Chem-Dry franchise unit economics
Chem-Dry franchisees run a carpet and upholstery cleaning van across a territory of 100,000 to 150,000 households. The brand projects $218,400 a year from one van, 624 jobs at $350. A minimum monthly royalty rises to $3,100 by month 61, which against that same projection is an effective 17.0%.
- Primary source
- Chem-Dry, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 0 of 941 locations
- 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.
The brand projects $218,400 a year from one van, three jobs a day, four days a week, $350 a job. The royalty starts at 7%, but a minimum payment climbs to $3,100 a month by year six. Against that same projection, the minimum works out at 17.0%.
- A van is projected at 624 jobs and $218,400.Three jobs a day, four days a week, 52 weeks, at $350 each *, the whole model in four numbers.
- The minimum royalty overtakes the rate from month 25.7% of the projection is $1,274 a month against a $1,700 minimum *, rising to $3,100 by month 61.
- At the projection, the effective royalty reaches 17.0% by year six.$37,200 on $218,400 *, two and a half times the headline rate.
- The minimum sales requirement is 4.58 times the projection.$83,300 a month, or $999,600 a year, against the $218,400 the brand projects *.
- A household costs 20 cents and is projected to produce $1.75 a year.*, so extra territory pays for itself in 1.4 months at projected rates *.
How much does a Chem-Dry franchise make?
The average Chem-Dry unit reported $218,400 of revenue in the 2026 FDD. 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 25% 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 Chem-Dry performers
Chem-Dry publishes one average, $218,400, and nothing else. The gap between its best and worst locations is not in the filing.
Decided before you open
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building, quoted at 150,000 households. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $92,150 to $249,500, a 2.7× 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
- Routes, the operating driver.This model bills on routes. The van costs the same whatever it does that day, so the owner works on how many stops fit into it and how far apart they are. 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 25.0% 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
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no performance bands, no attainment figure. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
- What the rest of the category shows.Across the 66 Home Services brands in this library that do publish bands, the top group sells 8.9× the bottom at the typical brand, and a median 35% of locations reach their own average *. Assume a spread of that order here until the franchisor shows you otherwise.
The projected van
Three jobs a day, four days a week, at $350.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Territory | 125,000 households |
| Jobs a day | 3 |
| Days a week | 4 |
| Average income a job | $350 |
| Weekly revenue | $4,200 |
| Annual revenue | $218,400 |
| Jobs a year * | 624 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it as an unaudited projection for a franchisee operating one van for 52 weeks. The job count multiplying three jobs by four days by 52 weeks, marked *.
This is a forward projection. Costs, expenses and profit are absent from it, so $218,400 is a top line before wages, fuel, chemicals and Franchise fees.
Adding a fifth working day would lift it to $273,000. *, 156 more jobs a year on the same van and the same territory.
Raising the average job by $50 is worth $31,200. *, more than half the entire franchise fees at the projected level.
A second van doubles the revenue and the royalty base. One van is required for each territory, so capacity and territory move together.
The projection assumes a territory of 125,000 households. The midpoint of the 100,000 to 150,000 standard range, so the figures scale with the territory you actually buy.
The minimum beats the rate
By year six the minimum is the royalty. (Items 5 and 6)
| Months in operation | Minimum monthly royalty | 7% of the projection a month * | Paid * | Effective rate * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 to 24 | $900 | $1,274 | $1,274 | 7.00% |
| 25 to 36 | $1,700 | $1,274 | $1,700 | 9.34% |
| 37 to 48 | $2,300 | $1,274 | $2,300 | 12.64% |
| 49 to 60 | $3,000 | $1,274 | $3,000 | 16.48% |
| 61 and beyond | $3,100 | $1,274 | $3,100 | 17.03% |
The minimum royalty schedule is as the brand reported it and the comparison applies 7% to the brand's own projected annual revenue of $218,400, marked *.
A van performing exactly to the projection pays 17.0% by year six. *, because the minimum rises on a schedule while the projection stays flat.
Escaping the month-61 minimum takes $531,429 of annual sales. *, two and a half times the projection, and the point where 7% finally exceeds $3,100 a month.
Add 3% of sales to the brand marketing fund from month 13. With a $150 monthly minimum, $6,552 at the projected level *.
Local advertising must run at 5% of sales a year. $10,920 at the projection *, and that obligation sits outside the fee table entirely.
All in, the year-six load is $54,672, or 25.0% of the projection. *, 156 of the 624 projected jobs *.
