Mosquito Joe franchise unit economics
Mosquito Joe franchisees spray residential yards for mosquitoes, ticks and fleas on recurring seasonal plans. Businesses in their first five years averaged $208,341 across 117 territories and those six years and older averaged $444,223 across 290, and revenue for each customer is $757.60 against $747.85. The entire difference between the two groups is 319 customers.
- Primary source
- Mosquito Joe SPV LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure
- Population
- 407 of 407 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.
A customer is worth $757.60 a year in the first five years and $747.85 after six, a gap of 1.3% across the whole life of a business. So the difference between a territory billing $208,341 and one billing $444,223 is 319 names on the list, and every operating question here reduces to how many households you hold and how many you keep.
- A customer is worth the same at every age of business.$757.60 a year in the first five years against $747.85 after six *, 275 customers against 594, and the revenue multiple of 2.13 tracks the customer multiple of 2.16 almost exactly.
- Retention of 76.2% costs a mature business 141 customers a year.$105,725 of revenue to replace before a dollar of growth *, which is 23.8% of the book, and 88.2% of customers take three or more services a season. So the leak is at the edges of a committed base.
- A mature territory reaches two households in a hundred.594 customers against a territory of 25,000 to 35,000 targeted households, so between 1.7% and 2.4% *. The first five years reach 0.8% to 1.1%, and the ceiling stays a long way above both.
- Required local marketing is a minimum of $40,900, and most of the system pays the minimum.8% of prior-year sales overtakes it only at $511,250 *, which is above the mature average of $444,223. So the requirement costs 9.2% of revenue at the mature average and 19.6% in the first five years.
- Openings fell from 28 to 16 while departures held near 24.28, 23 and 16 opened across 2023 to 2025 against 6, 24 and 24 gone, the system peaked at 416 businesses and ended 2025 at 407.
How much does a Mosquito Joe franchise make?
The average Mosquito Joe unit reported $376,414 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 21% 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 Mosquito Joe performers
Mosquito Joe splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $444,223 a year. The worst averaged $208,341. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 2.1× 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 25,000 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 $150,155 to $191,575, a 1.3× 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
- Visits, the operating driver.This model bills on visits. The owner watches how many visits happen, what each one is worth, and how many customers book the next one before they leave. 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 21.0% 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.407 of 407 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 median. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
What a customer is worth
Two businesses, one price.
| Measure | First five years, 117 | Six years and over, 290 | Mature against young * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average gross sales | $208,341 | $444,223 | 2.13 times |
| Median gross sales | $164,899 | $288,923 | 1.75 times |
| Highest | $931,009 | $1,964,250 | n/a |
| Lowest | $15,737 | $44,987 | n/a |
| Reaching the average | 43, 36.7% | 105, 36% | n/a |
| Average customers | 275 | 594 | 2.16 times |
| Median customers | 233 | 474 | 2.03 times |
| Average jobs | 2,182 | 5,043 | 2.31 times |
| Median jobs | 1,637 | 4,515 | 2.76 times |
| Revenue for each customer * | $757.60 | $747.85 | 0.99 times |
| Revenue for each job * | $95.48 | $88.09 | 0.92 times |
| Jobs for each customer * | 7.93 | 8.49 | 1.07 times |
Gross sales, customer counts, job counts, ranges and attainment are as the brand reported it; the three ratio rows and the final column are marked *.
Revenue for each customer moves $9.75 across the life of a business. $757.60 down to $747.85 *, so the annual value of a household is set by the service plan, and it is the one number on this page that stays still.
A mature business sells 0.56 more visits to each customer at $7.39 less a visit. 8.49 jobs at $88.09 against 7.93 at $95.48 *, the two effects cancel, which is what a season plan priced below the visit rate looks like in the aggregate.
The average treatment invoices $92.68 across the whole system, and the median $92.66. Against a high of $152.16 and a low of $68.62. 168 businesses at or above the average, a range of 2.22 times between the highest and lowest priced business in the system.
The mature group is the skewed one. Its median is 65.0% of its average, against 79.1% in the first five years *, and the top mature business bills $1,964,250, which is 4.42 times its own group average.
The book and the leak
141 customers a year, just to stand still.
| Measure | First five years | Six years and over |
|---|---|---|
| Average customers | 275 | 594 |
| Retained each year, as the brand reported it | 76.2% | 76.2% |
| Customers to replace * | 65 | 141 |
| Revenue to replace * | $49,585 | $105,725 |
| Share of gross sales * | 23.8% | 23.8% |
| Recurring customers, as the brand reported it | 88.2% | 88.2% |
The 76.2% retention rate and the 88.2% recurring share are as the brand reported it at system level. The replacement counts and dollars are marked *, applied to each group’s own average.
Standing still costs a mature business $105,725 of new revenue a year. 141 customers at $747.85 *, so a business that wins 200 new customers in a season has grown by 59. The marketing budget has to be read against that number.
88.2% of customers take three or more services in a season. Which means the customers lost sits among committed customers, a household that took a full season and left is a different problem from one that tried a single treatment.
Retention has a caution in the same breath as the figure. Many of the retained customers were partial-season in 2024 and became full-season in 2025. So part of the 76.2% is a plan upgrade, and that flatters the following year’s comparison.
The lowest business in the young group billed $15,737. At $757.60 a customer that is roughly 21 customers *, which matches the filed low of 21, a territory with a week’s worth of work in it for a full season.
Reach into the territory
Two households in a hundred.
| Group | Average customers | At 25,000 households * | At 35,000 households * | Households left * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First five years | 275 | 1.10% | 0.79% | 24,725 to 34,725 |
| Six years and over | 594 | 2.38% | 1.70% | 24,406 to 34,406 |
| Highest mature business | 2,087 | 8.35% | 5.96% | 22,913 to 32,913 |
Customer counts are as the brand reported it and the percentage columns are marked *, against the 25,000 to 35,000 targeted households a standard territory contains.
