Fitness cost index

The US and UK cities where fitness costs hit hardest.

Bespoke Fit analyzed the true cost of staying active across major US and UK cities, comparing typical monthly fitness expenses with local pay to reveal where fitness puts the greatest pressure on people's budgets.

Highest US income shareDetroit, MI

Fitness basket equals 10.91% of monthly income.

Highest US raw costSan Francisco, CA

$426.52 per month before income is factored in.

Highest UK income shareNottingham

Fitness basket equals 8.57% of monthly net salary.

Highest UK raw costCambridge

£226.95 per month before salary is factored in.

Where fitness costs bite hardest in the US.

The default view ranks cities by income share. Switch to total monthly cost to see which cities have the most expensive basket before local pay is factored in.

Top 10 by income share

1. Detroit, MI10.91%
2. Philadelphia, PA9.71%
3. Fresno, CA9.17%
4. New York, NY9.00%
5. Bakersfield, CA8.91%
6. Milwaukee, WI8.83%
7. Tucson, AZ8.51%
8. Los Angeles, CA8.37%
9. Miami, FL8.00%
10. Phoenix, AZ7.96%

Full US table, ranked by income share

Tip: scroll sideways on smaller screens to see each cost category.

RankCityStateGymFood basketProtein shakesShoesTotalIncome shareMonthly income
1DetroitMI$34.00$102.06$81.00$8.03$225.0910.91%$2,064
2PhiladelphiaPA$82.11$132.70$96.00$8.30$319.119.71%$3,287
3FresnoCA$38.75$101.45$96.00$8.02$244.229.17%$2,662
4New YorkNY$130.25$139.76$114.00$9.80$393.819.00%$4,375
5BakersfieldCA$39.33$104.54$96.00$8.13$248.008.91%$2,782
6MilwaukeeWI$38.19$109.85$78.00$7.77$233.818.83%$2,649
7TucsonAZ$37.04$104.60$84.00$8.25$233.898.51%$2,748
8Los AngelesCA$62.88$132.42$132.00$9.13$336.438.37%$4,019
9MiamiFL$88.45$128.29$96.00$8.33$321.078.00%$4,012
10PhoenixAZ$65.69$121.09$87.00$9.06$282.847.96%$3,555
11San AntonioTX$41.42$101.43$78.00$10.49$231.347.91%$2,925
12SacramentoCA$46.50$132.03$102.00$7.58$288.117.88%$3,656
13ArlingtonTX$41.25$108.88$78.00$7.17$235.307.81%$3,013
14ColumbusOH$40.00$115.82$81.00$7.00$243.827.72%$3,160
15MemphisTN$31.93$92.50$81.00$6.43$211.867.60%$2,787
16BaltimoreMD$50.88$109.13$93.00$7.59$260.607.51%$3,470
17San JoseCA$163.17$123.49$117.00$8.37$412.037.35%$5,606
18Long BeachCA$40.20$115.41$114.00$8.67$278.287.34%$3,793
19El PasoTX$18.33$84.29$72.00$8.67$183.297.34%$2,498
20IndianapolisIN$40.12$102.61$78.00$9.30$230.037.30%$3,150
21TulsaOK$48.75$104.73$69.00$10.00$232.487.26%$3,204
22Fort WorthTX$39.58$113.22$78.00$10.75$241.557.17%$3,368
23MesaAZ$42.00$114.57$87.00$9.06$252.637.00%$3,610
24JacksonvilleFL$42.19$94.05$81.00$8.41$225.656.87%$3,285
25Colorado SpringsCO$62.00$114.49$84.00$6.83$267.326.82%$3,922
26ChicagoIL$71.48$121.52$93.00$8.46$294.466.80%$4,331
27Kansas CityMO$45.00$96.77$78.00$8.73$228.506.63%$3,448
28OmahaNE$46.25$94.20$75.00$8.05$223.506.58%$3,398
29Las VegasNV$26.71$97.00$90.00$6.69$220.406.45%$3,418
30BostonMA$83.85$130.22$102.00$9.54$325.616.42%$5,074
31Oklahoma CityOK$33.40$103.83$69.00$8.83$215.066.42%$3,350
32DallasTX$50.42$107.31$81.00$9.97$248.706.40%$3,884
33AlbuquerqueNM$49.00$95.90$72.00$8.68$225.586.38%$3,538
34MinneapolisMN$65.11$119.02$84.00$8.26$276.396.34%$4,357
35HoustonTX$38.57$97.21$78.00$8.69$222.476.33%$3,515
36San DiegoCA$60.36$122.66$114.00$9.48$306.506.25%$4,901
37LouisvilleKY$20.50$101.71$75.00$8.03$205.246.25%$3,285
38NashvilleTN$54.76$118.30$84.00$7.69$264.756.13%$4,316
39CharlotteNC$63.23$115.66$84.00$7.99$270.886.12%$4,425
40OaklandCA$39.28$148.03$117.00$9.15$313.466.02%$5,207
41WashingtonDC$117.78$147.28$108.00$9.16$382.225.99%$6,384
42PortlandOR$50.62$131.93$96.00$8.77$287.325.98%$4,806
43San FranciscoCA$138.23$153.65$126.00$8.64$426.525.52%$7,732
44DenverCO$71.08$132.79$90.00$8.88$302.755.51%$5,498
45Virginia BeachVA$43.75$87.68$84.00$9.84$225.275.40%$4,169
46TampaFL$46.50$103.57$84.00$7.67$241.745.33%$4,537
47RaleighNC$36.38$97.67$84.00$8.01$226.064.90%$4,617
48AustinTX$64.14$111.79$90.00$7.17$273.104.89%$5,581
49SeattleWA$86.34$141.80$84.00$10.65$322.794.44%$7,263
50AtlantaGA$33.00$112.73$87.00$8.12$240.854.31%$5,582

