The Impressive Growth of the Spa Industry in the United States: Just the Facts

The spa industry is booming and spas across the country are literally popping up everywhere you turn. It seems that more and more people are realizing the value of some quality rest and relaxation and many of them are getting just that at their local day spa or taking a well-deserved vacation at one of the many destination or resort spas around the country. There has never been a better time to get into the spa industry because the numbers of spas and their annual revenues has been rapidly increasing at a very impressive rate over the last several years.

Just take a look at the most recent statistics that have been released by the International Spa Association (ISPA) about growth and revenues in the spa industry. The ISPA is considered by many to be the voice of the spa industry. Every two years the ISPA releases their statistical findings as to how well the spa industry is doing and as of the August 2006 study there was plenty of good news to report.

There are approximately 13,757 spas doing business in the United States. This includes day spas, resort spas, hotel spas, medical spas, club spas, mineral spring spas, and destination spas. In comparison, there were only 10,128 spas in April 2004. This growth shows a 16% increase in new spa locations in just over a year. When they divided the nation up into sections, they found that spa locations are spread out fairly evenly across the country.

In the Southwestern states (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT) there are 3,139 spas and these account for 23% of the total number of spas located in the United States.
In the Northeastern states (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) there are 3,131 spas, accounting for another 23% of spas in the country.
In the Southeastern states (AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) there are 2,800 spas, accounting for 20% of the total spas.
In the North Central region (IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI) there are 2,621 spa, accounting for 19% of the country’s spas.
In the South Central region (AR, KS, LA, MS, OK, TX) there are 1,302 spas, accounting for 9% of the total spas.
And in the Northwestern states (ID, MT, OR, WA, WY) there are 764 spas, accounting for just 6% of the total number of spas locating in the United States. There were no numbers reported for spas located in Alaska or Hawaii.

As you can see, spa locations across the country are fairly evenly spread out from the west coast to the east. While some states are a little bit behind the national averages, like those in the Northwest, with a 16% annual growth rate, these areas of the country will soon be competing with the big boys in the industry.

Popular Spas in the Nation

So, out of these 13,757 spas peppered throughout the United States, what do you think is the most common type of spa out there today? Well, by far the day spa dominates the spa industry in both numbers of spas in operation and their annual revenues reported. There are approximately 10,988 day spas operating today, making them the giants in the spa industry and accounting for 80% of all the spas in the U.S. There are 1,218 resort and hotel spas (9%), 915 medical spas (7%), 484 club spas (4%), 77 mineral spring spas (0.6%), and 71 destination spas (0.5%) operating in the U.S. Since day spas are generally smaller in size and easier to fit into just about any location, whether it’s in a big city or a small town, it’s easy to see how they are able to dominate the spa industry. With more and more people taking mini-vacations in the form of day spa visits, the day spa industry is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

What about the money? Are spas seeing larger revenues and profits?

You bet they are! In 2005, the annual revenues reported by all the spas located in the United States reached $9.7 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a capital B! This was an 18% average annual growth rate from the $7 billion reported in 2003. Broken down, this means that day spas took in nearly $6.8 billion, resort and hotel spas $2 billion, medical spas $469 million, and club spas $209 million. Divided up by region, the ISPA found that the Southwest took in nearly $2.8 billion, the Southeast $2.5 billion, the Northeast $2.3 billion, North Central $1.2 billion, South Central $558 million, and the Northwest $338 million. Pretty good numbers for an industry that is getting bigger and bigger with every massage and facial!

As for the people who have made the spa industry boom so successful, they owe it all to the millions of Americans who made 131 million spa visits in 2005, an average annual increase of 9% from the 109 million spa visits that took place in 2003. Of course, we can’t forget the people who have made the spa industry such a positive and profitable business to be in, the thousands of wonderful spa employees who make it all happen. According to the August 2006 report, there are over 267,000 spa employees working in the industry, up from 215,000 employees in 2004. This was an increase of 11% for the total number of spa employees working in the nearly 14,000 spas located throughout the United States. So, as you can see, not only are spas popping up everywhere you turn, they’re also making money and creating jobs for people all across the country. Like we said before, there’s never been a better time to get into the spa industry, so don’t get left behind!