Griswold franchise unit economics
Griswold franchisees run an in-home senior care agency billing caregiver hours across a defined territory, with a median territory population of about 424,000. Across 59 franchised locations covering 112 territories the average location billed $2,048,633 with a median of $1,492,691. At the franchisor's own five offices, caregiver pay ran 49% of sales.
- Primary source
- Griswold International, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 59 of 135 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.
Set revenue against territory population and the median single-territory Griswold owner bills $1.74 per resident per year from a territory of about 408,000 people. At the franchisor’s own five offices, caregiver pay takes 49% of sales. What a head of population is worth, and what half of it costs to serve, frames everything else.
- Caregiver pay runs 49% of sales at the franchisor's own offices. Gross profit of 49% to 53% across its five affiliate locations, averaging 51%.
- A territory bills about $1.74 per resident per year. Median single-territory owner at $707,699 across a median territory population of 407,654.
- Year two roughly doubles revenue and year three adds a quarter. The five-year group went $276,547, $568,710, $721,511, $911,325, $1,113,502.
- Adding territories multiplies. Median per territory: $707,699 on one, $641,593 on two, $764,413 on three, $955,238 on four.
- The top quartile bills ten times the bottom. $4,559,826 against $440,491, and the bottom quartile grew 51% last year.
How much does a Griswold franchise make?
The average Griswold unit reported $2,048,633 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,492,691. 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 6% 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.
Territory
What a territory is worth.
| Territories held | Owners | Average per owner | Median per owner | Average per territory | Median per territory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 23 | $1,379,078 | $707,699 | $1,379,078 | $707,699 |
| Two | 23 | $2,215,430 | $1,283,186 | $1,107,715 | $641,593 |
| Three | 9 | $2,477,080 | $2,293,238 | $825,693 | $764,413 |
| Four | 4 | $3,975,486 | $3,820,950 | $993,872 | $955,238 |
Owner averages and medians as the brand reported it.
Revenue per territory stays flat as owners add territories. The median runs $707,699 on one, $641,593 on two, $764,413 on three and $955,238 on four. So a second territory adds roughly another territory's worth of revenue. What multi-territory owners gain is scale on the office.
At the median that is $1.74 of revenue per resident per year. $707,699 across a territory of 407,654 people. The highest-selling single-territory owner bills $5,178,426, which in a territory of up to 966,052 is more than $5 per resident. The gap between those two figures is the real measure of how much of a market a Griswold agency can hold.
Population is the constraint people usually forget to check. Territories in this system run from 77,784 to 1,801,112 residents, a factor of 23. An owner benchmarking against the $2,048,633 average without knowing their own territory's population is comparing against a set that includes markets four times their size.
The range between owners.
| quartile | Locations | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 15 | $4,559,826 | $3,598,181 | $2,504,164 | $9,559,723 | +12% |
| Second | 15 | $2,061,646 | $1,864,860 | $1,347,173 | $4,684,178 | +11% |
| Third | 15 | $1,025,360 | $1,004,252 | $512,634 | $2,363,434 | +10% |
| Fourth | 14 | $440,491 | $246,776 | $61,937 | $2,591,007 | +51% |
As the brand reported it.
Every quartile grew, and the bottom one grew fastest. +51% against +10% to +12% for the rest. That is usually newer locations climbing off a low base. The bottom quarter's median of $246,776 against an average of $440,491 says most of it is still small.
The top quartile starts at $2,504,164. The lowest office in the top quarter sells more than the highest in the second quarter, which is $4,684,178. The top quarter averages ten times the bottom. On a territory model, that is a question about market and years open before it is a question about operating skill.
Top performers
What separates the top Griswold performers
Griswold splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $4,559,826 a year. The worst averaged $440,491. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,492,691. The average was $2,048,633. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 10.4× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building, quoted at 408,000 people. 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 $99,600 to $185,600, a 1.9× 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
- Billed hours, the operating driver.This model bills on billed hours. The owner pays for every hour worked and bills only the hours a client accepts, so the job is to keep those two close and to protect the gap between the rate charged and the rate paid. 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 6.0% 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.
- The first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.59 of 135 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, 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 attainment figure. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
The first year, month by month
The same owners, year by year.
| Open 1+ year (23 owners) | Open 2+ years (9) | Open 3+ years (6) | Open 4+ years (5) | Open 5+ years (3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $236,326 | $262,563 | $300,061 | $304,973 | $276,547 |
| Year 2 | n/a | $679,264 | $799,134 | $816,017 | $568,710 |
| Year 3 | n/a | n/a | $1,165,687 | $1,134,516 | $721,511 |
| Year 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | $1,468,945 | $911,325 |
| Year 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | $1,113,502 |
Averages as the brand reported it.
Year two is worth more than years three, four and five combined in two of the four group. The three-year group went $300,061 to $799,134, adding $499,073, then $366,554 in year three. The four-year group added $511,044 then $318,499 then $334,429. Whatever happens in months thirteen to twenty-four sets the level the business runs at afterwards.
The five-year group is the sober one. Three owners, $276,547 to $1,113,502 over five years, with year two adding 106% and each year after adding 22% to 27%. That is a steady climb to roughly a million, which is a fair expectation against the $1,468,945 the four-year group reached.
