Mr. Rooter franchise unit economics
Mr. Rooter franchisees run residential and commercial plumbing and drain businesses from vans across a territory of 100,000 to 300,000 people. Across 193 businesses the 2025 average was $2,093,531 against a median of $1,257,146. The brand and marketing load is a flat 16% of sales for everyone billing above $625,000, and the required local spend inside it is larger than the royalty.
- Primary source
- Mr. Rooter, 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
- 193 of 238 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.
Three charges apply to every dollar of sales. A 6% license fee, 2% to the marketing fund, and local marketing of $50,000 or 8% of last year’s sales. Above $625,000 those add to exactly 16% and stay there all the way to the largest business in the system. Below it the minimums take over, and the lowest-selling tenth pays between 43.8% and 48.2%.
- The load is exactly 16% of sales from $625,000 upward. $334,965 at the system average of $2,093,531 and $1,305,921 at the top tenth’s $8,162,009 *, same share at both ends, so scale changes the dollars and leaves the percentage alone.
- The required local spend is bigger than the royalty. $167,482 against $125,612 at the system average *, 1.33 times, and it is money you direct, which makes it the largest controllable line in the franchise fees.
- The lowest-selling tenth averages $147,745 and pays 43.8% to 48.2%. A $50,000 local spend minimum and an $11,700 to $18,200 license minimum against $147,745 of sales *, the minimums govern everything below $625,000, which is most of the bottom half.
- The top half averages 5.79 times the bottom half. $3,557,458 against $614,354 *, on 97 businesses and 96, and the two weighted together return the filed all-system average of $2,093,531 to the dollar.
- The system added 29 businesses in three years. 209 to 238 franchised, on 56 openings against 27 departures, openings rose 11, 22, 23 while terminations rose 0, 4, 11.
How much does a Mr. Rooter franchise make?
The average Mr. Rooter unit reported $2,093,531 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $1,257,146. 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 16% 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 Mr. Rooter performers
Mr. Rooter splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $8,162,009 a year. The worst averaged $147,745. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $1,257,146. The average was $2,093,531. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 55.2× 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 300,000 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 $152,900 to $298,675, a 2.0× 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
- Service calls, the operating driver.This model bills on service calls. A technician finishes only so many calls a day, so the owner works on how many of them turn into paid work and what the average ticket is worth. 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.193 of 238 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. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Where the system sits
The top half bills 5.79 times the bottom.
| Band | Businesses | Average | Median | High | Low | Reaching the average | Load * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10% | 19 | $8,162,009 | $6,087,233 | $20,262,638 | $4,581,213 | 5, 26% | 16.00% |
| Top 25% | 48 | $5,243,078 | $4,121,620 | $20,262,638 | $2,547,216 | 13, 27% | 16.00% |
| Top 50% | 97 | $3,557,458 | $2,530,999 | $20,262,638 | $1,257,146 | 29, 30% | 16.00% |
| All businesses | 193 | $2,093,531 | $1,257,146 | $20,262,638 | $633 | 64, 33% | 16.00% |
| Bottom 50% | 96 | $614,354 | $593,671 | $1,235,628 | $633 | 48, 50% | 16.14% |
| Bottom 25% | 48 | $288,402 | $294,005 | $550,188 | $633 | 23, 48% | 25.65% |
| Bottom 10% | 19 | $147,745 | $149,691 | $257,600 | $633 | 10, 53% | 48.16% |
Counts, averages, medians, ranges and attainment are as the brand reported it; the load column is marked. From the rates and minimums in the previous table.
The middle business sells $1,257,146, which is also the lowest figure in the top half. 60.0% of the $2,093,531 average *, and 64 of 193 reach that average, so two businesses in three sit below the number most often quoted for this brand.
One business bills $20,262,638. 9.68 times the system average and 2.48 times its own group average *. That is why only 26% of the top tenth reach their own average, the lowest of any group here.
Attainment inverts across the middle. 50% in the bottom half and 53% in the bottom tenth against 30% in the top half and 26% at the very top *. The weak end is bunched, the strong end is a long tail.
