Gold’s GymFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Gold’s Gym franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.8M – $4.3M, including a $40K franchise fee. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 15.5% charge-off rate across 169 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.8M – $4.3M
- 98th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 55th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 210
- 91st pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA default
- 15.5%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Health & Fitness avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.6x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 166 to 158 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.8M – $4.3M including a $40K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.7M), with an estimated 12% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 61/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 15.5% across 169 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- RSG Group USA Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 5420 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas 75240
- Auditor
- Rödl Langford de Kock LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $11.1M
- vs $10.2M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate full-service fitness facilities offering equipment, personal training, group classes, and ancillary services (supplements, merchandise). Day-to-day responsibilities include staff management, facility maintenance, member acquisition/retention, class scheduling, and revenue optimization across membership dues, training fees, and retail.
- CEO
- Danny Waggoner and Brian Warne
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 21
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $40K | $100K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.7M | $4.2M |
| Total initial investment | $1.8M | $4.3M |
Source: Gold’s Gym 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$577K
30.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.8M – $4.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $100K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $41K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 5% of Facility’s Gross Revenue each month or $…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 8.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
- Avg ebitda
- $354K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 11.6%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 200 units
- vs category median 11 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $362K→$9.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- none
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 8 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 180 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Health & Fitness averages
How Gold’s Gym Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 210
- Opened
- 10
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 10
- Turnover rate
- 4.8%
- Company-owned
- 52
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 75%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -4.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 169
- Loan volume
- $114.5M
- Median loan
- $400K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 15.5%
- 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)
- 84.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 83
- Defaults
- 25
Vintage analysis
Gold’s Gym charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Gold's Gym presents CAUTION-level risk: high capex requirements, unvalidated income claims, unclear unit economics, and opaque system growth metrics in a declining membership-gym sector.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Rödl Langford de Kock LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot validate the $353,792 average net income claim independently
- 02MED210 units with unknown growth trajectory — no disclosure of unit growth/decline rate raises questions about system momentum
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($1.78M–$4.35M) with moderate average net income ($353K) yields 5-12 year payback period under best conditions
- 04MINORRoyalty structure floor of $2,000/month ($24K annually) is aggressive even if facility underperforms; creates cash flow pressure
- 05HIGHGoing Concern = False is ambiguous — unclear if this applies to franchisor or indicates financial instability
- 06MINORMature/saturated market (fitness) with rising competition from low-cost digital alternatives (Peloton, Apple Fitness, boutique studios)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 12 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- POS system
- Gym Management System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Gym Management System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
11 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Gold’s Gym · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Gold’s Gym franchise?
The total investment to open a Gold’s Gym franchise ranges from $1.8M – $4.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Gold’s Gym franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Gold’s Gym FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Gold’s Gym's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Gold’s Gym has a charge-off rate of 15.5% across 169 loans, meaning 15.5% 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 Gold’s Gym franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Gold’s Gym has 210 total units in the United States, including 166 franchised units and 52 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Gold’s Gym a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Gold’s Gym as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 61 out of 100, 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.
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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.