Early education and child care franchise finance
The median brand here reports average revenue of $2,186,393 a unit. Percentage fees at the median brand come to 9% of sales. The median cost to open runs $805,799 to $1,543,000.
Early education and child care franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares eleven early education and child care franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open an early education and child care franchise runs from $42,950 at Soccer Shots to $8,908,000 at The Goddard School.
- Primrose Schools reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $2,779,923, and Soccer Shots the lowest, at $222,830.
- Franchise fees take 8% to 11% of sales across the eleven brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find an early education and child care brand
This guide covers eleven brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 11 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- Building Kidz School 46 locations · Margin thirds with 19 of 46 schools left out
- Celebree School Two full profit and loss statements, franchised against company-operated
- Ivybrook Academy 49 locations · Revenue by years open
- Kiddie Academy Revenue for 315 academies · Sales, labor, occupancy cost and gross profit for 293 academies open two years or more, by top and bottom quarter
- Lightbridge Academy Full P&L · Capacity utilization disclosed alongside profit
- Montessori Kids Universe 25 locations · Revenue and EBIT percentage, three years
- Primrose Schools Occupancy decides the outcome against an almost fixed rent line
- Soccer Shots Sales by territories held · Profit and loss for single-territory, multi-territory and company-owned territories
- The Goddard School Full school-by-school worksheet reconstructed and validated
- The Learning Experience Ownership advantage reverses with center age
- WorldKids School 10 locations · Expense lines for eight company schools
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $2,186,393 | 11 of 11 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $2,075,740 | 9 of 11 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $75,000 | 11 of 11 | |
| Royalty | 7% | 11 of 11 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 2% | 11 of 11 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 9% | 11 of 11 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $805,799 | 11 of 11 | |
| Cost to open, high | $1,543,000 | 11 of 11 | |
| Profit margin | 20.9% | 8 of 11 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | 45% | 7 of 11 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | 13.6% | 7 of 11 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 13% | 11 of 11 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 1.3% | 11 of 11 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in early education and child care are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
Eleven of the eleven brands here sell a place for a child. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 45.0% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a place held week after week. A location at the middle brand sells $2,186,393 a year, and the median top group sells $3,295,801. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. Among the early education and child care brands that publish it, a median 44% of locations reach their own brand’s average. The top group sells $3,295,801 against $995,283 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $42,950 to $8,908,000 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 2.1 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 45.0%, occupancy 13.6% and franchise fees 9.0% of sales. What is left runs 20.9% at the middle brand, which is $688,822 a year at the top group and $208,014 at the bottom. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot. Six of these brands publish how a new location builds up, so the first year can be read out of the document instead of guessed at.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in early education and child care
Across the early education and child care brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $3,295,801 a year and the median bottom group sells $995,283. Across these brands, a median of 44% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $3,295,801 a year against a build that tops out at $8,908,000, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $0.37 for every dollar it cost to open.
- Rent as a share of sales.Occupancy runs 13.6% of sales at the middle brand, which on median sales of $2,186,393 is $297,349 of rent a year. That same $297,349 is 9.0% of sales at the top group and 29.9% at the bottom. Top-group locations put more sales through the same square footage, with longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic.
Live operating levers
- Eleven of the eleven brands here sell a place for a child.
Business model attribute
- Service
- A place for a child, paid by the month or term
- Unit economics
- Places filled times the fee for each place
- Six of the eleven brands here publish how a new location builds up.
Business model attribute
- Service
- The FDD’s month-by-month build-up of a new location
- Unit economics
- Months until sales cover costs
- Wages by brand.Wages run 45.0% of sales at the middle brand and 22.4% to 48.6% across the seven that disclose it. The levers are scheduling against booked demand hour by hour, sales per paid hour, and keeping part of pay variable. On the top group’s $3,295,801 of sales, a point of wages is $32,958 a year; on the bottom group’s $995,283 it is $9,953.
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 43.2% of sales at Soccer Shots, the one brand that discloses it. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.Of the eight brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 20.9% of sales, from 14.7% to 31.6%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples. At a 20.9% margin, the top group earns $688,822 a year and the bottom group $208,014.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 9.0% of sales across eleven brands, from 8.0% to 11.0%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $3,295,801 the fees cost $296,622 a year; at $995,283 they cost $89,575.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.Six of eleven filings in this group show how a new location builds up. The others do not show it.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has up to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
11 brands
Building Kidz School
Early education and child care
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.3% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Celebree School
Early education and child care
- Wages. Wages take 48.6% of sales, against 15.2% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 15.6% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 9.8% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
Ivybrook Academy
Early education and child care
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.3% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
Kiddie Academy
Early education and child care
- Wages. Wages take 46.5% of sales. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 16.9% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Lightbridge Academy
Early education and child care
- Wages. Wages take 45.0% of sales, against 14.7% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 15.0% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 10.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
Montessori Kids Universe
Early education and child care
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.1% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
Primrose Schools
Early education and child care
- Wages. Wages take 44.4% of sales, against 16.3% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 12.3% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Soccer Shots
Early education and child care
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 43.2% of sales, against 28.3% kept at the end. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 3.8% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
The Goddard School
Early education and child care
- Wages. Wages take 40.1% of sales, against 21.8% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 13.6% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 11.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
The Learning Experience
Early education and child care
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Memberships and rebooking. A recurring plan turns appointments into a monthly subscription and keeps the schedule fuller. Rebooking before the customer leaves keeps it full.
- Fees. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
WorldKids School
Early education and child care
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Wages. Wages take 47.0% of sales, against 23.5% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 13.4% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
Early education and child care cost lines as a share of sales
Seven of the eleven early education and child care brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celebree School | 48.6% | 15.6% | Not disclosed |
| Kiddie Academy | 46.5% | 16.9% | Not disclosed |
| Lightbridge Academy | 45.0% | 15.0% | Not disclosed |
| Primrose Schools | 44.4% | 12.3% | Not disclosed |
| Soccer Shots | 22.4% | 3.8% | 43.2% |
| The Goddard School | 40.1% | 13.6% | Not disclosed |
| WorldKids School | 47.0% | 13.4% | Not disclosed |
How fast new early education and child care locations build sales
The pages for two of the eleven early education and child care brands in Averan Franchise show how a new location's sales build after opening, by month or by years open, in dollars from each brand's FDD. The months before sales cover costs are the ones to plan cash for, and the minimum fee calculator shows what the fees cost during them.
Common questions
How much does an early education and child care franchise cost to open?
Among the eleven early education and child care brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $42,950 at Soccer Shots to $8,908,000 at The Goddard School, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which early education and child care franchise costs the least to open?
Soccer Shots has the lowest starting cost of the early education and child care brands in Averan Franchise, at $42,950 to $54,300.
Which early education and child care franchise has the highest average sales?
Primrose Schools reports the highest average sales of the early education and child care brands in Averan Franchise, at $2,779,923 in its 2026 FDD.
What do early education and child care franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the eleven early education and child care brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 8% to 11% of sales.
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?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check 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 →What share of your revenue is staff?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around wages measured against enrollment week by week, occupancy cost against the hours a room is actually used. The reporting also sets a second-location gate on cash.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.