The Goddard School franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening The Goddard School franchise takes $902,500 – $1,309,000 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 12% on sales. To qualify, The Goddard School asks for $39,700 in liquid cash and a $500,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
The Goddard School 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 | $902,500 | $1,309,000 | $902,500 to $1,309,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $39,700 | $39,700 | $39,700 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $902,500 | $1,309,000 | $902,500 to $1,309,000 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means The Goddard School's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 12% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full The Goddard School cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How The Goddard School's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where The Goddard School's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $902,500 — about 11× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How The Goddard School's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 386 units; 225 units opened, 27 closed, ending at 598 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 The Goddard School 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 The Goddard School 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 The Goddard School 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 The Goddard School 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 The Goddard School 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 Goddard School franchise
The Goddard School is a professional services franchisor with 598 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 386 units; its filings record 225 unit openings and 27 closures, ending at 598 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is The School Communications Agency Franchising LLC.
Disclosure filings report 8 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The franchisee will operate a school offering primarily preschool learning programs and care for children between 6 weeks and 10 years of age under the name The Goddard School.
The Goddard School franchise: quick answers
- How much does The Goddard School franchise cost?
- $902,500 – $1,309,000 all-in to open, per The Goddard School's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many The Goddard School units are there?
- 598 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have The Goddard School's units held up?
- 99.2% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is The Goddard School SBA-eligible?
- The Goddard School is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.