School of Rock franchise unit economics
School of Rock franchisees teach performance-based music from leased schools of about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. Across 243 franchised schools total sales average $683,344 on a roll of 179 students, against $973,321 on 216 students at the 46 schools the company owns. Only those company schools have a profit line, keeping 24.2% of sales after an imputed 8% royalty.
- Primary source
- School of Rock Franchising, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 243 of 276 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.
The company’s 46 schools bill $973,321 against $683,344 at 243 franchised ones, 42.4% more, on 20.7% more students. The difference per student is $688 a year. The only profit and loss available belongs to those company schools. That makes their fixed cost base the number every franchisee has to test against their own volume.
- Company schools earn $688 more per student a year. $4,506 against $3,818 *, 18.0% more from each child on a roll 20.7% larger.
- The company's own schools keep 24.2% of sales after an imputed 8% royalty. $235,955 on $973,321, with cost of sales at 36.7%, rent at 9.8% and management labor at 9.8%.
- Carrying that same fixed cost base at the franchised average leaves 12.6%. $86,423 against $165,656 on a straight ratio *, because rent, management and administration changes littlewith volume.
- Franchise fees take 14.6% of sales. 8% royalty, 3% brand fund, 3% local advertising and a flat $4,141 technology charge, $99,809 a year at the franchised average *.
- Tenant improvement allowances ran $26,630 to $170,011 in 2025. $10 to $57 a square foot with an average of $31, which is $90,985 at the 2,935 square feet a 2025 school averaged *.
How much does a School of Rock franchise make?
The average School of Rock unit reported $683,344 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $658,980. The brand’s disclosure document puts the profit line at 24.2% of revenue. Fees come off the top first, at about 14% 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 School of Rock performers
School of Rock splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,820,477 a year. The worst averaged $149,336. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $658,980. The average was $683,344. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 12.2× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Capacity, fixed at build.Locations run 2,500 to 3,000 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 $378,050 to $756,100, 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.
- Lease economics.Occupancy cost ran 9.8% of sales in this filing. The rent does not fall when sales do, so the same lease is a far heavier line at the bottom of the system than at the top. That is how a weak site compounds into a weak profit line.
Live operating levers
- Cost of what you sell.Products and materials take 36.7% of sales, against 24.2% kept at the end. Buying terms, price discipline and waste are where this is won, and each of them compounds at volume. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex.Rent and building costs take 9.8% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Enrolment, the operating driver.This model bills on enrolment. The licence fixes how many places exist, so what is left is how many are filled, what each is priced at, and how long a family stays. 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 14.0% 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.243 of 276 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.
- Brand-owned locations.The franchisor reports its own locations alongside the franchised ones. Treat them as indicative rather than representative: they are operated by the franchisor, usually mature, and usually few.
The only profit and loss
Twenty-four percent, at a million dollars of sales.
| Line | Average | Share of sales | Reaching the average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales | $973,321 | 100.0% | 20 (43.5%) | $920,319 |
| Cost of sales | $356,797 | 36.7% | 20 (43.5%) | $328,617 |
| Gross profit | $616,524 | 63.3% | 21 (45.7%) | $564,211 |
| Management labor | $95,858 | 9.8% | 19 (41.3%) | $84,145 |
| Rent | $95,864 | 9.8% | 21 (45.7%) | $90,729 |
| Imputed royalty at 8% | $77,866 | 8.0% | 20 (43.5%) | $73,626 |
| Administrative labor | $46,946 | 4.8% | 25 (54.3%) | $47,823 |
| Marketing | $36,755 | 3.8% | 21 (45.7%) | $34,634 |
| Other expenses | $23,141 | 2.4% | 29 (63.0%) | $30,703 |
| Technology fees | $4,141 | 0.4% | 46 (100.0%) | $4,141 |
| Total expenses | $380,569 | 39.1% | 18 (39.1%) | $338,385 |
| Net operating income after operating costs | $235,955 | 24.2% | 20 (43.5%) | $195,915 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size within operating expenses.
| Line | Company school, as the brand reported it | At the franchised average, cost ratios held | At the franchised average, fixed costs held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales | $973,321 | $683,344 | $683,344 |
| Cost of sales at 36.7% | $356,797 | $250,498 | $250,498 |
| Marketing at 3.8% | $36,755 | $25,805 | $25,805 |
| Royalty at 8% | $77,866 | $54,668 | $54,668 |
| Rent | $95,864 | $67,304 | $95,864 |
| Management labor | $95,858 | $67,299 | $95,858 |
| Administrative labor | $46,946 | $32,960 | $46,946 |
| Other expenses | $23,141 | $16,247 | $23,141 |
| Technology fees | $4,141 | $2,907 | $4,141 |
| Net operating income after operating costs | $235,955 | $165,656 | $86,423 |
| Share of sales | 24.2% | 24.2% | 12.6% |
Ours throughout, other than the first column.
