Gym Manager Salary Guide

Not every gym manager’s salary will be the same, as your overall earnings can be influenced by a variety of factors. To understand how this sum may differ from one place of employment to another, this article will cover the following the topics:

• What Is The Average Salary Of A Gym Manager In The UK?
• Responsibilities & Duties Affect The Salary Of A Gym Manager 
• Location Has a Huge Impact on A Gym Manager's Salary
• Who You Work For Can Affect The Salary Of A Gym Manager 
• Having Additional Qualifications Can Boost A Gym Manager's Salary

Completing Level 4 Fitness Courses, especially combining your fitness qualifications with OriGym's online sports nutrition courses, can help present you as a more desirable candidate to employers and allow you to apply for higher paying positions. 

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What Is The Average Salary Of A Gym Manager In The UK?

To understand the average gym manager salary in the UK, you will need to look at statistics accumulated from those already working in the position. 

Sites such Payscale allow users to input data relating to their job role - such as how much they earn on a monthly or annual basis. 

From this information, an average salary for a gym manager in the UK can be calculated, as evident from the example below:

Payscale’s estimation for the average salary of a gym manager is laid out in a chart ranging from £19K-£31K per year. Be aware that this shouldn’t be taken as a definitive answer, as a lot of factors can influence the data collected by these sites. 

For example, the more experience a candidate has in a managerial role will affect their overall salary. This is evident from the gym manager job description below, which shows that newcomers will earn significantly less than their more experienced co-workers:

This means Payscale’s users could be inputting different salaries based on their level of experience. As a result, the data collected could be somewhat misrepresentative, as it isn’t an exact figure that can be applied to every gym manager.

To support this, check out how Glassdoor reports different findings. From the screenshot below, you can see that this site estimates the average salary of a gym manager in the UK to be £30,826 per year:

In truth, there is no such thing as a definitive ‘average salary of a gym manager’. The figures presented by Glassdoor and Payscale are just reflections of the data collected by the site’s users, and not representative of the role itself. 

Another reason why these figures are regarded as inaccurate is that they lump many job roles under the umbrella term ‘gym manager’.

In doing so, this ignores the different job titles associated with a managerial position, as well as their respective earnings. To understand how these roles differ from each other, let’s take a look at specific duties that can affect the salary of a ‘gym manager’.

Responsibilities & Duties Affect The Salary Of A Gym Manager

As with any job, a gym manager’s salary will increase with growing responsibilities. This means that if you’re higher up on the management ladder you’ll earn more than those who are lower down.

For reference, a typical gym management structure may look something like this:

Be aware that not every employer will use the same description for a job role - e.g. What is classified as an assistant gym manager at PureGym may differ from the description given by Virgin Active.

For this reason, you should always read job vacancies diligently to ensure you’re applying for a suitable position.

To understand just how drastically a gym manager’s salary can be affected by their responsibilities, let’s compare two different gym manager roles:

An assistant gym manager will be tasked with responsibilities such as:

• Overseeing fitness staff rotas and schedules.
• Supervising specific departments - e.g. digital marketing or sales and finance
• Review consumer reports and retention levels in order to monitor satisfaction levels.
• May be asked to host personal training sessions or fitness classes, should you have a shortage of staff.
• Helping with gym marketing and advertising.

• Conduct daily, weekly and monthly set-ups with relevant team members and contribute towards monthly manager meetings.

According to our own independent research, an assistant gym manager salary will range from £21k-£23k per year. This is supported by the following job advertisement from JD Gyms:

If we now compare this to the responsibilities and duties associated with regional gym managers, the differences in salary will become immediately apparent. 

