Roto-Rooter franchise unit economics
Roto-Rooter franchisees run sewer and drain cleaning businesses that sell sewer, drain and pipe cleaning inside a territory priced by population, and may add plumbing repair, septic tank cleaning and water restoration.
Roto-Rooter in the news
- Chemed Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Results · Chemed (SEC filing) ·
The Roto-Rooter headline above is the publisher's own and links to the publisher. Averan Advisors checked this Roto-Rooter link on 11 October 2026. Franchise news lists news on 95 brands, including Roto-Rooter. Roto-Rooter is in the Mechanical Trades franchise guide.
Roto-Rooter franchise at a glance
Roto-Rooter’s 2026 FDD, issued 31 March 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Roto-Rooter franchise costs $123,110 to $281,550 to open, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee. Roto-Rooter charges no percentage royalty, and owners buy a territory at 15 cents a person.
- Roto-Rooter reported 333 franchised locations in its 2026 FDD.
These figures come from Roto-Rooter's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- The whole brand cost is 17.8 cents a person a year. 6.69 cents of monthly fee plus 11.11 cents of required advertising *, and because revenue stays outside the formula, a territory that doubles its sales pays exactly the same.
- The second 500,000 people cost more per head than the first. That is $600.40 a month for each 100,000 in the second group against $557.70 in the first *, because a 25% uplift replaces a 10% one.
- Advertising is 62% of what the territory costs you. $55,550 of a $89,012 annual bill at 500,000 people *, and unspent money is handed over and spent nationally instead.
- Population growth raises the fee and leaves the territory boundaries unchanged. The count is refreshed in year six for years six through ten. Meanwhile the territory stays exactly as drawn. So growth costs money and buys no extra ground.
- Zero franchises opened in 2025 and none are projected. Franchised outlets fell from 348 to 333 across three years, with 12 terminations and 6 reacquisitions, a closed system where buying an existing territory is the way in.
How much does a Roto-Rooter franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for Roto-Rooter does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. What it does publish is set out below. The Roto-Rooter percentage royalty is zero, the all-in cost is 17.8 cents a person a year, the 2026 advertising minimum is 11.11 cents a person and franchised outlets at the end of 2025 numbered 333.
Top performers
What separates the top Roto-Rooter performers
Roto-Rooter publishes no revenue figures, so neither the average nor the spread between locations is disclosed.
Decided before you open
- Capacity.Locations run 1,200 square feet. Capacity is the number of vans, times the hours they run, times how full their schedules are. The build sets how much you can sell.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $123,110 to $281,550, a 2.3× range inside one brand.
Live operating levers
- What you can change after opening.This filing prices none of the operating lines. Across the Home Services brands in this library that do disclose them, the largest is the cost of what you sell at a median 43.8% of sales *. Model that line first, then ask owners at both ends of the system what it actually runs at, because a few points on the largest line outweighs everything else you can change.
Context you underwrite around
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no performance bands, no attainment figure. Ask the franchisor or current owners for cost and profit figures.
- Sales spread in the category.Across 66 Home Services brands in this library, the top group sells 8.9× the bottom at the typical brand, and a median 35% of locations reach their own average *. Ask the franchisor for this brand’s spread.
Priced per person
Annual territory cost by population
| Territory population | Monthly fee * | Fees a year * | Advertising minimum * | Total a year * | A person * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | $557.70 | $6,692 | $11,110 | $17,802 | 17.80¢ |
| 250,000 | $1,673.10 | $20,077 | $27,775 | $47,852 | 19.14¢ |
| 500,000 | $2,788.50 | $33,462 | $55,550 | $89,012 | 17.80¢ |
| 1,000,000 | $5,790.50 | $69,486 | $111,100 | $180,586 | 18.06¢ |
The tier rates, uplifts and 2026 advertising minimum are as the brand reported it and every dollar figure applies them to each population, marked *.
Revenue plays no part in franchise fees. So a territory that lifts its average job value or its close rate keeps every cent of the gain, the single most valuable structural feature of this model.
