Jack in the BoxFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Jack in the Box franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.9M – $4.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.9M – $4.0M
- 99th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 52nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2,136
- 96th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants 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.
Only 0.0% of 46 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1971. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 2043 to 1985 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $4.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.8M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 24/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 46 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 12 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Different Rules, LLC
- Parent company
- Jack in the Box Inc.
- Predecessor
- as we obtained the majority of our assets from it through the Securitization
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 9357 Spectrum Center Blvd, San Diego, California 92123
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.1B
- vs $1.1B prior year
Affiliated brands
- does not operate the type of business you will operate
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual quick-service restaurants serving Jack in the Box's menu of burgers, chicken sandwiches, tacos, and breakfast items. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and counter staff, ordering inventory, maintaining food safety standards, customer service, and local marketing—all while paying 5% of gross sales in royalties regardless of profitability.
- CEO
- Lance Tucker
- Headquarters
- CA
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 22
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Promotion Feenot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Fee for trade area survey analysis | $0 | $8K | |
| Land | — | — | |
| Fee for architect/engineering services | $44K | $216K | |
| Environmental assessment | $3K | $34K | |
| On-site improvements | $337K | $825K | |
| Building Improvements | $626K | $1.3M | |
| Furniture, fixtures and equipment | $499K | $967K | |
| IT equipment and installation | $45K | $60K | |
| Initial inventory | $12K | $20K | |
| Pre-opening training and inventory expenses | $110K | $115K | |
| Pre-opening additional funds | $14K | $17K | |
| Uniforms | $3K | $5K | |
| Operating cash | $1K | $3K | |
| Business licenses and utility deposits | $500 | $3K | |
| Additional funds (3 months) | $165K | $459K | |
| Development Feenot refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Professional Fee | $1K | $5K | |
| Remaining Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.0M | $4.1M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$230K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
7%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.9M – $4.0M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $165K – $459K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $50K |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.8M
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 1754 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $624K→$5.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.3M→$2.6M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants 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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Jack in the Box Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,136
- Opened
- 20
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 75
- Turnover rate
- 3.5%
- Company-owned
- 151
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -2.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 16
- Terminated (3yr)
- 5
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 21
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 46
- Loan volume
- $31.2M
- Median loan
- $543K
- 50th percentile
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 14
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Jack in the Box's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 4 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Jack in the Box presents elevated risk due to shrinking unit count, non-disclosure of net income figures, multiple active litigations reflecting franchisor-franchisee friction, and going concern warning at corporate level.
Litigation (Item 3)
6 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $8
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG 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 24 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.7% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNo disclosed average net income despite $1.91M-$4.04M investment creates opacity around actual profitability and ROI
- 03HIGHMultiple active litigation cases across multiple states (Philippines, Texas, Washington) plus historical pattern of franchisee disputes suggests systemic franchisor-franchisee relationship issues
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status = False (company reported going concern doubts), indicating financial instability at corporate level
- 05HIGHHeavy litigation history including class actions (gift cards), franchisee association suits, and multi-state disputes suggests pattern of enforcement/transparency problems
- 06MED5% royalty on disclosed $1.91M average revenue = ~$95,668 annual royalty plus operating costs makes profitability questionable without disclosed net income
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 12 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
6 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 320 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Company-specified POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Company-specified POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1,970 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Jack in the Box · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Jack in the Box franchise?
The total investment to open a Jack in the Box franchise ranges from $1.9M – $4.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Jack in the Box franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Jack in the Box FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Jack in the Box's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Jack in the Box has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 46 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 Jack in the Box franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Jack in the Box has 2,136 total units in the United States, including 2,043 franchised units and 151 company-owned units. 20 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Jack in the Box a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Jack in the Box as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 24 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.
For franchisors
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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.