Regional gym managers will typically oversee multiple facilities, and will be required to fulfil duties such as:

• Monitoring and improving the performance of all gyms under your jurisdiction
• Recruiting and discipling members of staff
• Hit targets set for their entire region for both primary and secondary spend
• Ensuring General Managers and Assistant General Managers hit their compliance targets, in addition to their health and safety ones
• Reviewing and reporting on group budgets and expenditures 
• Conducting manager meetings to drive performance 

These responsibilities are regarded as holding more weight to the wider company. As such, the average regional gym manager salary is much higher, estimated by our research to be between £40K-£50K per year. 

This is backed up by the following example of The Gym Group’s regional manager salary, as reported on Indeed:

From the following statistic displayed above, you can see that regional managers earn significantly more money than assistant general managers, largely due to the responsibilities they must complete. 

This is what makes answering questions such as ‘how much does a gym manager earn in the UK?’, so challenging, as the umbrella term fails to acknowledge the varying levels of management hierarchy, resulting in unrepresentative ‘average’ statistics.

Instead of relying on sites like Payscale and Glassdoor to provide definitive answers, you should instead view each job opportunity individually. This will involve reading job descriptions diligently, before deciding whether the proposed salary is right for you or not.

Some readers may be job hunting with the desire of relocating. In this instance, you may also notice that a gym manager’s salary in the UK varies depending on your location.

Location Has A Huge Impact On A Gym Manager’s Salary

Although it may sound somewhat inconsequential, location can have a huge impact on your potential earnings. This becomes most apparent when comparing different areas to London, as managers working in the capital city will likely earn more than anyone in the UK.

This isn’t just applicable to gym managers either, as every sector will typically offer a higher salary for individuals based in London. This is due to the fact that everyday costs are significantly more expensive within the city.

As such, a gym manager’s salary in London will naturally be higher in order to help cover these expenses. 

To understand how drastically location can influence a salary, let’s compare two job vacancies. The first, will reflect an assistant gym manager role based in London, whilst the other will feature the same position based in Manchester. 

First, take a look at this example for London’s National Gym Brand, which offers a salary ranging from £31K-£40K per year:

When compared with an assistant gym manager’s salary in Mancherster, it will become apparent just how influential location can be on your overall earning potential. This can be seen in the screenshot below, in which the proposed salary is £20K-£24K per year:

Whilst still a highly desirable salary, the examples used above would see the Manchester-based assistant manager earning £11,000-£16,000 less than those in London, every year! 

This difference isn’t just applicable to an assistant gym manager’s salary either, as London-based managers at every level will earn more than those outside of the capital. 

To help highlight just how drastically a gym manager’s salary in London differs from the rest of the UK, OriGym has conducted our own independent study into the current job market. 

Note: This research was completed using existing job vacancies on sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and TotalJobs.  From this information we have curated the following graph, which highlights the salary discrepancies between London and the rest of the UK.

As evident from the information gathered above, the salary of a gym manager in London will likely always surpass that of those who operate outside of the city, regardless of what capacity they work in.

This section was a holistic overview, using specific job vacancies in order to highlight how location can influence the annual earnings of a gym manager. This isn’t to say that every employer will adhere to these exact payments, as who you’re hired by can also influence your salary. 

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If learning about a gym manager’s salary is of interest to you, these other OriGym articles will also prove to be insightful:

• Writing a Gym Manager Cover Letter 
• How To Write A Gym Manager CV
• How to Be a Good Gym Manager: 7 Tips for Success

Who You Work For Can Affect The Salary Of A Gym Manager

As discussed throughout this article, attempting to answer a question such as ‘how much does a gym manager earn?’ can prove to be challenging for a variety of reasons. Whilst the previous sections have taken into account many influencing factors, you should also be aware that your salary will always be determined by your employer. 

This could also result in pay discrepancies between managers working in the same roles. For example, those who work in larger ‘prestigious’ franchise gyms are more likely to earn a higher wage than those employed by budget gyms.

For Reference: The statistics presented within this section were collected by researching existing job vacancies, and using statistics available on company-relevant websites.

How Much Does a Gym Manager Earn in Budget Gyms?

