Rent-A-Center franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Rent-A-Center franchise takes $355,268 – $560,225 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $80,700 – $120,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 3%. To qualify, Rent-A-Center asks for $1,000,000 in liquid cash and a $750,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Rent-A-Center franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $80,700 | $120,000 | $80,700 to $120,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $355,268 | $560,225 | $355,268 to $560,225 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $355,268 | $560,225 | $355,268 to $560,225 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 3% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | Not disclosed |
See the full Rent-A-Center cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Rent-A-Center's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Rent-A-Center's disclosed cost sits against the Retail category:
- Minimum startup cost of $355,268 — about 2.2× the Retail median of $165,000.
- Initial franchise fee of $80,700 — about 2.2× the Retail median of $36,750.
Category medians are computed from the Retail brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Retail franchises
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How Rent-A-Center's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2013–2020: began the window at 0 units; 370 units opened, 32 closed, ending at 399 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 Rent-A-Center 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 Rent-A-Center 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 Rent-A-Center 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 Rent-A-Center 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 Rent-A-Center 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 Rent-A-Center franchise
Rent-A-Center is a retail franchisor with 399 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2013 and 2020, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 370 unit openings and 32 closures, ending at 399 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Rent-A-Center Inc..
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
The franchises described in this Disclosure Document are for rental businesses which provide "rental purchase"programs for a specialized inventory of rental products, such as major consumer electronics, appliances, furniture, computers, tiresand jewelry, as well as the sale of related accessories. In addition, in states with favorable laws, a small number of our Rental Stores offer financial services, including payday loans and title loans.
Rent-A-Center franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Rent-A-Center franchise cost?
- $355,268 – $560,225 all-in to open, per Rent-A-Center's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Rent-A-Center units are there?
- 399 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Rent-A-Center's units held up?
- 94.9% of units at risk between 2017 and 2020 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).