Five Star Painting franchise unit economics
Five Star Painting franchisees sell and manage residential and commercial painting work through subcontracted crews across a territory of 150,000 to 200,000 people. Sales run $2.12 for each head of population and $4,439.87 for each job, which on a 175,000-population territory is $371,000 of revenue and about 84 jobs a year. The top quartile bills 14.6 times the bottom for each head, and only 2.2 times for each job.
- Primary source
- Five Star Painting SPV LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure
- Population
- 208 of 245 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.
Sales run $2.12 for each head of population and $4,439.87 for each job. On a 175,000-population territory those two multiply out to $371,000 of revenue and about 84 jobs a year, 1.6 a week. Everything else on this page is a question of moving that number.
- The whole year is about 84 painting jobs. $2.12 a head across 175,000 people is $371,000, and at $4,439.87 a job that is 83.6 jobs *, 1.6 a week, or 72 jobs on a 150,000-population territory and 95 on a 200,000-population one.
- The gap between quartiles is job count, and barely ticket at all. $5.10 a head against $0.35, which is 14.6 times, against $6,020.30 a job against $2,715.60, which is 2.2 times *, so the highest-selling businesses sell more work.
- Four figures here disagree with four other figures here. The per-job quartiles weight to $4,238.70 against a stated $4,439.87. Both all-business rows show a narrower range than the quartiles inside them. The opening-cost columns add to $750 and $9,000 less than their own totals. And the average fee paid of $27,790 sits $9,445 below the bottom of its own stated range.
- The brand and marketing load is 16.0% above $300,000 and 64.0% at the bottom quartile. $59,360 on $371,000 of sales against $39,225 on $61,250 *, an $18,000 license minimum and a $20,000 minimum marketing charge decide everything below $300,000.
- Buying at the top of the base territory is 25% cheaper for each head. $45,000 covers anywhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people, which is 30.0 cents a head at the bottom of that range and 22.5 cents at the top *, and every further 1,000 costs $230.
How much does a Five Star Painting franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for Five Star Painting does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. What it does publish is set out below, starting with Behind the figures: 208 of 245 businesses, 2025; Sales a head of population: $2.12; Sales a job: $4,439.87; Jobs a year: about 84.
Eighty-four jobs a year
One and a half jobs a week.
| Group | Businesses | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | Reaching the average | Against the fourth quartile * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st quartile | 52 | $6,020.30 | $5,743.60 | $12,414.20 | $4,874.50 | 24, 46% | 2.22 times |
| 2nd quartile | 52 | $4,583.70 | $4,503.70 | $4,865.00 | $3,978.80 | 26, 50% | 1.69 times |
| 3rd quartile | 52 | $3,635.20 | $3,660.90 | $3,956.50 | $3,047.40 | 25, 48% | 1.34 times |
| 4th quartile | 52 | $2,715.60 | $2,924.30 | $3,028.20 | $1,256.90 | 23, 44% | n/a |
| All businesses | 208 | $4,439.87 | $3,696.30 | $6,466.30 | $3,059.60 | 98, 47% | 1.63 times |
Every figure is as the brand reported it apart from the final column, which is marked *.
Ticket size moves 2.2 times from the bottom quartile to the highest-selling one. $2,715.60 to $6,020.30 *, a real difference, and a small one next to the 14.6 times that separates the same two ends on sales for each head of population.
The middle two quartiles sit within $948 of each other. $4,583.70 and $3,635.20 *, half the system is pricing a job inside a group of about a thousand dollars, so ticket is close to a market rate.
A business at the system average books about 84 jobs a year. $371,000 of revenue at $4,439.87 a job on a 175,000-population territory *, 72 jobs at the bottom of the standard territory range and 95 at the top, which is between 1.4 and 1.8 jobs a week.
Attainment sits near half in every quartile. 44% to 50% across the four groups and 47% overall, a distribution that is almost tail-free, which is what a market-priced ticket looks like.
The highest single ticket is $12,414.20 and the lowest $1,256.90. Just under ten times apart. The top figure is commercial or whole-house work and the bottom is a room at a time. The mix between them is the only real pricing decision here.
Top performers
What separates the top Five Star Painting performers
Five Star Painting publishes no revenue figures, so neither the average nor the spread between locations is disclosed.