Budget-friendly gym chains feature some of the most popular and well recognisable names in the industry. Sites such as Pure Gym and JD Gyms offer vast amounts of employment opportunities, including:

• PureGym: 2 Assistant General Manager Positions & 1 General Manager at every location
• JD Gyms: 1 Duty Manager, 1 Assistant General Manager, & 1 General Manager at every location

Whilst these may seem like small teams, the purpose behind this reduced management structure is to keep prices low for paying members, and work among staff streamlined. 

In order to develop a complete understanding of what a gym manager’s salary within a budget friendly location looks like, let’s take a look at what you could earn at both of the aforementioned chains.

Note: To offer complete clarity we will offer salaries for London-based locations as well as those across the UK.

#1 - Gym Manager at PureGym Salary Breakdown

• PureGym assistant manager outside of London: £21k-£22k 
• Puregym gym manager salary outside of London: £28k-£29k 
• PureGym assistant manager salary in London: £25k-£26k 
• Puregym gym manager salary in London: £33k-34k 

#2 - JD Gym Manager Salary Breakdown

• Duty JD Gym Manager Salary outside of London: £18k-£19k 
• JD Assistant Manager Salary outside of London: £22k-£23k
• JD Gym Manager Salary outside of London: £28k-£29k
• Duty JD Gym Manager Salary in London: £20k-£21k
• JD Assistant Manager Salary in London: £24k-£25k
• JD Gym Manager Salary in London: £29k-£32k

Whilst the teams at budget friendly locations may seem smaller, they always offer opportunities for professional growth and development. For example, if you hold a Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification you could offer to take on PT roles during your free time in order to increase your overall earnings. 

What is a Typical Gym Manager’s Salary at Mid-Tiered Locations?

Mid-tiered gyms will typically have a more complex management structure than budget counterparts. Examples of locations which follow this structure include Virgin Active and The Gym Group:

• Virgin Active: Group Managers, Duty Managers, Assistant General Manager, and General Manager
• The Gym Group: Assistant General Managers, General Managers, Regional Managers, and Senior General Managers 

These differing management structures provide more employment opportunities, allowing you to climb the corporate ladder and progress to earn a more lucrative salary. 

#1 - Virgin Active Gym Manager Salary Breakdown

• Virgin Active Group Manager Salary Outside of London: £17k-£18k
• Virgin Active Duty Manager Salary Outside of London: £19k-£20k
• Virgin Active Assistant General Manager Salary Outside of London: £32k-£33k
• Virgin Active General Manager Salary Outside of London: £55k-£57k
• Virgin Active Group Manager Salary in London: £19k-£20k
• Virgin Active Duty Manager Salary in London: £20K-£21k
• Virgin Active Assistant General Manager Salary in London: £33K-£34k
• Virgin Active General Manager Salary in London: £56k-£57k

#2- The Gym Group Manager Salary Breakdown

• The Gym Group Assistant Manager Salary Outside of London: £19k-£21k
• The Gym Group General Manager Salary Outside of London: £34k-£35k
• The Gym Group Regional Manager Salary Outside of London: £46k+
• The Gym Group Assistant Manager Salary in London: £24k-£25k
• The Gym Group General Manager Salary in London: £36k-£37k
• The Gym Group Regional Manager Salary in London: £47k+

Information regarding the salaries of Senior Regional Managers was not made available during our research. The Gym Group hires for this position internally, meaning that salaries will likely be discussed during this process. 

The stats relating to the Gym Group’s manager salaries is supported by data collected from Indeed, who note:

As previously stated, when employed by a medium-scale organisation there are more opportunities to grow and develop. This means that you could realistically stay with the same employers and progress further along the management hierarchy to increase your earnings.

How Do High-Tiered Establishments Structure The Salary of a Gym Manager?

High-tiered gym’s will have a larger number of on-site staff, with example establishments including David Lloyd’s and Nuffield Health. 