Households and what it costs to open
Twenty cents a household, and a van that costs up to $75,000.
| Measure | Standard territory | Small territory |
|---|---|---|
| Households | 100,000 to 150,000 | About 75,000 |
| Initial franchise fee | $36,000 | $18,000 |
| Fee a household * | 24¢ to 36¢ | 24¢ |
| Extra households | 20¢ each, to a 180,000 ceiling | |
| Initial package fee | $44,000 to $78,000 | |
| Total investment | $92,150 to $249,500 | $74,150 to $231,500 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it and the per-household row divides the franchise fee by the household range, marked *.
Extra households cost 20 cents against 24 to 36 cents in the base fee. *, so expanding an existing territory is cheaper ground than the territory you started with.
The equipment package costs more than the franchise fee. $44,000 to $78,000 against $36,000, and it is where most of the opening money goes.
The van can reach $75,000 on its own. Plus $600 to $6,000 of installation, and at least one van is required for each territory.
Veterans get 20% off the fee and first responders 10%. $7,200 and $3,600 on a standard territory *, with 25% available to owners already holding an affiliated brand.
Working from home is permitted for 24 months. After which a commercial or industrial space inside the territory is required, so rent arrives in year three.
Two systems at once
An old system shrinking while a new one starts.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Ceased, other | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023, legacy model | 1,437 | 25 | 100 | 70 | 9 | 1,283 |
| 2024, legacy model | 1,283 | 15 | 99 | 93 | 6 | 1,100 |
| 2025, legacy model | 1,100 | 1 | 70 | 50 | 40 | 941 |
| 2025, household model | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, with the household-based model holding zero outlets until 2025 and the legacy population-based model running alongside it.
The legacy system fell 34.6% in three years. 1,439 to 941 *, with 269 terminations and 213 non-renewals, and just 41 openings.
Openings under the legacy model fell to one. While 22 opened under the new household model in Alabama, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah, so the brand has switched which franchise it sells.
Zero franchisees have traded a full year in an exclusive territory. Which is why the performance figures are a projection.
Territory is a list of zip codes measured in households. Expressly non-exclusive, with national and regional accounts, internet, catalog and direct mail all reserved to the brand.
Working outside the territory is prohibited. Services and advertising both, so growth means buying households.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a van earn?
The brand projects $218,400 a year from one van in a standard territory. Three jobs a day, four days a week, 52 weeks, at an average of $350 a job. On our reading that is 624 jobs. It is a projection, and it excludes every cost.
What does the brand take?
A royalty on a sliding scale, 7% on the first $500,000 of annual sales in a standard territory, 6% to $1,000,000, 5% to $1,500,000 and 4% above. From month 13 a minimum monthly royalty applies, rising from $900 to $3,100 by month 61.
When does the minimum bite?
From month 25, for a van performing at the projection. 7% of $218,400 is $1,274 a month on our reading. A $1,700 minimum at months 25 to 36 and $3,100 from month 61, an effective 17.0% by year six.
What is the total load?
On our reading, $54,672 a year at the projection once the month-61 minimum applies. $37,200 of minimum royalty, $6,552 of brand marketing at 3% and $10,920 of required local advertising at 5%. That is 25.0% of the projection, or 156 of the 624 jobs.
What is the minimum sales requirement?
It rises alongside the minimum royalty, reaching $83,300 a month ($999,600 a year) from month 61 in a standard territory. On our reading that is 4.58 times the brand's own projection for a single van.
What does it cost to open?
$92,150 to $249,500 for a standard territory and $74,150 to $231,500 for a small one. The franchise fee is $36,000 or $18,000, and the equipment package at $44,000 to $78,000 is the larger figure. A van can reach $75,000.
How is territory defined?
By zip codes measured in households: 100,000 to 150,000 for a standard territory and about 75,000 for a small one. Extra households cost 20 cents each up to a 180,000 ceiling. On our reading the base fee works out at 24 to 36 cents a household, so expansion is the cheaper ground.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Jobs completed against 52 a month, because 624 a year is the projection the whole model rests on. Average revenue a job against $350. Because $50 on the ticket is worth $31,200 a year.
- No median. Only an average is published, which a few large locations can lift on their own.
- 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.
- No range. The filing does not show the highest and lowest locations, so the spread inside the system is unknown.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
- No ramp. The filing does not show how a new location builds up, so the first-year curve has to be assumed.
Questions worth putting to Chem-Dry
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 did the highest and lowest locations sell last year, and what explains the gap?
- 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 Chem-Dry 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 →How many jobs did your van run this month?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around 624 projected jobs at $350, a minimum royalty that climbs to $3,100 a month. A sales requirement 4.58 times the projection.
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
Chem-Dry reads against the rest of the carpet and floor care group: AdvantaClean · Garage Force · Garage Living · Oxi Fresh · PremierGarage · Stanley Steemer. The carpet and floor care guide compares all of them on the same figures.
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.
- What should I be looking at every week?The handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
- 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.