Decided before you open
- Capacity, fixed at build.Locations run 500 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 $82,200 to $194,600, a 2.4× 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
- Jobs, the operating driver.This model bills on jobs. Every job is won again, so the owner works on how many quotes turn into work and what the average job is worth when it does. 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 16.0% 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
- The reporting screen.208 of 245 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, no median, no performance bands. 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.
Sales per person
Two dollars and twelve cents a head.
| Group | Businesses | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | At 150,000 * | At 175,000 * | At 200,000 * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st quartile | 52 | $5.10 | $4.73 | $16.60 | $2.49 | $765,000 | $892,500 | $1,020,000 |
| 2nd quartile | 52 | $2.02 | $1.99 | $2.49 | $1.55 | $303,000 | $353,500 | $404,000 |
| 3rd quartile | 52 | $1.01 | $0.99 | $1.55 | $0.66 | $151,500 | $176,750 | $202,000 |
| 4th quartile | 52 | $0.35 | $0.31 | $0.66 | $0.03 | $52,500 | $61,250 | $70,000 |
| All businesses | 208 | $2.12 | $2.00 | $5.32 | $1.18 | $318,000 | $371,000 | $424,000 |
The per-head figures and counts are as the brand reported it. The three revenue columns are marked *, applying each average to the stated territory range of 150,000 to 200,000 people.
The four quartile averages weight to $2.12 exactly. $5.10, $2.02, $1.01 and $0.35 across 52 businesses each *, which is the figure stated for all 208. So this table partitions the system cleanly and each quartile can be read on its own.
Each step down the quartiles roughly halves the number. $5.10, $2.02, $1.01, $0.35, a 2.5-fold, 2.0-fold and 2.9-fold drop. So this is a system where the distance between neighboring groups is as large as the distance from any of them to the average.
The first quartile runs from $2.49 to $16.60 a head. 6.7 times inside a single group *, against 1.6 times inside the second quartile. The strong end is a long tail and the middle is tightly packed.
A 300,000-population territory at the system average bills $636,000. *, which is 143 jobs a year at $4,439.87, or 2.8 a week, and that is the practical ceiling of the standard offering.
The 208 businesses cover Five Star Painting and ProTect Painters together. Both brands sit in the same population, so these figures describe a combined painting system.
Fees and minimums
Sixteen percent, until the minimums take over.
| Group | Revenue * | License fee * | Brand fund * | Required local spend * | Total * | Share of sales * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st quartile | $892,500 | $53,550 | $17,850 | $71,400 | $142,800 | 16.00% |
| All businesses | $371,000 | $22,260 | $7,420 | $29,680 | $59,360 | 16.00% |
| 2nd quartile | $353,500 | $21,210 | $7,070 | $28,280 | $56,560 | 16.00% |
| 3rd quartile | $176,750 | $18,000 | $3,535 | $20,000 | $41,535 | 23.50% |
| 4th quartile | $61,250 | $18,000 | $1,225 | $20,000 | $39,225 | 64.04% |
The rates and minimums are as the brand reported it and every dollar figure is marked. On a 175,000-population territory at the midpoint of the standard range.
Two minimums switch on below $300,000 of sales. The $18,000 license minimum governs below $300,000 and the $20,000 marketing minimum below $250,000 *, so a third-quarter business at $176,750 is caught by both. A fourth-quartile one at $61,250 pays 64.0% of its revenue in brand and marketing charges.
The license fee is a flat 6% for the whole term. Paid monthly on the 15th for the prior month, with zero minimum for the first twelve months and $18,000 a year after that. So the build-up allowance runs exactly one year.
The first two years have $135,000 of required local marketing between them. $60,000 in year one and $75,000 in year two, before the $20,000 annual minimum takes over. $371,000 of sales at the system average, the second-year figure alone is 20.2% *.
A local marketing group can take a further 3%. Of which up to 2% of gross sales may be directed to brand-level awareness work, and the contribution counts toward the required spend.
Software and the call center add about $8,200 to $9,400 a year before appointments. $333.25 a month for the software stack and $349.99 to $449.99 a month for the mandatory call center *, plus $15 for each booked appointment, on 84 jobs a year the appointment fees are a rounding line and the monthly charges are 2.2% to 2.5% of revenue at the system average.