To put it into context, these gyms can have up to 70 employees on site at any given time, compared to budget gyms who often employ fewer than 15 members of staff.

The role availability of some of these managerial positions varies from location to location, normally based on their facilities or size of that individual club. For this reason, the salary for an assistant and general manager may be significantly higher, as there are more aspects of the business that require management. 

#1 - David Lloyd Gym Manager Salary Breakdown

• David Lloyd Fitness Manager Salary Outside of London: £20k-£21k
• David Lloyd Assistant General Manager Salary Outside of London: £36-£37K
• David Lloyd General Manager Salary Outside of London: £49k-£54k
• David Lloyd Fitness Manager Salary in London: £21K-£22K
• David Lloyd Assistant Gym Manager Salary In London: £39K-£40K
• David Lloyd General Manager Salary In London: £55K-£61K

#2 - How Much Does a Gym Manager Earn at Nuffield Health?

• Nuffield Health Fitness Manager Salary Outside of London: £22k-£23k
• Nuffield Health Deputy Manager Salary Outside of London: £26k-£28k
• Nuffield Health Club Manager Salary Outside of London: £36k-£38k
• Nuffield Health Fitness Manager Salary in London: £25k-£26k
• Nuffield Health Deputy Manager Salary in London: £31k-£32k
• Nuffield Health Club Manager Salary in London: £40k-£41k 

Becoming a gym manager at one of these locations is considered to be significantly more challenging than the likes of budget gyms. This is largely due to the fact that when in these positions you will have to oversee more staff, and handle additional responsibilities.

Additionally, as there are far more jobs available in these higher-tiered establishments, there are greater opportunities to progress, and earn a more lucrative salary.

Having Additional Qualifications Can Boost A Gym Manager’s Salary

When searching for managerial roles within the gym industry, you will notice that many employers will require applicants to hold a Level 2 fitness instructor qualification at a minimum.

This can be seen in the following example, in which the prerequisite is clearly laid out, alongside a preference for candidates who have previously held a job as a fitness instructor.

With that being said, earning additional certifications such as a Level 3 personal training qualification can improve your CV and increase your chances of becoming employed.

This is due to the fact that with this qualification employers will consider you to be a desirable candidate, who has more to offer to their customers.

For example, candidates who hold this qualification would be able to fill in for absent personal training staff members. In doing so, you can ensure that the service is still available to paying customers, helping to lead 1-to-1 bespoke training programmes.

In addition to helping your employer during times of need, having this qualification as a gym manager can allow you to use personal training as a side hustle in order to supplement your own income.

This could translate to taking on the responsibilities of a PT in addition to your managerial role at a Gym. Liverpool’s Jodie Martin is an example of somebody who did just that, splitting her time between both roles to develop her PT and gym manager skills as well as increase her salary:

Throughout her LinkedIn profile Jodie clearly demonstrates how she operates as both a personal trainer and assistant general manager, splitting her responsibilities diligently to ensure each role is complete to the best of her ability. In her bio she writes:

“I believe that having the skills to run a successful business alongside a management position is an essential part of managing a team of fitness professionals, as this gives me the confidence to successfully mentor some less experienced PTs, transferring into a much better training environment for both staff and club members.”

Alternatively, by becoming a personal trainer you could start your own side business, and in-turn gain control of how much you charge for your services. As a result, you could have two sources of income coming in every month, helping to pay for personal and professional expenses. 

Before You Go! 

As evident from the examples included within this article, you will now understand that a gym manager’s salary will vary from one employer to another, and will never have a fixed average. 

Should you come across a job vacancy that does not include a proposed salary, you could inquire about this, either before or during your interview.

Remember, completing a Level 4 PT Course, especially our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course, can better your chances of becoming employed in a managerial position at a gym, as with this certification employers will view you as a more desirable candidate.

Find out more by contacting our team and downloading our FREE course prospectus here!