Rent is 9.8% of sales at a company school and 14.0% at the franchised average. The same $95,864 *. At the lowest-selling franchised school's $149,336 of sales, that rent would be 64.2%. That is why the minimum of the franchised range sits at a third of the company minimum.
Cost of sales is 36.7%, and teachers are most of it. $356,797 at a company school. It moves with volume, which makes it the one large line a school at $683,344 has in proportion.
Management and administrative labor together cost $142,804. 14.7% of company sales and 20.9% of the franchised average *. A general manager and an administrator is the standard staffing, and it is the first thing a smaller school has to decide about.
Every company school pays the same $4,141 technology fee. 46 of 46 at the average, the one line in the statement that lands identically everywhere. At the lowest-selling franchised school it would be 2.8% of sales * against 0.4%.
The brand’s own locations against yours
Same building, same roll, a different ticket.
| Measure | Company-owned, 46 schools | Franchised, 243 schools | Difference * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average total sales | $973,321 | $683,344 | +42.4% |
| Median total sales | $920,319 | $658,980 | +39.7% |
| Highest | $1,978,758 | $1,820,477 | +8.7% |
| Lowest | $363,147 | $149,336 | +143.2% |
| Reaching the average | 20 (43%) | 114 (47%) | n/a |
| Average enrollment | 216 | 179 | +20.7% |
| Median enrollment | 219 | 170 | +28.8% |
| Highest enrollment | 406 | 400 | +1.5% |
| Lowest enrollment | 93 | 49 | +89.8% |
| Reaching the average enrollment | 22 (48%) | 114 (47%) | n/a |
| Sales per student, average * | $4,506 | $3,818 | +18.0% |
| Sales per student, median * | $4,202 | $3,876 | +8.4% |
Sales, enrollment and counts are as the brand reported it; the per-student rows and the difference column are marked *.
The company earns $688 more a year from each student. $4,506 against $3,818 *. Across a franchised roll of 179 students that gap is worth $123,152 a year, more than the whole difference in rent, management and administration between the two groups.
The minimums are what separate the two groups. The best company school bills $1,978,758 and the best franchised one $1,820,477, 8.7% apart. The lowest-selling company school bills $363,147 and the lowest-selling franchised one $149,336, 143% apart.
The lowest-selling franchised school has 49 students. Against a company minimum of 93 and a franchised average of 179. A school at 49 students on a building sized for 179 is carrying the same rent on a quarter of the roll.
The median franchised school bills $658,980 on 170 students. $3,876 apiece *, slightly above the franchised average ticket of $3,818, so the larger franchised schools discount.
Fees and what it costs to open
Fourteen and a half percent, and a half-million-dollar build.
| Level | Total sales | Royalty at 8% | Brand fund at 3% | Local advertising at 3% | Technology | Total | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest franchised school | $1,820,477 | $145,638 | $54,614 | $54,614 | $4,141 | $259,008 | 14.2% |
| Company school average | $973,321 | $77,866 | $29,200 | $29,200 | $4,141 | $140,406 | 14.4% |
| Franchised average | $683,344 | $54,668 | $20,500 | $20,500 | $4,141 | $99,809 | 14.6% |
| Franchised median | $658,980 | $52,718 | $19,769 | $19,769 | $4,141 | $96,398 | 14.6% |
| Lowest-selling franchised school | $149,336 | $11,947 | $4,480 | $4,480 | $4,141 | $25,048 | 16.8% |
Ours, applying the published rates to filed sales.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Building work | $195,000 | $417,000 |
| Initial franchise fee | $59,900 | $59,900 |
| Additional funds, three months | $25,000 | $85,000 |
| Equipment | $26,000 | $40,000 |
| Furnishings and finishings | $14,000 | $26,000 |
| Initial rent outlays | $8,500 | $24,800 |
| Security and cameras | $6,500 | $20,000 |
| Signage | $8,000 | $15,000 |
| Architectural fees | $11,700 | $14,000 |
| Advertising | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Miscellaneous opening expenses | $6,500 | $12,000 |
| Computer and software | $4,000 | $9,000 |
| Permits and licenses | $3,200 | $7,200 |
| Opening inventory | $3,000 | $4,000 |
| Pre-opening training | $2,300 | $3,700 |
| Supplies | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Prepaid insurance premiums | $750 | $2,000 |
| Utility costs and deposits | $700 | $1,500 |
| Total as the brand reported it | $378,050 | $756,100 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size.