The UK cities where a fit lifestyle takes the biggest share.

The UK analysis uses the same basket and compares it with estimated local monthly net salary. The ranking is meant to compare cities within the UK, not to merge UK and US cities into one table.

Top 10 by income share

1. Nottingham8.57%
2. Manchester8.56%
3. Birmingham8.01%
4. Belfast7.95%
5. Liverpool7.87%
6. Bristol7.58%
7. Sheffield7.49%
8. Brighton7.43%
9. Southampton7.43%
10. Newcastle upon Tyne7.27%

Full UK table, ranked by income share

Tip: scroll sideways on smaller screens to see each cost category.

RankCityGymFood basketProtein shakesShoesTotalIncome shareMonthly net salary
1Nottingham£33.12£65.32£75.84£6.44£180.728.57%£2,108.00
2Manchester£39.69£59.47£97.20£6.01£202.378.56%£2,365.50
3Birmingham£27.20£62.36£96.72£7.00£193.288.01%£2,412.17
4Belfast£36.50£71.20£76.20£6.72£190.627.95%£2,399.00
5Liverpool£25.73£60.41£102.00£6.49£194.637.87%£2,472.00
6Bristol£36.78£64.83£98.88£6.72£207.217.58%£2,733.25
7Sheffield£33.16£60.27£89.16£5.73£188.327.49%£2,515.50
8Brighton£37.91£66.83£94.56£6.47£205.777.43%£2,768.83
9Southampton£30.65£66.31£81.60£6.38£184.947.43%£2,489.50
10Newcastle upon Tyne£30.29£61.75£79.32£5.92£177.287.27%£2,438.33
11Edinburgh£38.31£68.99£93.96£6.90£208.167.21%£2,888.50
12Aberdeen£42.75£66.15£74.52£6.48£189.907.15%£2,657.67
13Cambridge£62.00£64.60£94.56£5.79£226.957.08%£3,203.75
14Coventry£31.80£59.64£71.52£7.25£170.217.08%£2,404.42
15Dundee£40.00£71.22£56.40£7.71£175.336.99%£2,507.42
16London£53.69£71.34£81.84£7.92£214.796.73%£3,191.08
17Oxford£33.66£62.56£99.96£6.37£202.556.67%£3,036.75
18Milton Keynes£27.50£62.79£94.56£5.00£189.856.52%£2,910.33
19Leeds£31.22£64.58£69.60£5.55£170.956.52%£2,622.08
20Glasgow£33.67£60.71£59.16£6.58£160.126.26%£2,557.50
21Cardiff£24.50£61.24£54.00£7.15£146.895.59%£2,628.33

What this study measured.

The study looks at a simple question: in which cities does a basic fitness routine take the biggest bite out of local pay? To answer that, Bespoke Fit priced the same basket of fitness costs in every city and compared it with local pay.

The monthly fitness basket

The basket is not meant to cover every possible way someone trains. It is a standard benchmark that lets readers compare cities fairly.

Gym

Membership

Average city-level monthly fitness club membership prices.

Food

Healthy groceries

A fixed basket of milk, bread, eggs, chicken, rice, apples and bananas.

Protein

Recovery drinks

12 ready-to-drink protein shakes per month, based on three workouts per week.

Shoes

Running shoes

One pair of mid-range Nike running shoes per year, split into a monthly cost.

How cities were ranked

The main ranking is income share: the percentage of local monthly pay needed to cover the same fitness basket. The table toggle lets readers switch to raw monthly cost, which shows the most expensive basket before pay is considered.

Income share = monthly fitness basket ÷ local monthly pay × 100

What to keep in mind

  • The basket is a standardised proxy, not a full fitness budget or complete diet.
  • It does not include travel, childcare, sports clubs, supplements, specialist kit or every style of training.
  • Where protein shake prices were not available for a city, the closest same‑state or same‑region pricing was used.
  • Raw cost and income share tell different stories, so the page includes both views.

Fitness costs vary by city. Coaching should work wherever you train.

Bespoke Fit gives members live 1-on-1 video personal training with a real coach watching every rep, every session, whether they train at home, in a gym or on the road.

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