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Judo by the Numbers, 2026
We mapped every judo dojo in America — 856 dojos and clubs with 24,860 customer reviews between them. Here's what the data says: how much a membership actually costs, which states have the most dojos per resident, where the judo capitals are, which governing bodies these dojos affiliate with, and what else they teach on the same mats. (Journalists & bloggers: cite freely with a link.)
How much does judo cost a month? The one-line answer
One of the most-asked questions about the sport, answered from the 53 dojos in the directory that publicly post a price: membership is about $40 a month, with most dojos landing between $28 and $68. Judo runs cheap by martial-arts standards — a lot of clubs are nonprofit, community, or rec-center programs. The full picture — price bands, what's driving the spread, and the state-by-state index — is on the Judo Class Cost Index.
Which states have the most judo dojos per capita?
Nationally there are about 2.5 judo dojos per million residents. The per-capita crown goes to Hawaii at 9 dojos per million — 13 dojos for a state of 1.4 million people — with Idaho at 6.5 and North Dakota at 6.3 close behind. Judo clusters where the sport's club culture and community roots run deep, not simply where the most people live — which is why the gap between the top and bottom of this table is worth a look before you go hunting for your first dojo. At the other end, Arkansas has just 0.6 per million.
| # | State | Dojos | Per million people |
| 1 | Hawaii | 13 | 9 |
| 2 | Idaho | 13 | 6.5 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 5 | 6.3 |
| 4 | Montana | 5 | 4.4 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 6 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Alaska | 3 | 4.1 |
| 7 | Colorado | 22 | 3.7 |
| 8 | California | 142 | 3.6 |
| 9 | New Jersey | 34 | 3.6 |
| 10 | Wyoming | 2 | 3.4 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 23 | 3.2 |
| 12 | New York | 64 | 3.2 |
| 13 | South Dakota | 3 | 3.2 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 41 | 3.1 |
| 15 | Vermont | 2 | 3.1 |
What else do judo dojos teach?
Judo dojos are rarely single-art — 65.7% also train at least one other martial art under the same roof, an average of 2.6 other disciplines each. The most common companions: Self-Defense (51.6%), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (47.4%), Wrestling (22.7%), MMA (20.9%). That's the real shape of the American judo club — often a full grappling house, with Brazilian jiu-jitsu the single most common crossover on the schedule.
| Discipline also taught | Dojos | Share |
| Self-Defense | 442 | 51.6% |
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | 406 | 47.4% |
| Wrestling | 194 | 22.7% |
| MMA | 179 | 20.9% |
| Karate | 146 | 17.1% |
| Sambo | 47 | 5.5% |
| Aikido | 43 | 5% |
America's judo capitals
The cities with the most judo dojos in the directory, by raw count. Top of the list: Houston, TX (10) · Brooklyn, NY (10) · Philadelphia, PA (7). The full ranking — raw count and per resident — is on America's Judo Capitals.
| # | City | Judo dojos |
| 1 | Houston, TX | 10 |
| 2 | Brooklyn, NY | 10 |
| 3 | Philadelphia, PA | 7 |
| 4 | San Jose, CA | 7 |
| 5 | Honolulu, HI | 7 |
| 6 | Colorado Springs, CO | 7 |
| 7 | Miami, FL | 6 |
| 8 | New York, NY | 6 |
| 9 | Atlanta, GA | 6 |
| 10 | Santa Rosa, CA | 6 |
America's densest judo cities
Judo dojos per 100k residents, cities over 50k population. Raw counts favor the biggest metros, so this table is the other lens — the mid-size cities where dojos cluster hardest per resident.
| # | City | Dojos | Per 100k |
| 1 | Harrisburg, PA | 3 | 5.9 |
| 2 | Ocoee, FL | 3 | 5.9 |
| 3 | Logan, UT | 3 | 5.3 |
| 4 | Missoula, MT | 3 | 3.8 |
| 5 | Stratford, CT | 2 | 3.7 |
| 6 | Pensacola, FL | 2 | 3.7 |
| 7 | Concord, IN | 2 | 3.6 |
| 8 | Pocatello, ID | 2 | 3.4 |
| 9 | Gardena, CA | 2 | 3.4 |
| 10 | Santa Rosa, CA | 6 | 3.4 |
| 11 | Des Plaines, IL | 2 | 3.4 |
| 12 | Santee, CA | 2 | 3.4 |
| 13 | San Rafael, CA | 2 | 3.3 |
| 14 | Vineland, NJ | 2 | 3.2 |
| 15 | Norwalk, CA | 3 | 3.1 |
Inside the dojos
Of the 856 dojos in the directory, 669 are genuine judo dojos — judo is on their schedule — with the rest being martial-arts clubs whose judo classes earn them a place here. From our review and website mining so far (these counts are floors — they require evidence, and enrichment is ongoing):
| Dojos that… | Count | Share |
| Are beginner-friendly (all levels welcome) | 383 | 45% |
| Run kids & youth classes | 625 | 73% |
| Advertise a free trial or intro class | 249 | 29% |
| Offer private / one-on-one lessons | 141 | 16% |
| Run newaza (groundwork) classes | 106 | 12% |
| Have a competition (shiai) team | 381 | 45% |
| Offer women's judo classes | 63 | 7.4% |
Small-town dojos worth the drive
Judo dojos in towns under 30,000 people that still pull hundreds or thousands of reviews — destination dojos that outdraw their whole zip code.
- Supermaster Kim Taekwondo & Judo — Cumming, GA ★ 5
- Ararat Martial Arts & Fitness Center — Warrensville Heights, OH ★ 4.9
- New Breed Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness — Santa Fe Springs, CA ★ 4.7
- Carlson Gracie NKY - Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, Judo, & Muay Thai — Newport, KY ★ 5
- Diego Ramalho Brazilian Jiu Jitsu NC — Spring Lake, NC ★ 4.6
- Pedro's Judo Center — Wakefield, MA ★ 4.9
- Insight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Judo & Muay Thai - Bastrop — Bastrop, TX ★ 4.9
- Americana Jiu Jitsu Collective — Yucca Valley, CA ★ 5
- Renzo Gracie Jiujitsu Lakeway — Lakeway, TX ★ 5
- Chu To Bu Brasa Judo Jiu Jitsu — Avon, OH ★ 4.9
More data: the full stats suite
Each deep-dive below is its own dataset page with a downloadable CSV — cite freely with a link.
- The Judo Class Cost Index — how much membership costs, nationally and by state: median monthly price, price bands, and the coverage behind the numbers.
- America's Judo Capitals — the cities with the most judo dojos, raw count and per resident.
- The Best Cities for Judo — dojo density × dojo quality, scored for every US city over 50k.
- Judo affiliations & federations — the governing-body and lineage table (USA Judo, USJA, USJF, Kodokan, Tenri) plus what 65.7% of dojos teach besides judo.
- America's most underserved judo cities — the biggest US cities with zero or one judo dojo.