centers across 11 states and almost 4 million members and highly qualified fitness trainers.

It offers both individual and partner personal training services at all of its centers and provides free personal training sessions for new members.

Life Time Fitness is another prominent fitness and recreation center in the U.S., with over 175 centers across the states, based primarily in suburban markets.

The average fitness center employs 25 fitness trainers, all of whom offer individual, small-group, and large-group personal training.

These are the top gyms that employ personal trainers.

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The annual median wage of personal trainers was $40.7 thousand in 2021, an increase from $31.7 thousand in 2012.

This is an annualized growth rate of 1.75%.

The median hourly wage of personal trainers was $19.57 in 2021, an increase from $15.25 in 2012.

This is an annualized growth rate of 2.81%.

In 2021, the annual mean wage was highest in these states – AK, CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, VT, and WA.

The average mean wage in these states ranged between $47,410 and $61,840.

Altogether, personal trainers’ income stands at $3.3 billion, an annualized increase of 8.9% since 2016. This amounts to an average revenue per employee of $17,400 in 2021, which marks a rise from $15,700 in 2012.

Due to the rising consumer disposable income enabling an increased number of consumers to spend on higher-priced personal training sessions, the overall personal training income is expected to continue to rise at an annualized rate of 2.0% from now to 2026.

These are the top 10 states with the highest employment levels in 2021.

The top 3 states are California, with 25.2 thousand jobs, Texas, with 17.0 thousand jobs, and Florida, with 14.9 thousand jobs.

These are the top 10 areas with the highest employment levels in 2021.

The top 3 areas are New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, with 14.2 thousand jobs, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, with 9.9 thousand jobs, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, with 8.3 thousand jobs.

Location quotients allow us to understand the areas in which personal trainer jobs are most common – which means that they are the most prevalent relative to the national average.

A figure greater than 1 indicates a higher share of employment than average.

These are the top 10 states with the highest location quotients in 2021.

The top 3 states are Montana, with a location quotient of 2.03, indicating that personal trainer jobs are 2.03 times more prevalent in Montana than the U.S. average, followed by Colorado, with a location quotient of 1.77, and Rhode Island, with a location quotient of 1.52.

Currently, the job outlook for personal trainers in the U.S., defined as the projected percent change in employment from 2020 to 2030, is 39%. This is significantly higher than the average growth rate of all occupations, which stands at 8%.

This shows that contrary to some people’s beliefs, personal training is not a dying career.

In fact, personal training is a good career to explore, especially given its positive job outlook.

Currently, the job outlook for personal trainers in the U.S., defined as the projected percent change in employment from 2019 to 2029, is 15%.

This shows that contrary to some people’s beliefs, personal training is not a dying career.

In fact, personal training is a good career to explore, especially given its positive job outlook.

This concludes our analysis of the personal training industry.

Now I would like to hear from you:

Were you surprised by any of these industry statistics?

Do you see the tangible effects of these trends in your community?

Are you noticing more people hiring personal trainers or taking up courses to learn to become a personal trainer?

If you have any questions about the data included here or suggestions for future industry statistics pages, leave your comments below and I will get back to you.

References

1. Wang LF, Eaglehouse YL, Poppenberg JT, et al. Effects of a personal trainer-led exercise intervention on physical activity, physical function, and quality of life of breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer. 2021;28(3):737-745. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-020-01211-y
2. ‌Ku GCM, Hsieh CM. Can Fitness Education Programs Satisfy Fitness Professionals’ Competencies? Integrating Traditional and Revised Importance-Performance Analysis and Three-Factor Theory. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(11):4011. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114011
3. ‌Melton DI, Katula JA, Mustian KM. The Current State of Personal Training: An Industry Perspective of Personal Trainers in a Small Southeast Community. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2008;22(3):883-889. doi: https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181660dab