Jack in the Box franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Jack in the Box franchise takes $1,909,500 – $4,041,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is not disclosed in the filings we cover. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 3% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 5%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Jack in the Box franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $1,909,500 | $4,041,500 | $1,909,500 to $4,041,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $1,909,500 | $4,041,500 | $1,909,500 to $4,041,500 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Jack in the Box's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 3% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 5% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
See the full Jack in the Box cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Jack in the Box's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Jack in the Box's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $1,909,500 — about 6.8× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How Jack in the Box's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2021: began the window at 1,592 units; 559 units opened, 118 closed, ending at 2,055 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Jack in the Box or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Jack in the Box for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Jack in the Box is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Jack in the Box grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Jack in the Box can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Jack in the Box franchise
Jack in the Box is a food & beverage franchisor with 2,055 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2021, it began the window at 1,592 units; its filings record 559 unit openings and 118 closures, ending at 2,055 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Jack in the Box SPV Guarantor, LLC, Jack in the Box Funding, LLC, and Jack in the Box Inc. (JIB). The filings indicate financing options are available; terms come from the franchisor, not from us.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
Different Rules, LLC franchises quick-service Jack in the Box restaurants, which serve a variety of foods, including hamburgers, specialty sandwiches, fries, tacos, salads, bowls, drinks and side items. Different Rules, LLC offers franchises for restaurants that are already built, as well as restaurants that franchisees are responsible for building. The total investment information below is for a restaurant that a franchisee would build.
Jack in the Box franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Jack in the Box franchise cost?
- $1,909,500 – $4,041,500 all-in to open, per Jack in the Box's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Jack in the Box units are there?
- 2,055 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Jack in the Box's units held up?
- 97% of units at risk between 2019 and 2021 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).