Year one lands between $236,326 and $304,973 in every group. Remarkably consistent across four separate groups of owners. So the first year is predictable and the second year is where the outcomes separate.
Revenue by years in the system.
| Years | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | $345,714 | $264,405 | $128,874 | $707,699 | +413% |
| 3 to 6 | $1,824,003 | $1,110,397 | $61,937 | $4,684,178 | +25% |
| 6 to 15 | $2,583,857 | $2,265,089 | $465,449 | $9,440,774 | +8% |
| 15 to 20 | $2,007,772 | $1,708,320 | $425,552 | $4,188,894 | +24% |
| Over 20 | $2,841,570 | $2,293,238 | $802,200 | $9,559,723 | +5% |
As the brand reported it.
Offices open six to fifteen years have the highest middle figure. $2,265,089, against $1,708,320 for offices open 15 to 20 years and $2,293,238 for those past 20. Sales grow 25% a year for offices open three to six years. For the two oldest groups growth is 5% to 8%.
Fees and the network
What the franchisor's own offices show.
| Location | Territories | total sales | gross profit | Per territory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | $4,364,021 | 49% | $2,182,011 |
| 2 | 5 | $3,480,384 | 51% | $696,077 |
| 3 | 2 | $2,725,026 | 52% | $1,362,513 |
| 4 | 1 | $1,189,594 | 51% | $1,189,594 |
| 5 | 1 | $1,809,075 | 53% | $1,809,075 |
| Average | n/a | $2,713,620 | 51% | n/a |
The brand reported total sales and gross margin.
Caregiver pay takes 49% of sales at the franchisor's own highest-selling office and 53% at its lowest-selling office. Five offices range across four points, averaging 51% left after caregiver pay. That is the benchmark the brand runs itself to. It lines up closely with what other agency brands disclose, which makes anything above 55% worth investigating in your own numbers.
Caregiver pay is the only cost the document reports. Everything below it (office staff, recruiting, insurance, rent, the franchisor's fees) is left to you to work out. With 51% left after caregiver pay, a $1,000,000 territory has $510,000 to cover all of that and the owner.
What the fees come to.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | The greater of 5% of total sales or the minimum performance requirement |
| Minimum performance requirement | $100 a week from the second calendar year after opening |
| General marketing fee | The greater of $75 a week or 1% of total sales |
| Local marketing program | Required from within 180 days of opening |
| Annual quota deficiency | Varies |
As the brand reported it.
The minimum royalty here is the lightest in the category. $5,200 a year against Amada's $48,000 and Senior Helpers' $62,500 at maturity. Even the lowest-selling disclosed location at $61,937 pays $5,200, an effective 8.4%, where the equivalent elsewhere would be above 30%. For an owner in a slow market that difference is the whole argument.
At 6% of receipts plus a marketing program, the total brand cost is modest. 5% royalty and 1% marketing fund once you are past the minimums. With 51% left after caregiver pay, the brand's fees take a tenth of that. Office costs take the rest.
The network of locations.
| Year | Franchised at year end | Company-owned | Net change, total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 95 | 16 | 0 |
| 2024 | 114 | 11 | +14 |
| 2025 | 135 | 11 | +21 |
As the brand reported it, covering the Agency Business Model on offer here.
Agency model outlets grew from 95 to 135 in two years. Part of that is genuine new openings and part is legacy Registry outlets converting across. For an existing Agency owner the practical point is that the brand's attention and its benchmarking now sit with this model.
Questions we get asked
What should my gross profit be?
49% to 53%, on the evidence of the franchisor's own five offices, which average 51%. Caregiver pay is the other half. Offices of very different sizes sit within four points of each other. So it works as a target. On a $1,000,000 territory, 51% leaves $510,000 to cover office staff, recruiting, insurance, rent, the 6% of fees and the owner.
What should a territory be billing?
The median single-territory owner bills $707,699, which is about $1.74 per resident across a median territory population of 407,654. Across all 59 locations the median is $1,492,691 and the average $2,048,633, but those cover owners with up to four territories. Check your own territory population before comparing, since the system runs from 77,784 to 1,801,112 residents.
How fast does a new agency build-up?
Year one lands between $236,326 and $304,973 across four separate group, unusually consistent. Year two roughly doubles it, adding $499,073 to $511,044 in the three and four-year group. After that each year adds 22% to 46%. The five-year group reached $1,113,502 and the four-year group $1,468,945. So somewhere around a million by year five is the fair expectation.
Is a second territory worth it?
It adds revenue. Median revenue per territory runs $707,699 on one, $641,593 on two, $764,413 on three and $955,238 on four, essentially flat. What a second territory buys is more volume across the same office, scheduling team and recruiting effort, so the case rests on your fixed costs.
Who does bookkeeping for a Griswold franchise?
The brand measures owners on gross margin. Keep caregiver pay separate from office wages in the books, and keep overtime on its own line. total sales for royalty exclude client reimbursements for mileage and actual expenses, so those pass-through flows want their own accounts. Owners with multiple territories need per-territory reporting alongside the consolidated view. That is because the per-territory figures are what tell you whether the second one is carrying its own weight. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- 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 attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to Griswold
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 Griswold locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
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