In the bottom three groups the median sits above the average. $593,671 against $614,354 is the exception. $294,005 against $288,402 and $149,691 against $147,745 run the other way. A business selling $633 pulls each of those group means below the middle of the group.
The 16% line
Sixteen cents of every dollar, at any size.
| Business | Gross sales | License fee * | Marketing fund * | Required local spend * | Total * | Share of sales * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10% average | $8,162,009 | $489,721 | $163,240 | $652,961 | $1,305,921 | 16.00% |
| Top 25% average | $5,243,078 | $314,585 | $104,862 | $419,446 | $838,892 | 16.00% |
| Top 50% average | $3,557,458 | $213,447 | $71,149 | $284,597 | $569,193 | 16.00% |
| System average | $2,093,531 | $125,612 | $41,871 | $167,482 | $334,965 | 16.00% |
| System median | $1,257,146 | $75,429 | $25,143 | $100,572 | $201,143 | 16.00% |
| Bottom 50% average | $614,354 | $36,861 | $12,287 | $50,000 | $99,148 | 16.14% |
| Bottom 25% average | $288,402 | $18,200 | $5,768 | $50,000 | $73,968 | 25.65% |
| Bottom 10% average | $147,745 | $18,200 | $2,955 | $50,000 | $71,155 | 48.16% |
The brand reported the rates and minimums. We worked out every dollar figure, showing the minimum licence fee at the 150,000-to-400,000 population rate of $350 a week.
The percentage holds from the median business to the largest. 16.00% at $1,257,146 of sales and 16.00% at $8,162,009 *. The brand's share does not fall as sales rise, so growth pays through the fixed costs the owner controls instead.
8% of last year's sales equals the $50,000 minimum at $625,000. The bottom half averages $614,354 *, just below that. Half the system pays a flat $50,000, so every extra dollar of sales up to $625,000 dilutes that charge.
Two of the three charges are money you direct. The owner places the 8% of local spending. The first two years require a fixed $60,000 and then $75,000. Only the 6% licence fee and the 2% fund leave the business. So 10 of the 16 points stay under your own control.
The license fee is flat at 6% for the whole term. The rate is the same in weeks 1 to 26, 27 to 52, 53 to 104 and from week 105. It is reported weekly and due Tuesday at 5pm. Roll-in businesses start at 2.5% or 3% before joining the standard rate.
The minimum charges
Below $625,000 the rates stop mattering.
| Territory population | Weeks 40–78 | Weeks 79–208 | Weeks 209 and after | Mature a yearly minimum * | Revenue where 6% overtakes it * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 150,000 | $100 | $200 | $225 | $11,700 | $195,000 |
| 150,000 – 400,000 | $200 | $300 | $350 | $18,200 | $303,333 |
| 400,001 – 1,000,000 | $300 | $500 | $700 | $36,400 | $606,667 |
| 1,000,001 – 2,000,000 | $500 | $700 | $1,000 | $52,000 | $866,667 |
| 2,000,001 and above | $700 | $1,000 | $1,400 | $72,800 | $1,213,333 |
The weekly figures are as the brand reported it and the last two columns are marked *; the three largest population groups are closed to new franchisees.
The bottom quarter averages $288,402, just under the $303,333 crossover. A business at that level in a 150,000-to-400,000 territory pays the $18,200 minimum instead of 6% *, which is 6.31% of its sales. The minimum licence fee is the smaller of its two problems.
The $50,000 local spending requirement costs more than the licence minimum. At the bottom tenth's $147,745 of sales it is 33.8% on its own *, more than the licence minimum and the marketing fund together. It is money spent, so it lands as cash out either way.
The first 39 weeks are free of both minimums. Minimum license fees begin at week 40 and the marketing minimum on the same schedule. So the build-up is protected for nine months. The step from $100 to $350 a week arrives over the following three years.
The lowest business in the system billed $633 for the year. The mature licence minimum is $11,700 to $18,200 and the marketing requirement is $50,000 *. A territory that has stopped trading while the obligations continue.
