Ducklings Early Learning Center Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $993K – $2.2M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.8M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $993K – $2.2M
- 73rd pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Incl. company outlets29th pct Education
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- 0th pct Education
- Units
- 14
- 33rd pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $993K – $2.2M including a $55K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.8M/year (median $1.7M) (includes company-owned outlets).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 0 closed); 6 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
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 710% 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 by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 4.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
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 342% above the education norm.
Includes company-owned outlets
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Ducklings Early Learning Center until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.9M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ducklings Early Learning Center unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
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 outlets
- vs category median 16
- Range (low → high)
- $1.4M→$2.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 47 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 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. Includes company-owned outlets.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 4.0% — below the Education median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — 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 medians
How Ducklings Early Learning Center Compares
Category median of published Education brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
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
- N/A
- 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
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 6
- 0.43 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
- Limited · 10 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 10 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 10 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
- 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Ducklings Early Learning Center from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
Top SBA lenders
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB | 4 | $2.6M | 0.0% |
| 2 | Truist Bank | 2 | $430K | N/A |
| 3 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 2 | $818K | N/A |
| 4 | BHCU D/B/A Propell Credit Union | 1 | $891K | N/A |
| 5 | First National Bank of Pennsylvania | 1 | $1.1M | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAPennsylvania | 10 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
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)
Audited total revenue FY ending Dec 31, 2024: Royalties 1,447,866; Franchise fees 37,867; Brand fund revenues 248,498; Management fee revenues 83,940; Technology and other revenues 176,834.
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 60 / 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
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 territory |
| 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
31 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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. The median is $1.7M. Important context: Includes company-owned outlets. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Ducklings Early Learning Center?
Ducklings Early Learning Center is franchised by J. Thompson Learning Centers, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ducklings Early Learning Center FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Ducklings Early Learning Center FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ducklings Early Learning Center's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ducklings Early Learning Center (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.