The territory itself costs 15 cents a person, once. The minimum is $25,000, which applies below 166,667 people *. Small territories pay more a head to start.
A 500,000-person territory costs $75,000 to buy and $89,012 a year to hold. * The annual bill exceeds the purchase price inside the first year.
The 250,000-person territory costs 19.14 cents a person *. That is because the fee is charged per 100,000 “or any portion thereof”, so a territory ending just above a round hundred thousand pays for the whole block.
The fee is adjusted annually for consumer price inflation. Roto-Rooter recalculates it from the December index each year and rounds it to the nearest $5, so this cost tracks the economy.
Bigger pays more, not less
Tier rates before and after uplifts
| Population band | Base rate a month, each 100,000 | Uplift | Effective rate * | A person a year * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 500,000 | $507.00 | 10% | $557.70 | 6.69¢ |
| Second 500,000 | $480.32 | 25% | $600.40 | 7.21¢ |
| Above 1,000,000 | $453.62 | 30% | $589.71 | 7.08¢ |
The base rates and uplift percentages are as the brand reported it and the effective rates multiply one by the other, marked *.
The cheapest people in your territory are the first 500,000. 6.69 cents a head a year against 7.21 cents in the next group *, which is 7.7% more on the second half of a million-person market.
The base rates fall 5.3% and then 5.6% across the groups. While the uplifts rise from 10% to 25% to 30%, which is what turns a sliding discount into a sliding surcharge.
A water restoration test can cut every uplift roughly in half. The Roto-Rooter uplifts drop to 5%, 10% and 15% in any year when fewer than half the brand's own branches offer that service. That is worth $304 a year for each 100,000 people in the first group *.
Under the reduced uplifts the cost per head falls across the groups. 6.39, 6.34 and 6.26 cents a head across the three groups *, so the discount is real only while that test fails.
The filing states no maximum monthly fee for the largest territories. The filing prints it as $280 to $36,000 and more. The largest territories have a stated minimum and no stated maximum.
The minimum advertising charge
Local advertising minimum by year
| Year | A person | At 100,000 people * | At 500,000 people * |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11.11¢ | $11,110 | $55,550 |
| 2028 | 11.65¢ | $11,650 | $58,250 |
| 2031 | 12.52¢ | $12,520 | $62,600 |
| 2035 | 13.81¢ | $13,810 | $69,050 |
The per-person rates are as the brand reported it for each year and the dollar columns multiply them by each population, marked *.
The required spend rises 24.3% over the decade. That is 11.11 to 13.81 cents, about 2.45% a year compounded *, a schedule fixed in the agreement.
Advertising is 1.66 times the monthly fee. $55,550 against $33,462 at 500,000 people *, so the media plan matters more to your cost base than the franchise fee does.
Whatever you leave unspent is paid over and spent nationally. Within 14 days of the year end, so the minimum is an amount the owner must spend.
There is no brand fund contribution. The brand has no obligation to run an advertising fund, and owners have no requirement to join a co-operative. So the 11.11 cents is money you direct yourself.
First-year advertising runs $16,110 to $60,550 in the opening budget. That includes directory listings of $4,200 to $32,000 and up to $5,000 of elective media, between 13% and 22% of the total investment *.
Territory and the system
Franchised outlets, 2023 to 2025
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Reacquired | End | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 348 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 341 | 4 |
| 2024 | 341 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 337 | 13 |
| 2025 | 337 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 333 | 6 |
| Three years | n/a | 3 | 12 | 6 | n/a | 23 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, alongside 115 outlets operated by an affiliate at the end of 2025.
Three outlets opened in three years against 18 exits *. With no agreements signed and none projected, the only practical entry is buying a territory from an existing owner.
Twenty-three territories changed hands, 6.9% of the system *. Each transfer carries a fee of 1.5% of the sale price, floored at $1,000 and capped at $7,500. That is among the cheapest exits in this library.
The territory holds its boundaries for the life of the agreement. Population growth, sales volume and market penetration do not change them. The brand and its affiliate stay out of it for sewer, drain and pipe cleaning under the marks.
