Custom Merch for Gyms in Chicago, IL
Merch Mob makes member tees, coach and staff apparel, and challenge and competition shirts for gyms in Chicago, IL, at its shop in Montclair, CA, and ships them to Chicago. Young adults make up 29% of Chicago, against 23% nationally (Census ACS, 2020-2024); that age group wears gym apparel outside the gym too, so the design should hold up as everyday wear.
Chicago by the numbers
Chicago's population has held steady since 2020, at 2,731,585 residents (Census estimates).
Cook County has 632 fitness and recreational sports centers with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). That is 1.2 for every 10,000 residents, the same as the national figure of 1.2. 53% of them employ fewer than 10 people. The count is about where it was in 2018 (635).
That Census category covers gyms and studios along with other recreational sports facilities.
Cook County as a whole has 5,194,625 residents, down 1.6% since 2020. Cook County has one fitness or recreational sports center for every 8,220 residents.
- Population, 2025
- 2,731,585
- Since 2020
- −0.6%
- County
- Cook County
- Fitness and recreational sports centers in Cook County, 2023
- 632
- Per 10,000 county residents
- 1.2 (US 1.2)
- Time zone
- Central
- Median age
- 35.8 (US 38.9)
- Residents aged 18 to 34
- 29% (US 23%)
- Warmest month, average high
- July, 85°F
- Coldest month, average low
- January, 19°F
- Days at 90°F or hotter, a year
- 20
- Nights at 32°F or colder, a year
- 106
- Rain and melted snow, a year
- 34 in
- Snow, a year
- 39 in
- USPS zone from the shop
- 7
Weather: Chicago Midway Airport station, 5 mi from Chicago's center (NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals); snow from the Chicago Midway Airport 3SW station. People: Census ACS 2020-2024. Counts: CBP 2023, by county, paid-employee establishments. Population: Census, July 2025.
What Chicago's weather means for gyms
Chicago has 3 months with average highs under 45°F (December to February), so members walk in bundled up and a gym hoodie or crewneck gets worn there and back. July highs average 85°F, warm enough that May to September is a true tank season and a good time for an outdoor summer challenge shirt. Spring and fall pass quickly here: no month has an average high between 65°F and 69°F, so the rack flips from fleece to tanks with little in between. With about 39 inches of snow in a typical year, members arrive in boots and coats, and a hoodie roomy enough to pull over training gear is the piece they reach for on the way out. The thermometer falls to freezing or below on about 106 nights a year, so a cuffed beanie with the gym logo sells steadily at the front desk for months.
| Month in Chicago | Average high | Average low | Rain and melted snow (in) | What members train in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 19°F | 1.5 | Hoodies, crewnecks and beanies |
| February | 37°F | 23°F | 1.5 | Hoodies, crewnecks and beanies |
| March | 48°F | 32°F | 1.9 | Long sleeves and hoodies |
| April | 60°F | 41°F | 3.6 | Long sleeves and hoodies |
| May | 71°F | 52°F | 4.1 | Member tees and tanks |
| June | 81°F | 62°F | 4 | Member tees and tanks |
| July | 85°F | 68°F | 3.6 | Tanks and performance tees |
| August | 83°F | 66°F | 4 | Member tees and tanks |
| September | 76°F | 59°F | 2.8 | Member tees and tanks |
| October | 63°F | 47°F | 3.5 | Long sleeves and hoodies |
| November | 49°F | 35°F | 2.4 | Long sleeves and hoodies |
| December | 38°F | 25°F | 1.8 | Hoodies, crewnecks and beanies |
Made in So Cal, shipped to Chicago.
Orders ship to Chicago from the shop; there is no office or pickup point in Illinois.
Chicago is about 1,711 miles from Merch Mob's shop in Montclair, CA, a straight-line distance. From the shop's ZIP code, Chicago is USPS zone 7. Chicago is on Central time, 2 hours ahead of the shop's Pacific time.
From the production floor
Merch Mob production in Southern California.
Ordering from Chicago
When should a gym in Chicago stock hoodies?
Fleece is the main event: average highs stay under 65°F for 7 months in Chicago, October to April, so order hoodies and crewnecks first and treat tanks as the summer add-on.
More for Chicago
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