Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area

Four states under one fitness record

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington crosses Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so a gym borrower here may face rules from more than one state. Between FY2017 and FY2026 the file lists 272 fitness center approvals worth $139.3 million. On the national ranking the market stands 9 of 608 for gyms, and locally fitness centers stand 4 of 39. At 1.13x on the location quotient, gym lending is a bigger share here than across the country.

What stands out is the loss record. Of the 121 loans disbursed in FY2017 through FY2021, 14.0% have since been written off, and 9.1% turned bad within the first five years after approval; neither is a ceiling. Cancellations among FY2017 to FY2024 approvals begin at 10.8%, and no number appears for the ceiling, which Loan Analytics keeps back. Gym loans carry membership risk that a lender can feel, and a study must show how retention holds up when joining fees fade.

Size, programs and lenders

The median is $270,400, close to the national class median at 1.04x, and the middle half is bracketed by $72,125 and $634,000. SBA 7(a) covers 261 of them against only 11 for SBA 504, and 38.6% of the gyms are franchised. Behind TD Bank, National Association (37 loans, $4.2 million) comes Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB, whose 24 loans total $21.3 million, then Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (22), The Huntington National Bank (16) and Univest Bank and Trust Co (10). South Eastern Economic Development Company of Pennsylvania shows 5 SBA 504 loans and $8.1 million. All of it is what SBA reports a holder has or had, never a measure of its practices.

Montgomery County, PA leads with 63 loans, Philadelphia County, PA has 53 and Bucks County, PA 38. Chester County, PA follows with 23, New Castle County, DE with 22, then Camden County, NJ and Delaware County, PA at 21 each, with Burlington County, NJ at 16 and Gloucester County, NJ at 15. Yearly approvals fell from 35 loans in FY2017 to 14 in FY2022, then rose to 41 in FY2025 and 36 in FY2026. Loans enter the area through their project county in the 2023 delineation, so an unplaceable county means no metro at all.

Testing a Philadelphia-area gym

A fitness study here must count households and workers within a drive of a site in Montgomery or Philadelphia County, set rival clubs and studios beside them, and price equipment and floor work against $270,400. Coverage turns on member count, retention and monthly dues; the appraisal covers any building bought. Even so, 272 approvals never promise a yes.