Climbing by the numbers: the sport's growth, explained

The growth, in figures

It is one thing to say climbing is booming and another to show it. Here are the numbers that tell the story, each from a named source so you can check them yourself. Figures move year to year, so treat these as the shape of the trend rather than gospel.

Gyms keep opening

The Climbing Business Journal, which has tracked the industry for years, counted more than 870 commercial climbing gyms in North America by 2024. New gyms have opened every single year for well over a decade. Growth cooled slightly in 2025 — a few dozen net new gyms rather than the surge of the boom years — but the direction has not changed, and the same expansion has played out across the UK, Europe and Asia.

A striking share of that growth is bouldering. Ropeless, lower-cost to build and quick to walk into, bouldering gyms have made up the bulk of new openings in recent years. It is the format most new climbers meet first.

A global community in the tens of millions

Industry estimates now put the worldwide climbing community in the tens of millions of participants, with market analysts valuing the global climbing gym market at roughly three billion US dollars in 2024 and projecting growth near ten per cent a year through the early 2030s. Different reports give different totals — the methods vary — but every serious estimate points the same way: up, and fast.

The demographics matter too. Climbing skews young: a large majority of gym users are under 35, and most climb for fitness and fun rather than competition. This is a recreational sport first, a competitive one second.

The Olympic effect

The clearest single milestone was the Olympics. Per Olympics.com:

• Sport climbing debuted at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) with two medal events.
• Paris 2024 expanded to four medal events, and the athlete field grew from 40 to 68.
• Los Angeles 2028 will split climbing into three separate disciplines — bouldering, lead and speed — each with its own medals.

Television coverage put climbing in front of audiences who had never seen it, and gyms reported waves of new members in the months that followed.

What the numbers miss

Statistics capture gyms and medals, but not the quieter reasons people stay: the friend who finally tops their project, the regular Tuesday crew, the first outdoor trip. Those do not show up in a market report, and they are the real engine.

The takeaway is simple. Climbing is no longer niche, it is still growing, and there has never been a better time — or an easier one — to start. If you want to see your own numbers climb, logging your sessions is the place to begin.