Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
SOC 39-9031 · 2024-2034
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness. Demonstrate techniques and form, observe participants, and explain to them corrective measures necessary to improve their skills. Develop and implement individualized approaches to exercise.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
The job this trains for
- Typical pay in California
- $59,459per year
- Projected openings
- 105,200
- Projected change
- +16.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Instructing
- Service Orientation
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Learning Strategies
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $63,814 | 1,950 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $62,915 | 7,560 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $62,088 | 7,730 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $61,846 | 1,590 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $61,696 | 560 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $61,048 | 6,900 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $60,523 | 910 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $59,330 | 15,290 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $58,607 | 29,170 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $58,466 | 6,780 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $57,469 | 990 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $56,430 | 300 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $56,029 | 1,700 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $54,003 | 850 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $52,388 | 370 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $51,936 | 2,230 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $50,876 | 1,220 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $50,301 | 390 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $50,198 | 520 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $49,992 | 12,200 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $49,653 | 940 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $48,542 | 7,470 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $47,956 | 930 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $47,781 | 1,050 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $47,709 | 320 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $47,637 | 250 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $40,037 | 260 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $39,070 | 200 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $39,070 | 880 |
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| The job this trains for | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Physiologists | $64,188 | 1,450 | +16.7% |
| Personal Service Managers, All Other | $79,146 | 3,800 | +9.1% |
| Coaches and Scouts | $48,994 | 49,610 | +10.7% |
| Self-Enrichment Teachers | $50,958 | 97,020 | +10.2% |
| Recreational Therapists | $100,918 | 1,870 | +15.8% |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | $85,215 | 18,930 | +41.1% |
Leads to — 6
Certificate of Accomplishment Fitness Trainer
Contra Costa College · San Pablo · $1,716
Kinesiology - Kinesiology A.A.-T Degree
Cabrillo College · Aptos · $6,193
Kinesiology - Personal Trainer Certificate of Achievement
Cabrillo College · Aptos · $1,993
Certified Fitness Trainer
Lionel University · Carpinteria · $1,889
Kinesiology - Certificate of Achievement in Personal Training
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $2,565
Kinesiology: AS degree in Kinesiology (Coaching emphasis)
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $4,887