Goddard School Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Goddard School franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Goddard School discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses gross revenue and EBITDA for 620 mature and 37 new schools (2025). No owner net income after debt service, owner salary, or taxes shown. Cherry-picks EBITDA; omits interest, depreciation, owner compensation, and below-the-line costs.
What a Goddard School franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $135,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 7% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 4% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 11% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $1,003,500 – $8,908,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Initial fee plus $55K-$75K marketing, $35K training, $35K site dev, $700/mo curriculum; total pre-open fees substantial.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Goddard School system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 665 |
| Ceased operations | 1 |
| Closure rate | 0.2% of outlets |
1 mature school closed in 2025; termination and transfer counts not extractable from provided excerpts.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Goddard School worth it? — how it compares to 60 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 11% of sales | steeper than 80% of children's education & childcare franchises |
| Startup cost | from $1,003,500 | pricier than 83% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 0.2% of outlets | better than most (median 1.4%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | more litigious than 65% of peers |
Benchmarked against every children's education & childcare franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Goddard School
The franchisor's framing: Discloses gross revenue and EBITDA for 620 mature and 37 new schools (2025). No owner net … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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Goddard School franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Goddard School franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $1,003,500–$8,908,000, including a $135,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Goddard School franchise owners make?
- Discloses gross revenue and EBITDA for 620 mature and 37 new schools (2025). No owner net income after debt service, owner salary, or taxes shown. Cherry-picks EBITDA; omits interest, depreciation, owner compensation, and below-the-line costs. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Goddard School franchise fees?
- Goddard School's FDD discloses a $135,000 initial franchise fee, a 7% royalty on gross sales, a 4% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 11% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Initial fee plus $55K-$75K marketing, $35K training, $35K site dev, $700/mo curriculum; total pre-open fees substantial.
- What is the Goddard School franchise profit margin?
- Goddard School does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses gross revenue and EBITDA for 620 mature and 37 new schools (2025). No owner net income after debt service, owner salary, or taxes shown. Cherry-picks EBITDA; omits interest, depreciation, owner compensation, and below-the-line costs. Recurring fees alone take about 11% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Goddard School franchise failure rate?
- 1 mature school closed in 2025; termination and transfer counts not extractable from provided excerpts.
- How many Goddard School locations are there?
- Goddard School's FDD reports 665 total outlets, with 1 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Goddard School have complaints or lawsuits?
- Goddard School discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Goddard School franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Goddard School scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 11% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Goddard School to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 36432-202604-09 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Goddard School or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.