The Fastest-Growing Franchises in 2026: What the FDD Data Actually Shows

Most “Fastest Growing” Lists Are Meaningless

Every year, dozens of publications release “Top Franchise” or “Fastest Growing Franchise” lists. Most are based on subjective criteria, survey responses from franchisors, or — worst of all — paid placements disguised as editorial rankings.

We took a different approach. Using data extracted from 1,609 Franchise Disclosure Documents filed in 2025-2026, we looked at the only objective growth metric that matters: how many units opened versus how many closed in the most recent fiscal year as reported in Item 20 of each FDD.

Item 20 isn’t optional or self-reported in a survey. It’s a legally required disclosure. Franchisors must report exact unit counts, openings, closures, terminations, and transfers. When a franchisor reports 99 openings and 20 closures, those numbers are audited and verifiable.

The Top 20 Fastest-Growing Franchises by Net Unit Growth

Here are the franchise systems that opened the most new units in their most recent fiscal year, based on Item 20 FDD data:

Rank	Franchise	Industry	Units Opened	Units Closed	Net Growth	Total Units
1	Coverall North America	Cleaning	526	446	+80	5,588
2	CP Franchising (Choice Hotels)	Hospitality	432	170	+262	3,009
3	Jersey Mike’s (A Sub Above)	Food & Beverage	318	5	+313	2,955
4	7-Eleven	Food & Beverage	300	76	+224	8,254
5	Bimbo Foods	Food & Beverage	285	152	+133	6,957
6	Club Pilates	Fitness & Wellness	166	4	+162	1,029
7	Ameriprise Financial	Financial Services	147	46	+101	5,578
8	Brew Culture	Food & Beverage	141	0	+141	321
9	Chick-fil-A	Food & Beverage	135	102	+33	3,109
10	Chester’s International	Food & Beverage	100	59	+41	994
11	Scooter’s Coffee	Food & Beverage	99	20	+79	849
12	Cinnabon	Food & Beverage	92	42	+50	1,030
13	Panda Express	Food & Beverage	89	6	+83	2,502
14	Auntie Anne’s	Food & Beverage	75	41	+34	1,193
15	BAM Franchising	Home Services	73	2	+71	161
16	Century 21	Real Estate	72	110	-38	1,734
17	Asphalt Tire Pros	Automotive	70	109	-39	605
18	C.T. Franchising (Pet)	Pet Services	70	7	+63	372
19	Ace Sushi	Food & Beverage	73	18	+55	106
20	Scooter’s Coffee	Food & Beverage	99	20	+79	849

Critical insight: Raw openings tell only half the story. Century 21 opened 72 units but closed 110, resulting in a net loss of 38 units. Asphalt Tire Pros opened 70 but closed 109. These franchises are technically “growing” by openings but actually shrinking by net count.

Why Net Unit Growth Matters More Than Gross Openings

A franchise that opens 100 units and closes 90 isn’t growing — it’s churning. High churn suggests:

• Franchisee dissatisfaction — People are leaving the system
• Unsustainable economics — Units can’t achieve profitability
• Market saturation — Too many units competing for the same customers
• Weak support — Franchisees fail due to inadequate training or operational help

The healthiest growth indicators combine:

1. High number of new openings (demand for the concept)
2. Low number of closures (existing franchisees are succeeding)
3. Growing total unit count year over year
4. Franchise fee and investment levels that attract qualified operators

Spotlight: Jersey Mike’s — The Growth Story the Numbers Tell

Jersey Mike’s (operating as A Sub Above, LLC in its FDD) stands out with 318 units opened and only 5 closed — a net growth of +313 units. That’s an extraordinary retention rate of 99.8%.

Metric	Jersey Mike’s
Total Units	2,955
Units Opened	318
Units Closed	5
Net Growth	+313
Retention Rate	99.8%
Investment Range	$185,903 – $1,417,592
Franchise Fee	$20,000
Royalty	6.5% of Gross Receipts

What makes this notable: Jersey Mike’s is adding roughly one new unit per day while maintaining near-perfect unit retention. The wide investment range reflects different real estate costs across markets, but the franchise fee of $20,000 is relatively modest for a QSR concept.