Territory and system
Forty-two and a half cents a head, at any size.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Reacquired | Ceased, other | At end | Net * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 209 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 215 | +6 |
| 2024 | 215 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 228 | +13 |
| 2025 | 228 | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 238 | +10 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it apart from the net column, which is marked *.
Territory is priced at exactly 42.5 cents a head, whatever the size. $42,500 covers 100,000 people and each further 1,000 costs $425. A territory of 300,000 people costs $127,500 *. Most brands price the base territory more cheaply than the ground added to it.
The system grew 29 businesses in three years and lost 27 along the way. 56 opened against 15 terminations, 4 non-renewals and 8 that ceased for other reasons, and terminations climbed each year, from zero to four to eleven.
Company-owned outlets fell from three to two. A system of 238 franchised businesses alongside two the brand runs itself, so almost every figure on this page describes an independently owned business.
Opening costs $152,900 to $298,675, which is 7.3% to 14.3% of an average year’s sales. *, a van at $25,000 to $69,300 and equipment at $25,000 to $40,000 have most of it, with $20,000 to $45,000 of additional funds for three months.
Of 238 businesses, 45 sit outside these figures. 22 opened during 2025, 14 transferred mid-year and 9 reported zero sales for every week. 13 more closed during the year, one of them inside its first twelve months.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a Mr. Rooter business bill?
Across 193 businesses reporting 52 full weeks of 2025, the average was $2,093,531 and the median $1,257,146, on a range from $633 to $20,262,638. The averages are $8,162,009 at the top tenth, $5,243,078 at the top quarter, $3,557,458 at the top half, $614,354 at the bottom half and $288,402 at the bottom quarter and $147,745 at the bottom tenth.
What does the brand take?
A license fee of 6% of gross sales, reported and paid weekly, plus 2% to the marketing fund. Minimum licence fees start at week 40 and run $100 to $1,400 a week, depending on the territory's population. They reach $225 or $350 a week for the two groups open to new franchisees. On top of that, a required local marketing spend of the greater of $50,000 or 8% of the prior year’s sales. $60,000 in the first twelve months and $75,000 in months 13 to 24 before that takes over.
What does that work out at?
On our reading, exactly 16.00% of sales for any business above $625,000, which covers the whole top half and most of the bottom half. Below that the minimums take over: 16.14% at the bottom half’s average, 25.65% at the bottom quarter’s and 48.16% at the bottom tenth’s.
How big is the territory?
100,000 people as standard, with a maximum generally of 300,000. The fee is $42,500 for the first 100,000 and $425 for each further 1,000, so the price per head is 42.5 cents at any size. Rural territories are priced separately.
What does it cost to open?
$152,900 to $298,675, before real estate and any additional franchise fee for territory beyond 100,000 people. The largest items are the $42,500 franchise fee, a vehicle at $25,000 to $69,300, equipment and stock at $25,000 to $40,000. Insurance at $12,000 to $18,000 and $20,000 to $45,000 of additional funds for three months.
How stable is the system?
238 franchised businesses at the end of 2025, up from 209 three years earlier, alongside two the brand owns. Across 2023 to 2025, 56 opened and 27 left, 15 terminations, 4 non-renewals and 8 that ceased for other reasons. Terminations rose from zero in 2023 to eleven in 2025.
Which two numbers should run weekly?
Gross sales against $625,000 a year, because that is where the local marketing requirement switches from a flat $50,000 to 8% and the whole load settles at 16%. And local marketing actually spent against the requirement, because it is the largest of the three charges and the only one you place yourself.
- 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 Mr. Rooter
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 Mr. Rooter 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 →Where is your local marketing money actually going?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around the 8% you place yourself, the $625,000 line where it switches from a flat $50,000. The 16% load that holds at every size above it.
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
Mr. Rooter reads against the rest of the mechanical trades group: Aire Serv · Benjamin Franklin Plumbing · Mister Sparky · Mr. Electric · One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning · Plumbing Paramedics. The mechanical trades 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.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?Location-level contribution, and what it takes to see it.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?What a financial performance representation does and does not tell you.