Ducklings Early Learning Center Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ducklings Early Learning Center is an early childhood education franchise offering preschool and childcare. Franchisees run the centers, managing teachers, curriculum, enrollment, and licensing compliance.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise requires a total initial investment of $993K – $2.2M, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 3.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $993K – $2.2M
- 68th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 37th pct Education
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- 0th pct Education
- Units
- 14
- 30th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $993K – $2.2M including a $55K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year, with an estimated 19% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 70/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- J. Thompson Learning Centers, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Jody Thompson
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 1414 Lenape Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382
- Auditor
- REESE CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.0M
- vs $1.6M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jody Thompson
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 156% above the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $55K | $55K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $250K | $360K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $688K | $1.7M |
| Total initial investment | $993K | $2.2M |
Source: Ducklings Early Learning Center 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $993K – $2.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $250K – $360K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 4.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 5.4 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Training fee | $27K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 4.0% of rev |
A 4.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 108% above the education norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$342K
19.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $293K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 18.6%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross_revenue_and_operating_costs
- Sample size
- 12 units
- vs category median 14
- Range (low → high)
- $1.4M→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.5M→$2.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 234 Education brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.8M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 4.0% — below the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 57.1% CAGR over 3 years across 14 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Education averages
How Ducklings Early Learning Center Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 14
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 79%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +57.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +57.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 10
- Loan volume
- $5.9M
- Median loan
- $587K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Ducklings Early Learning Center charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Ducklings Early Learning Center franchisees
Showing 3 of 5 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ducklings Early Learning Center's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Early-stage childcare franchise with unproven unit economics, aggressive expansion, and limited transparency on financial performance creates meaningful execution and profitability risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · REESE CPA LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 70 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($993k-$2.15M) with moderate average net income ($292k) creates 3-4 year payback period at risk
- 02MINORRoyalty structure escalates from 3% to 6% after 90 days, potentially reducing profitability during critical growth phase
- 03MEDRapid expansion (37.5% YoY) with only 14 units suggests early-stage franchise system with limited operating history and unproven scalability
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite $1.8M average revenue claims; cannot independently verify unit economics
- 05MINORHigh variance between min/max investment ($1.16M spread) indicates inconsistent site costs or build-out standards across locations
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 4.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Pennsylvania |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | PA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 62 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 47 hrs
- Training location
- Remote/online (Phase 1); West Chester, PA or other designated location (Phase 2); Franchisee's premises or remote (Phase 3)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 48 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
32 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ducklings Early Learning Center · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise?
The total investment to open a Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise ranges from $993K – $2.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ducklings Early Learning Center FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Ducklings Early Learning Center's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Ducklings Early Learning Center has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ducklings Early Learning Center has 14 total units in the United States, including 11 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ducklings Early Learning Center a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ducklings Early Learning Center as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Ducklings Early Learning Center, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Education franchises
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.