Original Data · SBA 7(a) FOIA · As of 2026-03-31
Franchise Failure Rates: SBA Loan Defaults by Brand
Franchisors do not publish failure rates. Federal loan data gets you the next best thing: the share of SBA loans to each brand's franchisees that ended in charge-off, FY2010-FY2019, brand by brand.
9.4% of the 35,406 resolved SBA 7(a) loans made to franchise owners between FY2010 and FY2019 ended in default. Non-franchise borrowers in the same window: 7.1%. So the franchise premium, on average, bought a higher default rate, not a lower one. The average hides the real story: the spread between brands runs from under 1% (Ameriprise Financial, 0.3% across 306 resolved loans) to 66.7% (Experimac). Which brand you buy is the risk decision.
One definition before the table: this is the rate at which SBA loans to a brand's franchisees were charged off, computed from the government's own loan file (SBA, 2026-03-31). A charged-off loan is the hardest public failure signal that exists for franchises, but it is a loan outcome, not a verified location closure, and SBA borrowers are a subset of any brand's owners. Read it as relative risk between brands, measured identically for all of them.
| Franchise Brand | SBA Default Rate | Charged Off | Resolved Loans | Median SBA Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimac | 66.7% | 36 | 54 | $150K |
| Window Genie | 55.6% | 25 | 45 | $150K |
| Dental Fix Rx | 52.3% | 23 | 44 | $150K |
| EmbroidMe | 48.4% | 15 | 31 | $150K |
| Five Star Painting | 40.7% | 11 | 27 | $150K |
| Premier Rental-Purchase | 40% | 10 | 25 | $438K |
| Burgerim | 39.7% | 25 | 63 | $296K |
| Mr Appliance | 39.5% | 15 | 38 | $150K |
| Wireless Zone | 38.5% | 10 | 26 | $175K |
| The Grounds Guys | 37.7% | 20 | 53 | $150K |
| Patrice & Associates | 36.4% | 12 | 33 | $150K |
| Tutor Doctor | 36.2% | 21 | 58 | $100K |
| Signarama | 32.1% | 27 | 84 | $150K |
| Orange Leaf | 30.7% | 27 | 88 | $242K |
| Freshii | 30.6% | 11 | 36 | $330K |
| Teriyaki Madness | 29.6% | 8 | 27 | $316K |
| Ilovekickboxingcom | 28.7% | 27 | 94 | $211K |
| Complete Nutrition | 28.3% | 15 | 53 | $161K |
| Chem-Dry | 28% | 7 | 25 | $150K |
| Dickey's Barbecue Pit | 27.9% | 56 | 201 | $243K |
| Floor Coverings International | 27.1% | 13 | 48 | $150K |
| Fantastic Sams | 26.7% | 27 | 101 | $167K |
| Naturals2go | 25% | 8 | 32 | $107K |
| 9round | 24.7% | 19 | 77 | $78K |
| Mr Handyman | 24.1% | 7 | 29 | $150K |
| Gigi's Cupcakes | 24% | 6 | 25 | $238K |
| Grand Master Samane's Pro Martial Arts | 23.1% | 6 | 26 | $150K |
| Quiznos | 22.9% | 8 | 35 | $64K |
| Martinizing Dry Cleaning | 22.6% | 7 | 31 | $292K |
| AAMCO Transmissions | 22.1% | 19 | 86 | $198K |
| Rainbow International Restoration & Cleaning | 21.9% | 7 | 32 | $150K |
| The Bar Method | 21.9% | 7 | 32 | $302K |
| Bahama Buck's | 21.8% | 12 | 55 | $306K |
| Which Wich | 21.4% | 30 | 140 | $274K |
| Zoup! | 21.4% | 12 | 56 | $350K |
| Jake's Wayback Burgers | 21.3% | 10 | 47 | $209K |
| Puroclean | 20.7% | 6 | 29 | $150K |
| The Lash Lounge | 20.6% | 7 | 34 | $250K |
| Meineke | 20.5% | 27 | 132 | $253K |
| Speedpro Imaging | 20.5% | 8 | 39 | $187K |
| Batteries Plus | 20.3% | 13 | 64 | $200K |
| Pinot's Palette | 20% | 6 | 30 | $127K |
| Huddle House | 20% | 5 | 25 | $450K |
| F45 Training | 19.7% | 14 | 71 | $225K |
| Alphagraphics | 19.6% | 9 | 46 | $333K |
| Duck Donuts | 19.4% | 6 | 31 | $323K |
| Massage Heights | 18.8% | 12 | 64 | $350K |
| Code Ninjas | 18.3% | 11 | 60 | $205K |
| The Pita Pit | 18.2% | 14 | 77 | $233K |
| Title Boxing Club | 17.9% | 12 | 67 | $200K |
| Postnet | 17.9% | 5 | 28 | $131K |
| Minuteman Press | 17.3% | 14 | 81 | $105K |
| Barre3 | 17.1% | 7 | 41 | $246K |
| Arcpoint | 16.7% | 5 | 30 | $150K |
| Saladworks | 16% | 4 | 25 | $251K |
| Your Pie | 16% | 4 | 25 | $369K |
| Menchie's | 15.9% | 29 | 182 | $308K |
| Huntington Learning Center | 15.6% | 5 | 32 | $150K |
| Mellow Mushroom | 15.4% | 12 | 78 | $1.1M |
| Primohoagies | 15.4% | 4 | 26 | $150K |
| Clean Juice | 15.2% | 5 | 33 | $305K |
| Line-X | 15% | 6 | 40 | $150K |
| 18/8 Fine Men's Salons | 15% | 6 | 40 | $256K |
| Brain Balance | 14.8% | 4 | 27 | $270K |
| Deka Lash | 14.8% | 4 | 27 | $227K |
| Cartridge World | 14.7% | 5 | 34 | $100K |
| Waxing The City | 14.7% | 5 | 34 | $260K |
| Snap-On Tools | 14.3% | 4 | 28 | $93K |
| Amazing Lash Studio | 14.2% | 16 | 113 | $360K |
| Edible Arrangements | 13.9% | 26 | 187 | $177K |
| Skyzone | 13.5% | 12 | 89 | $1.4M |
| Fitness Together | 13.5% | 7 | 52 | $102K |
| Moe's Southwest Grill | 13.5% | 7 | 52 | $350K |
| The Cleaning Authority | 13.5% | 5 | 37 | $150K |
| Papa John's Pizza | 13.3% | 12 | 90 | $231K |
| Great Harvest Bread Co | 12.9% | 8 | 62 | $190K |
| Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness | 12.3% | 8 | 65 | $200K |
| Anytime Fitness | 12.2% | 72 | 589 | $300K |
| Kid To Kid | 12% | 3 | 25 | $223K |
| Uptown Cheapskate | 12% | 3 | 25 | $242K |
| Allegra Network | 12% | 3 | 25 | $436K |
| Advantaclean | 11.8% | 4 | 34 | $150K |
| Little Caesars | 11.8% | 4 | 34 | $433K |
| Painting With A Twist | 11.6% | 5 | 43 | $100K |
| MAACO Auto Painting Center | 11.5% | 3 | 26 | $309K |
| Nekter Juice Bar | 11.5% | 3 | 26 | $301K |
| Mr Electric | 11.1% | 3 | 27 | $150K |
| Certapro Painters | 10.7% | 6 | 56 | $130K |
| Senior Helpers | 10.6% | 5 | 47 | $150K |
| Honest-1 Auto Care | 10.3% | 4 | 39 | $317K |
| Fuzzy's Taco Shop | 10.3% | 3 | 29 | $411K |
| Paul Davis Restoration | 10.2% | 5 | 49 | $216K |
| Massage Luxe | 10% | 3 | 30 | $350K |
| Snap Fitness | 9.9% | 14 | 141 | $150K |
| Mobil Oil (Stations) | 9.7% | 3 | 31 | $1.0M |
| Health Mart Pharmacies | 9.7% | 3 | 31 | $350K |
| Massage Envy | 9.5% | 28 | 296 | $417K |
| Midas | 9.3% | 4 | 43 | $283K |
| Liberty Tax Service | 9.1% | 11 | 121 | $85K |
| Healthsource Chiropractic | 8.6% | 6 | 70 | $150K |
| Synergy Homecare | 8.6% | 3 | 35 | $150K |
| Rosati's Pizza | 8.1% | 3 | 37 | $271K |
| Temporary Franchises | 8% | 7 | 87 | $158K |
| Firstlight Homecare | 8% | 2 | 25 | $125K |
| Fastsigns | 7.9% | 11 | 140 | $225K |
| Doctors Express | 7.9% | 3 | 38 | $633K |
| Little Caesar Pizza | 7.7% | 15 | 196 | $280K |
| The Learning Experience | 7.5% | 8 | 107 | $365K |
| Fedex Ground | 7.4% | 14 | 190 | $150K |
| True Value Hardware | 7.4% | 5 | 68 | $364K |
| Zippy Shell | 7.4% | 2 | 27 | $150K |
| Firehouse Subs | 7.3% | 26 | 354 | $270K |
| Subway | 7.2% | 86 | 1197 | $184K |
| Sport Clips | 7.2% | 23 | 320 | $223K |
| Retro Fitness | 7.2% | 5 | 69 | $941K |
| Cyclebar | 7.1% | 5 | 70 | $458K |
| Baskin-Robbins | 7.1% | 4 | 56 | $173K |
| Arby's | 7.1% | 3 | 42 | $439K |
| Play IT Again Sports | 7.1% | 3 | 42 | $244K |
| Pet Supplies Plus | 7.1% | 3 | 42 | $746K |
| Seva Beauty | 7.1% | 2 | 28 | $141K |
| Marco's Pizza | 6.9% | 15 | 217 | $326K |
| Checkers | 6.9% | 2 | 29 | $504K |
| The Jointthe Chiropractic Place | 6.8% | 4 | 59 | $198K |
| Bright Star Healthcare/Brightstar | 6.8% | 3 | 44 | $207K |
| Urban Air Adventure Park | 6.7% | 3 | 45 | $1.9M |
| Fleet Feet Sports | 6.7% | 2 | 30 | $220K |
| Jimmy John's | 6.5% | 36 | 554 | $379K |
| Papa Murphy's | 6.5% | 12 | 184 | $225K |
| The Brass Tap | 6.5% | 2 | 31 | $592K |
| Jamba Juice | 5.9% | 2 | 34 | $290K |
| Budget Blinds | 5.8% | 6 | 104 | $150K |
| Midas Muffler Shop | 5.7% | 2 | 35 | $212K |
| Ace Hardware | 5.6% | 14 | 251 | $455K |
| Molly Maid | 5.3% | 2 | 38 | $150K |
| Wetzel's Pretzels | 5.3% | 2 | 38 | $204K |
| Auntie Anne's | 5.3% | 2 | 38 | $211K |
| Jet's Pizza | 5.1% | 4 | 79 | $299K |
| Clothes Mentor | 5.1% | 2 | 39 | $185K |
| Merry Maids | 4.7% | 2 | 43 | $275K |
| Golden Corral | 4.7% | 2 | 43 | $1.6M |
| Servpro | 4.5% | 13 | 287 | $150K |
| Smoothie King | 4.5% | 7 | 157 | $280K |
| Quality Inn | 4.5% | 6 | 133 | $2.4M |
| Travelodge | 4.5% | 3 | 66 | $1.3M |
| MAACO Auto Painting & Bodyworks/Maaco Collisi | 4.3% | 2 | 47 | $332K |
| The Medicine Shoppe | 4.3% | 2 | 46 | $400K |
| Sleep Inn/Sleep Inn & Suites | 4.3% | 2 | 46 | $2.6M |
| Right At Home | 4.2% | 3 | 72 | $150K |
| Dogtopia | 4.2% | 2 | 48 | $580K |
| Pure Barre | 4.1% | 3 | 73 | $196K |
| Holiday Inn | 4% | 3 | 75 | $3.7M |
| Mail Boxes Etc USA | 4% | 1 | 25 | $150K |
| State Farm Insurance | 3.9% | 2 | 51 | $150K |
| Clarion Hotel | 3.8% | 1 | 26 | $2.9M |
| Big O Tires | 3.7% | 2 | 54 | $451K |
| Philly Soft Pretzel Factory | 3.7% | 1 | 27 | $153K |
| Sonic Drive-In | 3.7% | 1 | 27 | $830K |
| Allstate Insurance | 3.5% | 7 | 202 | $225K |
| Once Upon A Child | 3.4% | 3 | 87 | $216K |
| Yogurtland | 3.4% | 2 | 58 | $350K |
| Smartstyle | 3.3% | 1 | 30 | $350K |
| The Goddard School | 3.2% | 6 | 188 | $1.5M |
| Comfort Inn | 3.2% | 2 | 63 | $2.8M |
| Burger King | 3.2% | 2 | 62 | $775K |
| Exxon | 3.2% | 1 | 31 | $1.2M |
| Mountain Mike's Pizza | 3.2% | 1 | 31 | $275K |
| Supercuts | 3.1% | 6 | 195 | $150K |
| Motel 6 | 3.1% | 5 | 159 | $1.7M |
| TCBY | 3.1% | 1 | 32 | $250K |
| Restoration 1 | 3.1% | 1 | 32 | $133K |
| Elements Therapeutic Massage | 3% | 2 | 66 | $251K |
| Wild Birds Unlimited | 3% | 1 | 33 | $131K |
| The Little Gym | 3% | 1 | 33 | $170K |
| European Wax Center | 2.9% | 7 | 242 | $360K |
| Gold's Gym | 2.9% | 1 | 35 | $1.1M |
| Mathnasium Learning Centers | 2.9% | 1 | 35 | $100K |
| Dairy Queen | 2.8% | 8 | 290 | $331K |
| LA Quinta Inn | 2.8% | 2 | 72 | $3.5M |
| Pizza Ranch | 2.8% | 1 | 36 | $406K |
| Re/Max | 2.8% | 1 | 36 | $174K |
| Zaxby's | 2.7% | 2 | 73 | $1.1M |
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | 2.6% | 5 | 190 | $256K |
| Kiddie Academy | 2.6% | 4 | 156 | $748K |
| Servicemaster Clean | 2.6% | 3 | 117 | $225K |
| Hand And Stone | 2.6% | 3 | 116 | $377K |
| Super 8 | 2.5% | 7 | 277 | $1.5M |
| Best Western Inn | 2.4% | 4 | 164 | $2.3M |
| Primrose School (Daycare) | 2.4% | 1 | 41 | $2.1M |
| Comfort Keepers | 2.4% | 1 | 41 | $238K |
| Bee Hive Homes | 2.4% | 1 | 41 | $1.7M |
| Jersey Mike's | 2.2% | 5 | 223 | $300K |
| Jackson Hewitt Tax Service | 2.2% | 1 | 46 | $128K |
| Hampton Inns | 2.2% | 1 | 46 | $3.5M |
| Two Men And A Truck | 2.2% | 1 | 45 | $250K |
| Days Inn | 2% | 6 | 306 | $1.8M |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 2% | 2 | 102 | $175K |
| Knights Inn | 2% | 1 | 50 | $1.1M |
| Napa Auto Parts | 2% | 1 | 49 | $350K |
| Denny's | 1.9% | 1 | 54 | $616K |
| Country Inns & Suites By Carlson | 1.9% | 1 | 54 | $3.2M |
| Quality Inn/Quality Suites Hotel Or Resort | 1.8% | 4 | 223 | $2.1M |
| Great Clips | 1.8% | 4 | 221 | $150K |
| Home Instead Senior Care | 1.8% | 3 | 170 | $336K |
| Camp Bow Wow | 1.7% | 1 | 58 | $660K |
| Orangetheory Fitness | 1.6% | 5 | 308 | $475K |
| Little Ceasar's Pizza | 1.6% | 2 | 123 | $212K |
| Chevron (Gas Station) | 1.5% | 2 | 131 | $1.3M |
| Baymont Inn & Suites | 1.5% | 1 | 68 | $2.0M |
| Americas Best Value Inn (F/K/A Best Value Inn | 1.5% | 1 | 66 | $1.1M |
| Domino's | 1.4% | 3 | 216 | $283K |
| Dunkin' | 1.4% | 3 | 211 | $496K |
| Comfort/ Comfort Inn & Suites/ Comfort Suites | 1.3% | 2 | 155 | $2.8M |
| Red Roof Inn | 1.3% | 2 | 150 | $1.9M |
| Plato's Closet | 1.3% | 1 | 80 | $200K |
| Sports Clips | 1.2% | 2 | 164 | $180K |
| Econo Lodge | 1.2% | 2 | 162 | $1.3M |
| Shell Service Station | 1.1% | 1 | 95 | $1.1M |
| The UPS Store | 0.7% | 3 | 442 | $193K |
| Wingstop | 0.7% | 1 | 146 | $350K |
| Ameriprise Financial | 0.3% | 1 | 306 | $335K |
| Culver's | 0% | 0 | 176 | $805K |
| Club Pilates | 0% | 0 | 148 | $200K |
| Primrose Schools | 0% | 0 | 142 | $3.3M |
| Christian Brothers Automotive | 0% | 0 | 137 | $320K |
| Nothing Bundt Cakes | 0% | 0 | 115 | $350K |
| Planet Fitness | 0% | 0 | 111 | $1.0M |
| Pearle Vision | 0% | 0 | 83 | $292K |
| Biggby Coffee | 0% | 0 | 72 | $164K |
| Choice Hotels International Inc | 0% | 0 | 65 | $1.9M |
| Kids 'r' Kids | 0% | 0 | 61 | $2.7M |
| Goldfish Swim School | 0% | 0 | 59 | $1.4M |
| Toppers Pizza | 0% | 0 | 50 | $311K |
| Ampm Mini Market- Arco | 0% | 0 | 50 | $2.1M |
| Holiday Inn Express | 0% | 0 | 49 | $3.1M |
| Visiting Angels | 0% | 0 | 48 | $103K |
| Rodeway Inn | 0% | 0 | 48 | $1.4M |
| Dutch Bros Coffee | 0% | 0 | 47 | $412K |
| Microtel Inn And Suites | 0% | 0 | 43 | $2.1M |
| Valero | 0% | 0 | 41 | $971K |
| H&R Block | 0% | 0 | 41 | $150K |
| Howard Johnson | 0% | 0 | 40 | $2.0M |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 0% | 0 | 40 | $413K |
| Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | 0% | 0 | 40 | $608K |
| Sonic | 0% | 0 | 36 | $975K |
| Best Western / Best Western Plus - Membership Agreement | 0% | 0 | 36 | $3.2M |
| Express Employment Professionals/Express Pers | 0% | 0 | 35 | $120K |
| IHOP | 0% | 0 | 34 | $729K |
| Great American Cookies | 0% | 0 | 33 | $213K |
| Goddard Early Learning Center | 0% | 0 | 31 | $690K |
| Jiffy Lube | 0% | 0 | 31 | $731K |
| Five Guys Famous Burgers And Fries | 0% | 0 | 30 | $365K |
| Ramada Inns | 0% | 0 | 30 | $2.7M |
| Circle K | 0% | 0 | 29 | $1.0M |
| European Wax Centers-Galleria | 0% | 0 | 28 | $263K |
| Burn Boot Camp Fitness | 0% | 0 | 28 | $174K |
| Hardware Hank | 0% | 0 | 27 | $175K |
| Ubreakifix | 0% | 0 | 27 | $106K |
| Urban Air Trampoline Park | 0% | 0 | 27 | $1.4M |
| Wendy's | 0% | 0 | 26 | $820K |
| Moe's Sw Grill | 0% | 0 | 26 | $401K |
| General Nutrition Centers/Gnc | 0% | 0 | 26 | $179K |
| Bin There Dump That | 0% | 0 | 26 | $150K |
| Round Table Pizza | 0% | 0 | 25 | $326K |
| KFC | 0% | 0 | 25 | $816K |
| Grease Monkey | 0% | 0 | 25 | $617K |
| School Of Rock | 0% | 0 | 25 | $235K |
How to read this table
- Default rate is charge-offs divided by resolved loans (charge-offs plus loans paid in full). Loans still open at the data cutoff count as neither, and since some open loans will eventually charge off, every rate here is, if anything, an undercount.
- Resolved loans is the sample behind the rate. A 30% rate on 400 loans says more than 30% on 26. Brands below 25 resolved loans are excluded entirely.
- Median SBA loan is the median approved amount for that brand, a rough proxy for how much capital a franchisee borrows to open one.
- The cohort is FY2010-FY2019. Newer loans are deliberately excluded: they have not had time to fail. A brand's current program can be better or worse than its record here.
Methodology and source
Source: the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level file (data.sba.gov, public domain, as of 2026-03-31). Universe: loans approved FY2010-FY2019 carrying a franchise name; cancelled approvals excluded. defaultRate = CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF), cancelled approvals excluded, open loans in neither bucket. Brand names are normalized before grouping because the SBA's franchise coding changed systems mid-decade (Subway appears under three codes and several spellings); the exact normalization map ships in our build script. Distinct sibling brands (Holiday Inn vs Holiday Inn Express) are never merged. Reporting floor: 25 resolved loans per brand.
Common questions
What is the real franchise failure rate?
There is no official franchise failure statistic; franchisors do not have to publish one and most do not. The closest public measure is SBA loan performance: of 35,406 resolved SBA 7(a) loans made to franchise owners between FY2010 and FY2019, 9.4% ended in charge-off (the government wrote the loan off as a loss). The same figure for non-franchise borrowers was 7.1%.
Which franchise has the highest SBA loan default rate?
Among brands with at least 25 resolved loans in the FY2010-FY2019 cohort, loans to Experimac franchisees had the highest charge-off rate at 66.7% (36 of 54 resolved loans). A high loan default rate is a strong warning sign, but it is a loan outcome, not a verified count of closed locations.
Are franchises safer than independent businesses?
Not in this data. Franchise borrowers defaulted at 9.4% versus 7.1% for non-franchise SBA borrowers in the same window. The honest reading: buying a brand does not, by itself, de-risk the loan. Brand choice dominates - the spread runs from under 1% to over 60% depending on which franchise you buy.
What counts as a failure in this data?
A charge-off: the SBA-guaranteed loan went unpaid and was written off. It is the hardest failure signal in any public dataset, but it undercounts real distress, because loans still open at the data cutoff (current, delinquent, or in liquidation) are not counted as defaults here even though some of them will become defaults.
Before you buy a franchise
A default rate tells you how often the loan went bad, not why. Pair it with what the buy-in actually costs (franchise startup costs by business type), how long that category takes to reach breakeven (breakeven timelines), and how much cash you should have before you start (the savings math). If the brand you are considering sits above the 9.4% franchise average here, the burden of proof in the FDD and in your franchisee calls should feel very different.