Where the numbers disagree
Four numbers that fight with four other numbers.
| What is stated | What the other figures give | Gap * |
|---|---|---|
| Sales for each job, all 208: $4,439.87 | The four quartiles weighted at 52 each: $4,238.70 | $201.17, or 4.53% |
| Sales for each job, all 208: high $6,466.30, low $3,059.60 | 1st quartile high $12,414.20, 4th quartile low $1,256.90 | The group range sits inside its own parts |
| Opening cost totals: $82,200 and $194,600 | The line items add to $81,450 and $185,600 | $750 and $9,000 |
| Average initial fee paid in 2025: $27,790 | Stated range of fees paid: $37,235 to $58,214 | $9,445 below its own minimum |
Both stated columns are as the brand reported it and the gap column is marked *.
Sales for each head reconciles and sales for each job stops short. $5.10, $2.02, $1.01 and $0.35 average to $2.12 exactly, while $6,020.30, $4,583.70, $3,635.20 and $2,715.60 average to $4,238.70 against a stated $4,439.87 *, so the per-head table can be relied on quartile by quartile and the per-job table can be relied on only at the top line.
Both all-business rows print a narrower range than the quartiles inside them. The system high of $5.32 a head sits below the first quartile’s $16.60. The system low of $1.18 sits above the fourth quartile’s $0.03, a range that excludes its own extremes. Means those two rows describe something other than the whole population.
The average initial fee is below the cheapest fee anyone paid. $27,790 against a minimum of $37,235 *, and since the standard fee is $45,000, the most likely reading is that the average covers a wider set of transactions than the range does.
Work the page from the per-head table. It reconciles, it partitions the system into four equal groups and it converts into revenue with one multiplication. Then use $4,439.87 for the job count and treat the per-job quartiles as directional.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a Five Star Painting business bill?
Sales are stated for each head of territory population. Across 208 businesses the 2025 average was $2.12 a head and the median $2.00, with quartile averages of $5.10, $2.02, $1.01 and $0.35. On a 150,000 to 200,000 population territory the system average works out at $318,000 to $424,000 of revenue on our reading. The first quartile at $765,000 to $1,020,000.
How many jobs is that?
Sales for each job averaged $4,439.87 across the same 208 businesses, with a median of $3,696.30 and quartile averages of $6,020.30, $4,583.70, $3,635.20 and $2,715.60. Dividing revenue by ticket gives roughly 72 to 95 jobs a year at the system average, depending on territory size, about one and a half a week.
What does the brand take?
A license fee of 6% of gross sales, paid monthly on the 15th, with zero minimum for the first twelve months and $18,000 a year afterwards. Plus a 2% brand fund contribution. Plus a required local marketing spend of $60,000 in year one, $75,000 in year two and then the greater of $20,000 or 8% of the previous year’s sales. A local marketing group may take up to a further 3%.
What does that work out at?
On our reading and on a 175,000-population territory, 16.00% of sales at the first and second quartiles and at the system average, 23.50% at the third quartile and 64.04% at the fourth. That is where the $18,000 license minimum and the $20,000 minimum marketing charge together exceed a third of revenue.
How big is the territory?
150,000 to 200,000 people for the standard $45,000 fee, with a maximum generally of 300,000 and each further 1,000 people costing $230. That makes the base fee 30.0 cents a head at 150,000 and 22.5 cents at 200,000. So the size you negotiate inside the base group is worth 25% of the entry price on our reading.
What does it cost to open?
The stated totals are $82,200 to $194,600, although the line items add to $81,450 and $185,600. The business runs from home or a small office of about 500 square feet. The printed marketing line is $15,000 to $50,000, which sits below the $60,000 the agreement requires in year one.
How stable is the system?
245 franchised businesses at the end of 2025, up from 230 three years earlier, with zero company-owned outlets. Across 2023 to 2025, 46 opened and 31 left, 24 terminations, 1 non-renewal and 6 that ceased for other reasons. Openings ran 14, 21 and 11 while departures held at 10, 10 and 11.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Jobs completed against seven a month, because that is what the system average works out at and it is the number the whole model turns on. And sales for each head of your own population against $2.12. Because it is the one figure here that compares your territory to every other one on equal terms.
- No revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- 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.
Questions worth putting to Five Star Painting
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 Five Star Painting 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 you book last month?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around seven jobs a month, $2.12 of sales for each head of your territory. The two minimums that govern everything below $300,000.
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
Five Star Painting reads against the rest of the painting group: 360 Painting · CertaPro Painters · Fresh Coat · WOW 1 DAY PAINTING. The painting 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.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?What changes at around ten units, and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?Location-level contribution, and what it takes to see it.