BOSTON, MA—March 8, 2019—Today, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) released The 2019 IHRSA Health Club Employee Compensation & Benefits Report, a detailed analysis of compensation and benefits practices for the health club industry. Salary and compensation results provided in the report are based on data from 150 North American facilities.

“Payroll is one of the largest expenses among health clubs, as hiring and investing in staff plays a critical role in serving and retaining members and clients,” said Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products. “IHRSA has regularly conducted employee compensation research for nearly 20 years to help club operators analyze and gauge their compensation practices against other club businesses.”

The new report provides compensation data for approximately 50 job titles, including base salary and total compensation for club and executive-level staff as well as hourly pay and commissions data for club-level employees. Data on medical insurance, retirement plans, leave days, and other benefits are also analyzed in the report.

Key findings:

  • 93% of participating clubs provide medical insurance to salaried employees;
  • Clubs reported an average health insurance premium increase of 6.2% from 2017 to 2018;
  • More than 75% of clubs offer a retirement plan;
  • Nearly 80% of clubs match employee contributions to retirement plans; and
  • Clubs provide an average of nine paid leave days to salaried employees with less than one year on the job.

“Along with the in-depth report data across various levels of the organization, club operators can refer to infographic snapshots for a quick overview of pay for CEO, general manager, personal trainer, and nutrition coach job titles,” said Melissa Rodriguez, IHRSA's senior research manager. “New to this year’s report is an analysis of common recruiting and retention measures among participating health clubs.”

While responding clubs utilized various tools to recruit employees, the most successful were employee referrals and internet/website postings. Nearly half of responding clubs (47.5%) cited employee referrals as the most successful tool in recruiting employees, while internet/website ranked a distant second at 30.5%. Responding companies reported it took about two months to fill executive/senior management positions, a little more than a month to fill management positions and less than a month to fill non-management positions.

The 2019 IHRSA Health Club Employee Compensation & Benefits Report is based on voluntary survey data provided by IHRSA member clubs in the United States and Canada. The report provides compensation information for senior management/corporate staff, salaried club-level employees, and hourly club-level employees. Salary information for job titles is provided by geographical region, club type, and size in total annual revenues.

The 2019 IHRSA Health Club Employee Compensation & Benefits Report is available at the IHRSA website. The PDF can be purchased for $399.95 ($199.95 for IHRSA members).

Contact IHRSA Research at research@ihrsa.org or 1 617-951-0055 ext. 194 with questions or for more information.

About IHRSA

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is the trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, racquet and sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. Its mission is to grow, promote and protect the health and fitness industry. As one of the world's leading authorities on the commercial health club industry, IHRSA regularly conducts industry and consumer research, along with club operator studies. For more information on IHRSA research, visit the IHRSA website. Leaders, operators and industry suppliers from 80 countries representing the global fitness industry will gather in San Diego, CA, from March 13-16, 2019, for the 38th Annual IHRSA International Convention and Trade Show.