Contents
- Fitness instructor employment statistics: U.S. workforce size and outlook
- Fitness instructor employment statistics: state employment concentrations
- Fitness instructor employment statistics: U.S. wages
- European sport and fitness employment: a broader occupational picture
- European gender patterns in the broader sport and fitness occupation group
- European education and work arrangements in the broader occupation group
- Sources
Fitness instructor employment statistics: U.S. workforce size and outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 322,930 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors in May 2025. This is the national estimate for that named occupation, not a count of everyone who teaches exercise or works in fitness in some capacity. BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
The BLS projects employment in the occupation to reach 416,900 jobs by 2035. Its projection table shows an increase of 28,500 jobs, or 7.3%, from 2025 to 2035. These are projections, not observed future employment. The same table projects an annual average of 68,000 openings over 2025–2035. Openings measure opportunities expected each year; they are not the same as net job growth, since openings can include positions becoming available as workers leave or change jobs. BLS, Occupational Projections and Worker Characteristics, Table 1.2
| U.S. measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | 322,930 | May 2025 |
| Projected employment | 416,900 | 2035 |
| Projected change | +28,500 jobs; +7.3% | 2025–2035 |
| Projected average annual openings | 68,000 | 2025–2035 |
Together, these figures describe an occupation with projected growth and a larger flow of annual openings than net new jobs. The distinction matters for job seekers: the openings estimate reflects expected hiring opportunities, while the growth rate describes the projected change in the total number of jobs.
Fitness instructor employment statistics: state employment concentrations
State counts show where substantial numbers of these jobs were located in May 2024. California led the states shown in the BLS table of the highest employment levels, with 40,010 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors. New York had 19,430, Texas 18,730, Illinois 18,100, and Florida 17,120. BLS, Data Tables for OEWS Area Charts, May 2024
| State | Employment, May 2024 |
|---|---|
| California | 40,010 |
| New York | 19,430 |
| Texas | 18,730 |
| Illinois | 18,100 |
| Florida | 17,120 |
| Virginia | 12,150 |
| Massachusetts | 10,870 |
| Colorado | 10,830 |
| Washington | 10,480 |
| Pennsylvania | 10,330 |
These are employment counts, not employment rates. A larger state can have more workers in an occupation simply because it has more people and jobs overall. The figures also come from May 2024, one year before the national count above, so they should not be treated as a same-year state breakdown of the 2025 estimate. The source presents the states with the highest employment levels; it does not establish that the listed states have the highest share of their workforce in fitness instruction.
Fitness instructor employment statistics: U.S. wages
In May 2025, the national mean wage for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors was $25.20 an hour, equivalent to a reported mean annual wage of $52,420. The median hourly wage was $22.67. The mean is an arithmetic average, while the median is the midpoint of the wage distribution: half of workers are above it and half below it. BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
| Wage measure | U.S. figure, May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Mean hourly wage | $25.20 |
| Median hourly wage | $22.67 |
| Mean annual wage | $52,420 |
The mean hourly figure is higher than the median, indicating that the average was pulled upward by wages above the midpoint. These national figures do not show what a particular instructor earns. They combine workers across locations and job settings, and do not separate pay by experience, specialty, hours worked or employment arrangement. The annual mean should also be read as the BLS-reported annual measure, not as a guarantee that every instructor works a full year or earns that amount.
European sport and fitness employment: a broader occupational picture
European figures provide useful context, but they cover a wider group than fitness instructors alone. The European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE) report uses the ISCO 342 group, which includes athletes, sports coaches, instructors and officials, as well as fitness and recreation instructors and programme leaders. It counts workers in both sport and non-sport organizations.
Across the EU-27 plus the UK, this broader sport and fitness occupation group numbered 1,110,201 workers in 2023, up from 798,682 in 2011. The report gives an intermediate count of 945,039 in 2021. In 2023, the group represented 56.7% of total sport employment in the EU-27 plus UK. EOSE, 2023 Sport Employment Statistics in Europe – Research Report, section 5(a), page 38
The group’s composition helps show why its total cannot be read as a fitness-instructor headcount. In 2023, 51% were sports coaches, instructors and officials; 41% were fitness and recreation instructors and programme leaders; and 7.9% were athletes and sports players. These categories describe the broader ISCO 342 workforce, and the fitness and recreation category itself is broader than U.S. exercise trainers and group fitness instructors. EOSE report, section 1(b), page 8
The report also classifies workers by the main business of their employer. In 2023, 53.7% of EU-27 plus UK workers in the sport and fitness occupation group worked in organizations whose main business was sport, compared with 45.8% in 2011. The remaining share worked in organizations with another main business. This describes the employing organization, not necessarily the worker’s day-to-day duties. EOSE report, section 1(b), page 8
European gender patterns in the broader sport and fitness occupation group
Women made up 43.4% of EU-27 plus UK workers in the broad sport and fitness occupation group in 2023, down from 46.1% in 2011. Men accounted for 56.6% in 2023, compared with 53.9% in 2011. These are shares of the full ISCO 342 group, not separate estimates for fitness instructors. EOSE report, section 1(b), page 8
In absolute terms, the group included 482,274 women and 627,927 men in 2023. In 2011, it included 367,953 women and 430,729 men. Over the period, the number of women increased by 114,321 (31.1%), while the number of men increased by 197,198 (45.8%). Thus, both counts grew, but the male count grew faster in percentage terms, and women’s share of the combined group declined. EOSE report, section 5(b), Figure 31 and accompanying text, page 41
These figures describe the mix of a broad occupational category across EU-27 plus the UK. They do not establish the gender balance in each country, job subtype or fitness facility, and they cannot be used to infer U.S. patterns.
European education and work arrangements in the broader occupation group
For the EU-27 plus UK ISCO 342 group, the EOSE report says 12.4% held low-level qualifications in 2023. This is a group-level qualification statistic; it does not identify the credentials held by fitness instructors specifically or establish what qualifications employers require. EOSE report, section 1(b), page 8
Work arrangements in the group were also varied. In 2023, 47.4% of workers with a sport and fitness occupation were on part-time contracts, compared with 43.2% of total sport employment. Separately, 31% of the occupation group were self-employed. These are distinct measures: part-time contract status and self-employment are not interchangeable, and the figures should not be combined into a single estimate of non-full-time work. EOSE report, section 1(b), page 8
Taken together, the European indicators point to a broad workforce that spans multiple sport-related occupations and organizational settings. Their value is in describing that wider labor market; they should not be presented as direct counts or characteristics of fitness instructors alone.