A targeted household is a single-family detached home earning $125,000 or more. A standard territory holds 25,000 to 35,000 of them. Each one beyond 35,000 costs $1.00 at purchase, so the territory is priced by the count of qualifying homes.
The highest-selling business in the system serves 2,087 customers. Between 5.96% and 8.35% of a standard territory *, three and a half times the mature average.
165 franchisees hold 407 businesses. 2.47 territories each *, so the typical owner here already works more than one territory, and the figures above describe a single one of them.
One point of penetration is worth $224,355 a year in a 30,000-household territory. 300 customers at $747.85 *, roughly half the mature average of $444,223, from a single point of reach.
Fees and the minimum marketing charge
The marketing requirement is bigger than the royalty.
| Business | Gross sales | License fee * | Marketing fund * | Required local spend * | Total * | Share of sales * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First five years, median | $164,899 | $16,490 | $3,298 | $40,900 | $60,688 | 36.8% |
| First five years, average | $208,341 | $20,834 | $4,167 | $40,900 | $65,901 | 31.6% |
| Six years and over, median | $288,923 | $28,892 | $5,778 | $40,900 | $75,570 | 26.2% |
| Six years and over, average | $444,223 | $44,422 | $8,884 | $40,900 | $94,206 | 21.2% |
| Highest mature business | $1,964,250 | $152,498 | $39,285 | $157,140 | $348,923 | 17.8% |
The 10% and 7% license rates, the 2% marketing fund and the requirement to spend the greater of $40,900 or 8% of prior-year sales are as the brand reported it. Every dollar figure and share here is marked *.
The license fee is 10% up to $500,000 of calendar-year sales and 7% above it. The mature average of $444,223 sits below the threshold. So most of the system pays 10% on everything. Reaching $500,000 asks for $55,777 more than that average, after which every further dollar is charged three points lower.
The required local spend is a minimum. 8% of prior-year sales overtakes $40,900 only at $511,250 *, so a business billing the mature average pays $40,900 whatever happens. That is 9.2% of its sales and 4.6 times what it hands to the brand marketing fund.
The first two years have a heavier requirement still. $60,000 of local marketing in the first twelve months and $75,000 in months 13 to 24, on top of the marketing fund. A first-five-year average of $208,341, the second-year figure alone is 36.0% of sales *.
License minimums apply only in June through September. $325 a week in year three, $400 in year four and $500 from year five, which is $9,000 across an eighteen-week summer *.
Opening costs $150,155 to $191,575, and $72,000 of it is marketing before a single treatment. $37,000 for the direct marketing program and $35,000 of local performance marketing sit alongside the $42,500 franchise fee *, equipment, vehicle and tools together run $8,500 to $16,500.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a Mosquito Joe territory bill?
Across 407 businesses trading all of 2025, those in their first five years averaged $208,341 with a median of $164,899, on a range from $15,737 to $931,009. Those six years and older averaged $444,223 with a median of $288,923, on a range from $44,987 to $1,964,250. Roughly 36% of each group reached its own average.
How many customers is that?
275 on average in the first five years, median 233, and 594 after six years, median 474. Jobs run 2,182 and 5,043 on the same groups. Revenue for each customer works out at $757.60 and $747.85, and for each job at $95.48 and $88.09.
What does the brand take?
A license fee of 10% of gross sales up to $500,000 in a calendar year for a territory and 7% above that. A 2% marketing fund fee, both swept weekly. Local marketing groups may take a further 2%. Minimum license fees start in year three and apply only from June to September, at $325 a week rising to $500 from year five.
What is the marketing requirement?
$60,000 of local marketing spend in the first twelve months and $75,000 in months 13 to 24. Then each year the greater of $40,900 or 8% of the prior year’s gross sales. From year three the direct marketing program and search fees count toward it. On our reading, 8% only overtakes $40,900 at $511,250 of prior-year sales, so most of the system pays the flat minimum.
What does that work out at in total?
On our reading, 21.2% of gross sales at the mature average of $444,223, 26.2% at the mature median, 31.6% at the first-five-year average and 36.8% at the first-five-year median, license fee, marketing fund and required local spend combined.
What does it cost to open?
$150,155 to $191,575. The largest lines are the $42,500 franchise fee, $37,000 for the direct marketing program set-up and annual fee. $35,000 of local performance marketing across the first twelve months, with $16,780 to $28,050 of additional funds for three months.
How stable is the system?
407 franchised businesses at the end of 2025, down from a peak of 416 in 2023, held by 165 franchisees. Across 2023 to 2025, 67 opened and 54 left, 52 terminations, 1 non-renewal and 1 that ceased for another reason. Transfers to new owners ran 11, 8 and 18. The two company-owned businesses were sold to franchisees during 2025, leaving zero. Thirteen agreements are signed with the outlet still to open, against four projected new outlets.
Which two numbers should run weekly?
Active customers against 594, because the annual value of each one changes littleand the count is the whole business. And customers added against 141 a year, which is what a 76.2% retention rate costs a mature book before any growth counts.
- 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.
Questions worth putting to Mosquito Joe
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 Mosquito Joe 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 customers are you carrying into next season?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around active customers against 594, the 141 a year a 76.2% retention rate costs you. A marketing requirement that stays flat while your book grows.
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
Mosquito Joe reads against the rest of the lawn, pest and irrigation group: Conserva Irrigation · Lawn Doctor · Mosquito Shield · Mosquito Squad · Pestmaster · The Grounds Guys. The lawn, pest and irrigation 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.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?What a financial performance representation does and does not tell you.
- What should I be looking at every week?The handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.