You pick your own site with no approval needed. Most owners start from home with one van, and about 1,200 square feet suits a three-truck operation. So the investment table leaves real estate unpriced.
Formal initial training is absent, and the term runs ten years. Signing to opening takes one to twelve months, and renewal for a further ten years is on the terms then current.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Roto-Rooter franchise make?
Roto-Rooter’s 2026 FDD, issued 31 March 2026, makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it gives no sales or profit figure. A Roto-Rooter franchise costs $123,110 to $281,550 to open, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee. Roto-Rooter charges no percentage royalty, and owners buy a territory at 15 cents a person.
What fees does Roto-Rooter charge?
Roto-Rooter charges no percentage of sales. Instead there is a monthly fee set by the territory's population. It is $507 for each 100,000 people in the first 500,000, raised 10% to $557.70. On top of that there is a local advertising minimum of 11.11 cents a person a year in 2026. On our reading that is about 17.8 cents a person a year all in.
Why does that matter so much at Roto-Rooter?
It matters because your revenue is invisible to the fee. Raise your average job value, add water restoration or plumbing repair, work the same territory harder, and the bill stays exactly where it was. Very few franchise structures leave the upside entirely with the owner this way.
Do bigger territories get a discount at Roto-Rooter?
The base rates fall across the groups but the uplifts rise from 10% to 25% to 30%, which reverses the effect. On our reading the first 500,000 people cost 6.69 cents a head a year, the second 500,000 cost 7.21 cents and anything above a million costs 7.08 cents.
What is the water restoration test at Roto-Rooter?
If fewer than half the company-operated branches provide water restoration services during a calendar year, the uplifts drop to 5%, 10% and 15% for the following year. On our reading that is about $304 a year for each 100,000 people in the first group. It is the one lever that makes the tiers work as discounts.
What does the Roto-Rooter territory cost to buy?
A Roto-Rooter territory costs 15 cents a person, with a $25,000 minimum, which means territories below about 166,667 people pay more than the formula. The cover page range is $25,000 to $75,000 and total investment runs $123,110 to $281,550.
What happens to the advertising money I fail to spend at Roto-Rooter?
You pay it to the brand within 14 days of the year end and it gets spent nationally. The minimum is an amount the owner must spend, and there is no brand fund charge on top.
How do I get in at Roto-Rooter?
Most new Roto-Rooter owners get in by buying an existing territory. Three outlets opened across 2023 to 2025, zero opened in 2025, and none are projected for the coming year, while 23 territories transferred between owners. The transfer fee is 1.5% of the sale price, between $1,000 and $7,500.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Roto-Rooter?
Track revenue per thousand people in your territory, because population is what you pay on and revenue is what you keep. Then track advertising spend against the 11.11-cent minimum, because underspending simply transfers the money.
- The filing gives no revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- The filing gives no profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- The filing breaks out no cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- The filing gives no range. The filing does not show the highest and lowest locations, so the spread inside the system is unknown.
- The filing gives no attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
- The filing shows no ramp. The filing does not show how a new location builds up, so the first-year curve has to be assumed.
Questions worth putting to Roto-Rooter
These are questions the Roto-Rooter filing leaves open. An owner or a buyer can put them to Roto-Rooter 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 Roto-Rooter locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
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 is a thousand people worth to you?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around 17.8 cents a person a year of brand cost, a tier structure that charges more per head as territories grow, and revenue the brand leaves alone.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Roto-Rooter reads against the rest of the mechanical trades group: Aire Serv · Benjamin Franklin Plumbing · Mister Sparky · Mr. Electric · Mr. Rooter · One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning. 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?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.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?It explains what an Item 19 financial performance representation tells you and what it leaves out.
- What should I be looking at every week?It lists the handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from Roto-Rooter Corporation’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us, we are unaffiliated with the brand, calculations of our own are marked with an asterisk where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Roto-Rooter® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: Roto-Rooter Corporation, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 31 March 2026.