The Price of Keeping Fit: London will pay 1.48% of their annual salary
Gym memberships are at an all time high as more people look to achieve their perfect body. It’s not only gyms that are seeing the benefits of this either — protein powder sales are up, more people are looking into massager brands that will be able to provide relief for saw muscles, and the demand for personal trainers is up.
However, if you’re wanting to improve your fitness then all of this can be expensive if you’re not careful. So, which parts of the country have the cheapest gym prices? Derby is home to the cheapest gym in the UK, when compared to average income, according to new analysis of over 100 fitness centres across the country.
The research from leading savings site, VoucherCodes.co.uk, looked at the affordability of a range of branches for five major gym chains across the UK* and discovered that a 12-month rolling contract (including joining fee) at PureGym Derby will cost just 0.46% of the average annual salary in the city. By contrast, visiting the same fitness chain in Edinburgh will cost 0.95% of average income – making it home to the least affordable of the PureGyms analysed.
Considering chains with a greater range of facilities, it’s the Bannatyne Health Club and Spa in Hastings which burns the biggest hole in the gym shorts pocket, eating up a substantial 4.2% of its locals’ wages for the year. But, the Birmingham Bannatyne centre is a much more reasonable 1.14% of income, which is only marginally more costly than PureGym’s least affordable option.
Most affordable gyms in the UK:
| Chain | Venue name | Yearly total (inc. joining fee) | Average annual salary | % of average salary |
| PureGym | Derby | £129.88 | £28,523 | 0.46% |
| PureGym | Newcastle St James | £141.88 | £28,458 | 0.50% |
| The Gym Group | Derby | £148.88 | £28,523 | 0.52% |
| PureGym | Birmingham City Centre | £146.88 | £26,430 | 0.56% |
| The Gym Group | Newcastle City | £160.88 | £28,458 | 0.57% |
| PureGym | Sunderland | £141.88 | £23,778 | 0.60% |
| PureGym | Stoke on Trent East | £146.88 | £24,575 | 0.60% |
| PureGym | Mansfield | £129.88 | £21,579 | 0.60% |
| The Gym Group | Birmingham City Centre | £160.88 | £26,430 | 0.61% |
| PureGym | Aberdeen Shiprow | £194.88 | £31,951 | 0.61% |
Least affordable gyms in the UK:
| Chain | Venue name | Yearly total (inc. joining fee) | Average annual salary | % of average salary |
| Bannatyne | Hastings Health Club and Spa | £944.00 | £22,453 | 4.20% |
| Nuffield Health | Nottingham Gym, Mapperley | £944.00 | £22,894 | 4.12% |
| Nuffield Health | Bristol Fitness & Wellbeing Gym | £1,088.00 | £27,983 | 3.89% |
| Virgin Active | Northampton Collingtree Park | £1,076.00 | £27,821 | 3.87% |
| Nuffield Health | Leicester Fitness & Wellbeing Gym | £776.00 | £20,773 | 3.74% |
| Nuffield Health | Wolverhampton Fitness & Wellbeing Gym | £884.00 | £23,753 | 3.72% |
| Virgin Active | Brighton | £1,146.00 | £31,294 | 3.66% |
| Virgin Active | Nottingham | £831.00 | £22,894 | 3.63% |
| Virgin Active | Strand | £1,458.00 | £40,557 | 3.59% |
| Virgin Active | Salford Quays | £884.00 | £24,996 | 3.54% |
Of the cities analysed, 13 were home to Nuffield Health, PureGym and The Gym Group centres – giving gym goers a healthy range of options. Leeds has the cheapest average prices, relative to average income (1.18%), while London’s steep costs are combatted by higher wages in the capital – Londoners are only spending 1.48% of their income on gym fees, on average.