The build is half the cost of opening. $195,000 to $417,000 of a $378,050 to $756,100 total. A school needs sound isolation in every room and a performance space, which is what puts the building work above five times the franchise fee.
An average tenant improvement allowance is $90,985. $31 a square foot across 2,935 square feet *. The reported range runs from $26,630 to $170,011, so the difference between a poor lease negotiation and a good one is larger than the franchise fee.
A company school's net operating income repays the low investment estimate in 1.6 years. $235,955 against $378,050 *. At the franchised average with fixed costs held, $86,423 takes 4.4 years, and that is the range the decision actually sits in.
A top-performing franchisee can be offered a second school with the fee waived. $59,900 saved, inside the existing territory. Against a build of $195,000 and up, the fee is the smaller half of that decision.
The network of locations
Seventy-six openings, eleven departures. (Item 20)
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchised at start | 211 | 234 | 254 |
| Opened | 25 | 24 | 27 |
| Terminations | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Non-renewals | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Ceased for other reasons | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Franchised at end | 234 | 254 | 276 |
| Company-owned at end | 47 | 49 | 47 |
| Total outlets at end | 281 | 303 | 323 |
As the brand reported it; every year reconciles exactly *.
The franchised estate grew 30.8% in three years. 211 to 276, on 76 openings against 11 departures. That is roughly seven openings for every exit, one of the steadier records in this library.
Forty-six agreements are signed and waiting. Against 276 trading schools, with 38 openings projected for 2026, more than the 27 that actually opened in 2025.
The franchisor bought five schools back across three years and sold two. Company-owned count stayed at 47 from start to finish. The company is holding its own estate steady while the franchised side adds twenty-plus a year.
Two schools closed on termination in 2025 and two ceased for other reasons. Out of 254 trading at the start of the year. Four departures against 27 openings is the shape of a system in expansion.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a School of Rock be billing?
Across 243 franchised schools open at least five days a week through all of 2025, total sales averaged $683,344 with a median of $658,980, ranging from $149,336 to $1,820,477. 114 of the 243 reached the average. The 46 company-owned schools averaged $973,321 with a median of $920,319, ranging from $363,147 to $1,978,758. Enrollment at 31 December 2025 averaged 179 students at a franchised school and 216 at a company one, with franchised rolls running from 49 to 400.
What is left after costs?
The one available profit and loss covers the 46 company-owned schools. At $973,321 of sales, cost of sales took 36.7%, leaving gross profit of 63.3%. Management labor took 9.8%, rent 9.8%, an imputed 8% royalty, administrative labor 4.8%, marketing 3.8%, other expenses 2.4% and technology 0.4%. That leaves net operating income of $235,955 or 24.2%. That sits before taxes and depreciation. Holding the same dollar figures for rent, management, administration, other expenses and technology at the franchised average of $683,344 leaves $86,423, or 12.6%, which is marked *.
Why do company schools bill more?
Two reasons, and they are separable. Company schools take 216 students against 179, which is 20.7% more, and they collect $4,506 a student against $3,818, which is 18.0% more, both marked *. The ceilings are close: the best company school bills $1,978,758 against $1,820,477 for the best franchised one. The minimums are apart: $363,147 against $149,336, and 93 students against 49. So the gap is mostly about the bottom of the franchised range.
What does the brand take?
A royalty of 8% of gross sales and a brand fund contribution of 3%, both due on the 10th for the previous month. A local advertising spend of 3% of annualized gross sales each year, spent in the franchisee's own market. A technology charge that the published profit and loss puts at a flat $4,141 a school. An advertising cooperative of up to 3% may be established, with zero in place at present, and contributions would count against the local advertising requirement. Together that is $99,809 a year at the franchised average, or 14.6% of sales. Is marked *, rising to 16.8% at the lowest-selling school because the technology charge is flat.
Who does bookkeeping for a School of Rock franchise?
Three things shape the close here. Revenue is a monthly roll, so enrollment count belongs beside the revenue line every month, at $3,818 a student a year. Is marked *, ten students lost is $38,180 of annual revenue and it appears in the roll long before it appears in the bank. Second, cost of sales at 36.7% is mostly teacher wages. Teacher hours follow enrollment with a lag. So the gross profit moves against you in a falling month and for you in a rising one. A monthly teacher-cost-per-student figure catches that earlier than a margin percentage does. Third, the only published profit and loss belongs to company schools at $973,321 of sales. So benchmarking against it needs the fixed lines (rent, management labor, administration) compared in dollars. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
Questions worth putting to School of Rock
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- Is the profit figure in Item 19 before or after owner pay, and how many locations sit below it?
- 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 School of Rock 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.
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