Idaho’s natural beauty and its culture of outdoor recreation helps keep its residents highly fit. In fact, the Physical Activity Council rated Idaho as having the second best physical activity rate in the country in 2012, with most state residents participating in some form of daily exercise. Living among people who enjoy strenuous outdoor activities gives you the opportunity to help keep them fit, so they can excel at their favorite outdoor hobbies. And the best part is that you can do this while earning a good salary working as a personal trainer!
Opportunities to enjoy Idaho’s outdoors range from mountain biking and skiing to such adrenaline rushes as mountain climbing and whitewater rafting. This type of rafting is particularly popular in Idaho, since it has more whitewater river miles than anywhere else in the continental US.
Salaries and Job Growth for Idaho’s Personal Trainers
Being a personal trainer in Idaho can be particularly lucrative in its rural areas. The nonmetropolitan area of South Central Idaho offered the second highest average salary of any rural area in the country in 2013 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Idaho Department of Labor provides the average and entry-level salaries for fitness trainers in the state as of 2014:
Idaho Falls is a particularly good place to find a job as a fitness trainer. In fact, Idaho Falls had the second highest concentration of such jobs of any city in the country according to the BLS.
Becoming a personal trainer in Idaho is a good career move, as the demand for personal fitness coaching services increases dramatically. This rate of job growth is expected to be twice the national rate, with an estimated increase of 26.1% between 2012 and 2022. The Idaho Department of Labor predicts that this level of growth will generate an average of 67 jobs a year for personal trainers.
Long-time fitness trainer Margie Caldwell Cooper was featured in a 2014 issue of Sun Valley Magazine. She advocates a holistic blend of fusion classes that blend Western and Eastern styles. The more high-intensity CrossFit movement is also big in Idaho. There were at least seven CrossFit gyms in the state in 2015.
Tourists can be a good market for you, too. Outdoor sports and recreation were a major part of Idaho’s tourism industry in 2013, responsible for employing 5% of the people in Idaho’s tourism industry according to the Idaho Department of Labor. One big draw for tourists is Boise’s St. Luke’s Women’s Fitness Celebration, which features a 5 km run.
Salaries for Personal Trainers in Key Regions of Idaho
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides detailed information on the salaries of personal trainers throughout Idaho. Those in the South Central nonmetropolitan area of the city had substantially higher salaries, with experienced trainers there earning an average of $90,060 a year in 2013: