Aqua-Tots franchise unit economics
Aqua-Tots franchisees build and run an indoor swim school of at least 6,000 square feet selling small-group and private lessons and pool parties, inside an exclusive territory that may be as small as a two-mile radius. Across 131 schools the 2025 average was $1,138,797 of sales with a median of $1,008,577. Eight California schools averaged $2,687,841 against $1,009,985 in the other 116, on a build costing $1,619,820 to $2,939,590 either way.
- Primary source
- Aqua-Tots Swim School Holding LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure
- Population
- the locations the filing reports on
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Eight California schools averaged $2,687,841 in 2025. The other 116 averaged $1,009,985. The pool, the building and the curriculum are the same, and so is the $1,619,820 to $2,939,590 it costs to put one up, so the build returns 0.60 times a year of revenue in California and 2.91 times at the other end.
- California schools bill 2.66 times what schools outside the five metro states do. $2,687,841 against $1,009,985 *, on an identical build, so location is the single largest decision an owner here makes.
- The same build costs 0.60 to 1.09 years of revenue in the West and 1.60 to 2.91 outside it. $1,619,820 to $2,939,590 against each region’s average *, a range created by where the school sits.
- Tenant improvements and the pool are $1,450,000 to $2,500,000 of the build. 85% of the low end *, which is why this is among the most capital-intensive models in the library.
- Brand charges run 10.5% of revenue and have zero minimum royalty. 6% royalty, 2% national advertising, 2% local spend and $465 a month of software *, with zero sales quota attached.
- The exclusive territory may be as small as a two-mile radius. About 12.6 square miles, genuinely exclusive while you comply, and adjustable by the brand only at renewal.
How much does a Aqua-Tots franchise make?
The average Aqua-Tots unit reported $1,138,797 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,008,577. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 10.5% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Aqua-Tots performers
Aqua-Tots splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $2,687,841 a year. The worst averaged $1,009,985. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,008,577. The average was $1,138,797. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 2.7× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Capacity, fixed at build.Locations run 6,000 square feet. What you can sell is set by the build, and the build does not change after opening.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $1,619,820 to $2,939,590, a 1.8× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Admissions, the operating driver.This model bills on admissions. The doors are open whether anyone comes or not, so the owner works on how many come through in an open hour and what each spends beyond the ticket. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 10.5% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.131 of 138 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, as are locations under the brand’s current size standard, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Where the school sits
Two and a half times the revenue, for the same school.
| Region | Schools | Average | Median | High | Low | At or above average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West (California) | 8 | $2,687,841 | $2,453,970 | $3,963,264 | $1,776,609 | 3 (38%) |
| Northeast (MA, NJ, NY, PA) | 7 | $1,739,049 | $1,724,050 | $2,583,209 | $917,833 | 3 (43%) |
| All other regions | 116 | $1,009,985 | $958,825 | $2,088,661 | $403,177 | 51 (44%) |
| All 131 | 131 | $1,138,797 | $1,008,577 | $3,963,264 | $403,177 | 53 (40%) |
Every figure is as the brand reported it for franchised US schools operating at the end of 2025, excluding the single company-owned school.
The lowest-selling California school bills more than the average school everywhere else. $1,776,609 against $1,009,985, so the minimum in that market sits 76% above the mean outside it.
Fifteen metro schools account for most of the system average up by $128,812. The 116 other schools average $1,009,985 against the all-school $1,138,797 *, so a school outside those five states should benchmark against the lower figure.
Thirteen of the 15 metro schools billed at least $1,000,000. 93% of them, against a median outside the metros of $958,825, which sits just under that mark.
The highest-selling school billed 9.83 times the lowest-selling one. $3,963,264 against $403,177 *, and the system median of $1,008,577 is 88.6% of the mean.
Two arithmetic checks miss. Weighting the three regional averages gives $1,151,407 against the filed $1,138,797. The regional attainment counts sum to 57 against a filed 53, so treat the regional splits as indicative.
What it costs to open, and how long it takes back
A million and a half before the first lesson.
| Region | Average revenue | Build at $1,619,820 | Build at $2,939,590 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West | $2,687,841 | 0.60 years | 1.09 years |
| Northeast | $1,739,049 | 0.93 years | 1.69 years |
| All other regions | $1,009,985 | 1.60 years | 2.91 years |
| All 131 | $1,138,797 | 1.42 years | 2.58 years |
The investment range and regional averages are as the brand reported it and the ratios divide one by the other, marked *.
Tenant improvements run $1,200,000 to $2,100,000 and the pool $250,000 to $400,000. Together 85% of the cheapest build and 85% of the dearest *, and the figures exclude buying land or putting up a building.
Additional funds cover three months and exclude wages. $40,000 to $115,000, assuming zero revenue, so the working capital allowance here is thinner than the capital commitment implies.
Advertising of $26,000 to $45,000 is required across six months around opening. The three months before and the three after, a fixed obligation that lands while the school has the fewest students.
A site must be at least 6,000 square feet, and residential pools are excluded. With the brand accepting or rejecting a proposed site within 30 days. A lease must be secured by month 12 and the school open by month 24, or the agreement can end.
Fees actually collected in 2025 ran $10,000 to $50,000. Against a $50,000 list price and a 25% multi-unit discount to $37,500, so the low end sits well below every disclosed tier.
Fees and territory
Ten and a half percent, and a territory you actually own.
| Charge | Rate | West | All 131 | All other regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% of sales | $161,270 | $68,328 | $60,599 |
| National advertising | 2% | $53,757 | $22,776 | $20,200 |
| Local marketing | 2% | $53,757 | $22,776 | $20,200 |
| Software and technology | $465 a month | $5,580 | $5,580 | $5,580 |
| Total | n/a | $274,364 | $119,460 | $106,578 |
| Share of revenue | n/a | 10.21% | 10.49% | 10.55% |
The rates and monthly charges are as the brand reported it and the annual dollar figures apply them to each region's filed average revenue, marked *.
Zero sales quota and zero minimum royalty apply. Stated plainly, unusual for a model this capital-intensive, and it means the only performance pressure is the development deadline before opening.
The territory is genuinely exclusive while you comply. The brand and its affiliates stay out of it entirely, as do any similar businesses they might license, a stronger protection than most brands in this library grant.
It may also be as small as a two-mile radius. About 12.6 square miles *, negotiated on population density and income, and adjustable by the brand at renewal.
The local marketing base is stated two different ways. 2% of monthly sales in one place and 2% of the prior year’s annual revenue in another, worth settling before budgeting against it.
Royalties are expressly applied unevenly. They vary between individual and multi-unit franchisees, so the 6% is a starting point.
The network of locations
A hundred and seven to a hundred and thirty-eight.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Ceased, other | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 107 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 118 |
| 2024 | 118 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 131 |
| 2025 | 131 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 138 |
Every column is as the brand reported it and each year's arithmetic returns the filed closing count exactly.
Three schools left across three years and 34 opened. One termination and two other closures, among the lowest departure rates in this library, which is what a $1.6 million build tends to produce.
Openings fell from 15 in 2024 to 7 in 2025. While the company-owned school stayed at one throughout, so the brand grows through franchisees.
The 28 state rows fall short of the printed totals in 2023 and 2024. Worth knowing before mapping this system by market.
A multi-unit agreement commits to between two and five schools. At $37,500 each after the first, half payable at signing, and the agreement itself stays with you.
Advertising outside the territory or independently online needs consent. The brand owns every web page and digital space using the marks, so digital acquisition runs through the brand.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does an Aqua-Tots school bill?
Across 131 franchised schools in 2025 the average was $1,138,797 of sales and the median $1,008,577, with 53 of 131 reaching the average. The highest-selling billed $3,963,264 and the lowest-selling $403,177.
How much does location matter?
More than anything else here. Eight California schools averaged $2,687,841, seven in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania averaged $1,739,049, and the other 116 averaged $1,009,985. The lowest-selling California school at $1,776,609 bills more than the average school outside those states.
What does a school cost to build?
$1,619,820 to $2,939,590, of which tenant improvements are $1,200,000 to $2,100,000 and the pool $250,000 to $400,000. The figures exclude buying land or constructing a building. On our reading that is 0.60 to 1.09 years of California revenue and 1.60 to 2.91 years elsewhere.
What does the brand take?
6% of sales in royalty, 2% to national advertising, a required 2% of local marketing spend, and about $465 a month for the point-of-sale and technology. On our reading that is 10.5% of revenue at the average school. There is zero minimum royalty and zero sales quota.
What territory do you get?
An exclusive territory, negotiated and specified in the agreement, which may be as small as a two-mile radius. While you comply, the brand and its affiliates stay out of it entirely, as do any similar businesses they might license. Boundaries hold through the initial term and may be adjusted at renewal.
What are the deadlines?
The agreement can be terminated if you fail to make commercially reasonable efforts to secure a location by the end of month 12. That is to open to the public by the end of month 24. Given a build of this size, those two dates are the real performance test.
How stable is the system?
138 franchised schools at the end of 2025, up from 107 three years earlier, with 34 openings against three departures, one termination and two other closures. The single company-owned school stayed at one throughout.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Sales against your own region's average, because the all-school $1,138,797 is lifted by 15 metro schools. And the build against revenue, because at $1.6 million a school outside those metros takes 1.60 to 2.91 years of top-line to cover its own construction.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Aqua-Tots
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Aqua-Tots locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Is your school billing what its region does?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around a $1,009,985 regional average, a build that costs the same everywhere. 10.5% to the brand with zero minimum beneath it.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.