Spotlight: Club Pilates — Fitness Franchise Dominance

Club Pilates opened 166 units with only 4 closures — a 97.6% retention rate and net growth of +162 units. In the fitness category, this growth rate is unmatched.

Metric	Club Pilates
Total Units	1,029
Units Opened	166
Units Closed	4
Net Growth	+162
Investment Range	$385,048 – $839,058
Franchise Fee	N/A

Club Pilates recently crossed the 1,000-unit milestone, making it one of the few fitness franchises to reach that scale. By comparison, Anytime Fitness has 2,301 units but didn’t match Club Pilates’ recent growth velocity.

The Warning Signs: Franchises That Are Shrinking

Equally important is identifying franchise systems where closures exceed openings. Our data flagged several:

Franchise	Industry	Opened	Closed	Net Change	Total Units
AmerisourceBergen	Pet Services	174	264	-90	2,361
Chem-Dry	Cleaning	14	101	-87	1,099
Applebee’s	Food & Beverage	0	82	-82	1,507
9Round	Fitness & Wellness	4	83	-79	200
Amazing Lash	Health & Beauty	9	70	-61	201
Century 21	Real Estate	72	110	-38	1,734
Merle Norman	Health & Beauty	5	39	-34	797
Blaze Pizza	Food & Beverage	0	31	-31	265
1-800-GOT-JUNK?	Automotive	1	30	-29	146

A shrinking franchise isn’t necessarily a bad investment — but it demands much more due diligence. There may be legitimate reasons (market consolidation, strategic closures of underperforming units), but you need to understand them before investing.

Questions to Ask About Declining Unit Counts

If a franchise you’re interested in shows net unit losses, ask these questions during validation:

1. Why are units closing — financial failure, voluntary exits, or franchisor-initiated terminations?
2. Has the franchisor changed its growth strategy (e.g., closing small units to focus on larger formats)?
3. What’s the franchisor doing differently now to support franchisee success?
4. Are the closures concentrated in specific regions or across the entire system?
5. How do current franchisees feel about the direction of the brand?

Industry Growth Patterns

Growth isn’t evenly distributed across franchise categories:

Food & Beverage dominates with the highest absolute growth numbers, but that’s partly because it’s the largest category (433 franchises). Jersey Mike’s, 7-Eleven, and Chick-fil-A lead the pack.

Fitness & Wellness shows the most concentrated growth in specific brands. Club Pilates alone accounts for a significant share of the category’s expansion.

Cleaning & Maintenance has high churn — Coverall opened 526 units but closed 446. The business model (lower investment, higher turnover) naturally produces more movement in both directions.

Home Services shows steady, moderate growth with less volatility than other categories. BAM Franchising’s 73 openings with only 2 closures represents the healthiest growth pattern in the sector.

How to Use Growth Data in Your Decision

Growth data should inform your franchise evaluation but not be the sole deciding factor. Here’s how to integrate it into your due diligence:

1. Request three years of Item 20 data — A single year can be an anomaly. Three years shows a trend.
2. Calculate the growth rate as a percentage — 100 new openings for a 500-unit system (20% growth) is more impressive than 100 for a 5,000-unit system (2% growth).
3. Investigate the closures — Every closed unit represents a franchisee who lost money, changed plans, or was terminated. Understand why.
4. Map new openings geographically — If all growth is in one region, the franchise may not be proven in your market.
5. Cross-reference with Item 19 — Growing franchises with transparent earnings data give you the best foundation for financial modeling.

The best franchise isn’t always the fastest-growing one. It’s the one where existing franchisees are profitable, new units are succeeding, and the growth rate is sustainable — not just impressive on paper.

Browse our franchise library to see unit growth data for 1,500+ franchise systems, or read our guide to franchise red flags to learn what warning signs to watch for.