💪 Where Are India’s Fittest Places?

Goa and Chandigarh Top the League for Gyms Per Capital

India’s love affair with organised fitness is officially in full swing. From luxury rooftop clubs to stripped-back iron dens, the country now boasts an estimated 96,000 commercial gyms—but they’re not spread evenly.

We dug into the latest data from SmartScrapers (May 2025) to rank each State and Union Territory by gyms per 100,000 residents—and the results may surprise you.

📊 How We Measured It

Gyms included: Only registered commercial gyms and health clubs—no yoga studios or unregistered setups
Population data: Based on 2023 Registrar General & UN projections (Census 2011 used where newer data was unavailable)
Metric: (Number of gyms ÷ population) × 100,000 (rounded to 1 decimal)

🏆 The Top 15 Fittest Places in India (by Gyms per 100,000)

Rank	State / UT	Gyms per 100,000
1	Goa	23.5
2	Chandigarh (UT)	20.5
3	Haryana	17.4
4	Punjab	15.5
5	Puducherry (UT)	14.8
6	Delhi (NCT)	14.7
7	Himachal Pradesh	11.8
8	Kerala	11.3
9	Mizoram	10.6
10	Manipur	10.2
11	Maharashtra	9.3
12	Sikkim	9.3
13	Tamil Nadu	9.3
14	Uttarakhand	8.7
15	Karnataka	7.6

🇮🇳 National average: ~7.1 gyms per 100,000 residents

🔍 Why Goa Leads the Pack

Tourism + Affluence + Urban Living = Fitness Boom

🏖️ 8M+ visitors per year boost boutique gym demand
🏙️ Two-thirds urban population drives lifestyle infrastructure
💸 India’s highest per-capita GDP, fuelling high-end memberships

Goa’s top rank reflects not just wealth—but a culture of wellness shaped by tourism and beachside aesthetics.

🏙️ The Rise of the Union Territories

Chandigarh punches well above its weight with 20.5 gyms per 100,000. The city’s compact footprint, affluence and strong bodybuilding tradition keep it gym-rich.
Puducherry rides a similar wave. Tourism, urban density, and a surge in seafront studio openings since 2022 give it the edge.
Delhi, while home to over 3,000 gyms, lands mid-table because of its huge population. Here, tech-enabled services, boutique differentiation, and women-only spaces drive market evolution—not raw volume.

⚠️ Where the Gap Widens

States at the bottom of the table include:

Odisha (3.1)
Chhattisgarh (3.1)
Bihar (3.4)

These low scores reflect rural sprawl, lower disposable incomes, and a lack of dedicated fitness infrastructure.

In many districts, formal gyms remain a luxury. This represents enormous potential for low-capex formats, public-private partnerships, and mobile training models.

💼 What It Means for Gym Operators

Tier	Target Regions	Strategy Highlights
Greenfield	Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, NE Hills	Tap underserved populations with compact neighbourhood clubs or mobile setups
Scale-up	Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu	Per-capita numbers low despite massive populations—ideal for franchising and mid-tier expansion
Premium niche	Goa, Chandigarh, Delhi	High-spend markets; success relies on brand positioning, services, and aesthetics

📈 Key Takeaway

Even in top-ranked Goa, access is modest: just 23.5 gyms per 100,000 people—compared with ~60 in the UK and ~75 in the US. India’s commercial fitness industry has massive headroom.

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