The Most Popular Sports & Activities in the U.S.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 96 percent of Americans spent time on sports and leisure activities in 2021. While this share is broadly the same along the gender divide, how men and women in the United States like to get physical in their spare time is drastically different. While many male participants in our Statista Consumer Insights like to play classic field sports, the women surveyed are far more likely to enjoy individual sporting activities.

As our chart shows, 41 percent of the female participants in our survey at least occasionally do cardio, aerobics or other fitness workouts, while 39 percent like to hike and 35 percent like to dance. Yoga and pilates come in fifth, and the classic solo sport of jogging ranks eighth with 22 percent. Men, on the other hand, are seemingly more prone to play basketball or American Football in their spare time, with only 31 percent enjoying a hike now and then and 28 percent participating in cardio workouts and related activities.

Sports focused on individual improvements like fitness, yoga or dancing are often carried out in the confines of health and fitness clubs. According to an analysis by the Global Health and Fitness Organization, 66.5 million or 21.8 percent of Americans held a membership to a fitness or health club in 2021. However, this number is no indicator of how active said members are. Some of the highest-earning health club chains in the U.S. include LA Fitness, Life Time and Planet Fitness, which generated revenues of $2.1 billion, $1.3 billion and $587 million, respectively, in 2021.