US spa industry revenue reached US$23.5 billion (€21.6 billion, £18.3 billion) in 2025, a 4.2% year-on-year increase that took the channel past the post-pandemic plateau, according to the 2026 US Spa Industry Study unveiled at the ISPA Conference in Las Vegas on 31 March 2026.

The annual benchmark, commissioned by the International Spa Association (ISPA) and conducted by PwC, was presented to more than 2,000 delegates by longtime study collaborator Colin McIlheney, founder of McIlheney Consulting and former global research lead at PwC. McIlheney said: "The Big Five is designed as a clear, accessible benchmark, and because it is tracked consistently year after year, it gives spa leaders a reliable way to spot trends and make smarter business decisions over time."

What the Big Five show

The five headline statistics for 2025:

• Revenue: US$23.5bn (€21.6bn, £18.3bn), up 4.2% from US$22.5bn in 2024
• Visits: 191 million, up 1.8% from 187 million in 2024
• Locations: 22,060, up 0.4% from 21,980 in 2024
• Revenue per visit: US$123 (€113, £96), up 2.3% from US$120
• Total employment: 376,900 in January 2026, up 0.2% from 376,200

For treatment-room operators, the spread of growth matters more than the headline. Visits rose 1.8% while revenue climbed 4.2% and revenue per visit jumped 2.3%. The arithmetic implies that ticket size, not footfall, drove the topline — a pattern that should shape retail and back-bar procurement decisions through 2026.

What it means for formulators and brand buyers

Channel growth at 4.2% materially outpaces the 1–2% volume growth forecast for the broader US prestige beauty market. For brands selling treatment-driven retail (body care, professional peels, massage oils) the data justify continued pro-channel investment rather than wholesale diversification.

For ingredient suppliers, the visit × price split is the actionable signal: with 191 million visits each producing US$123, every incremental percentage point on revenue per visit compounds across a much larger user base than new-build openings. That ratio tracks well with high-margin, sensorial-positioned SKUs — facial oils, body butters, sensorial cleansing formats — rather than commodity retail cleansers.

The 0.4% location growth, meanwhile, signals that the addressable outlet base has effectively saturated. Competitive wins for the next 24 months will come from displacing incumbents inside the existing 22,060 doors, not from opening new ones.

What the workforce numbers reveal

Full-time employment held steady, part-time roles expanded slightly and contract positions declined, leaving the workforce at 376,900 — a near-flat 0.2% gain. For esthetician-facing brands, that flatline argues against heavy investment in therapist recruitment marketing. It points instead to retention plays: education ladders, treatment-protocol refreshers, commission structures that reward premium-service upsells.

ISPA President Lynne McNees framed the data set as a planning tool: "In an industry that thrives on experience and trust, having reliable, consistent data matters. As an early indicator of where the industry is heading, the Big Five also helps spa leaders begin to refine their strategies ahead of the full report's release later this year."

What is the 2030 target?

McIlheney used the Las Vegas platform to challenge operators to compound growth at the same 4.2% rate to reach US$30bn (€27.6bn, £23.4bn) by 2030. Reaching the threshold would require roughly US$6.5bn of incremental revenue over four years — an exercise likely to be funded by ticket inflation and add-on service mix rather than new spa builds, given the flat location count.

ISPA has confirmed the full study will publish later in 2026, with deeper cuts on service mix, regional performance and operator margin. Brand and ingredient buyers should treat that release as the next data point to recalibrate their pro-channel forecasts.