Australia has one of the highest gym densities per capita in the world. 24/7 chains have blanketed suburban retail strips. Before you commit to 300sqm and a 5-year lease, here is how to read the location data.
3,500+
Gyms and fitness studios operating in Australia
$2.4B
Annual revenue of the Australian gym industry
3km
Maximum distance most gym members will travel regularly
The saturation problem you cannot ignore
Finding a suburb without a gym was easy a decade ago. Today it is the challenge. Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness, Plus Fitness and Jetts have each opened hundreds of locations. Before doing anything else, map every gym, yoga studio, pilates studio and CrossFit box within 2km of your target location — not 500m. For gyms, the competitive radius is wider.
The boutique fitness market is growing, but competition has grown faster. Your positioning and location both need to be right.
Residential catchment: the most important variable for gyms
Unlike cafes, gyms are destination businesses. Members research, try a class and commit. The data that matters is whether enough of the right people live within a distance they will actually travel. For most members, that is 2–3km by car or 1–1.5km on foot.
Minimum residential catchment thresholds
General fitness gym (250sqm+): 8,000+ households within 3km, age 22–50. Boutique fitness studio (under 150sqm): 5,000+ households within 2km, higher income. 24/7 budget gym: needs a suburb without an existing 24/7 operator nearby.
The floor plate and rent maths
Gyms need 200–500sqm of clear floor space. At $80/sqm/year, a 300sqm gym costs $24,000/year ($2,000/month) for rent alone. At $60/week membership, you need 33 members just to cover rent. At 150 active members, rent sits at roughly 22% of revenue — already dangerously high. You need 200+ members for rent to approach 12–15%.
Physical requirements and access
Finding the market gap in 2026
The gaps that still exist in the Australian gym market: group training studios in suburbs where only 24/7 chains operate; reformer pilates and functional training in high-income suburbs still served only by budget chains; sport-specific martial arts and skills training in residential growth corridors. If you find one of these gaps backed by strong demographics, the location opportunity is real.
Check if your location is worth it
See competition, demand, and risk before committing to a lease.
No signup required to start
Check your location →