How Much Does an Assisted Living Locators Franchise Owner Make?

The defensible analytical range is approximately $34,500 to $61,000 per year, before personal income taxes and financing principal. This is an estimated owner-operator benefit for a full-time owner of one home-based territory, not an official earnings figure. The model uses the 2025 one-territory median Gross Collected Revenue of $128,047 as its center and tests lower and higher revenue and margin conditions.

The base scenario produces $46,962, rounded to about $47,000. Because the IRS sole-proprietorship benchmark does not deduct a salary paid to the proprietor, this amount can contain two economically different components: residual business profit and compensation for the owner’s full-time labor. It should not be described as passive income.

The official disclosure measures 2025 Gross Invoiced Revenue and Gross Collected Revenue, not profit. It covers full-year, actively owner-managed franchisees and separates them by territory count. For one-territory franchisees, median Gross Collected Revenue was $128,047 and average Gross Collected Revenue was $180,686.

The average is materially above the median, and only 30 of 83 one-territory franchisees—36.1%—achieved or surpassed the average. That makes the median a more conservative central anchor for an earnings scenario. The Item 19 source data were franchisee financial reports and were not audited.

Gross Invoiced Revenue

Gross sums invoiced or charged in connection with the business, subject to the FDD’s stated exclusions. It can exceed cash actually received.

Gross Collected Revenue

The amount of Gross Invoiced Revenue actually collected. The FDD warns that collected revenue may be materially lower than invoiced revenue.

Qualifying Franchisee

A franchisee that operated for the full January 1–December 31, 2025 measuring period and was not classified as passive.

Estimated owner-operator benefit

For this article, an analytical pre-tax amount after normal operating expenses and recurring fees, before personal income taxes and financing principal. It may include compensation for the owner’s labor.

The Federal Trade Commission’s franchise-buying guide cautions that gross sales do not reveal actual costs or profits and recommends reviewing sample size, the percentage achieving an average, and written substantiation.

The estimate multiplies a one-territory collected-revenue scenario by a broad official net-margin benchmark. The result is derived independently for a 2025 full-year, owner-operated territory. It is not reported by the franchisor and carries limited confidence because Item 19 contains no expense data.

• Formula: Gross Collected Revenue × scenario net margin = estimated pre-tax owner-operator benefit.
• Benchmark scope: The IRS Social Assistance sector is broader than senior-living placement and includes businesses with different labor, facility, and cost structures. The Census definition of NAICS 6241 Individual and Family Services shows why the proxy is directionally relevant but not brand-specific.
• Fee treatment: The IRS ratio is an all-in net-income measure, so FDD fees are not subtracted a second time. The separate fee-floor analysis below is a reasonableness check, not an additional deduction.
• Owner and manager compensation: The owner-led scenarios do not deduct a wage for the proprietor, so part of the result compensates the owner’s labor. Manager compensation is excluded from those three scenarios and tested separately below.
• Debt, taxes, and capital spending: No personal income tax or financing principal is estimated. Capital expenditures are not modeled as separate annual cash outflows and must be assessed for the buyer’s actual equipment and vehicle plan.
• Depreciation and interest: The IRS sector result reflects the deduction mix reported by sole proprietors, which may include depreciation and deductible interest. An individual franchisee’s accounting and financing profile can differ materially.

At the one-territory median, the derived mature annual floor for four disclosed obligations is $30,120. This is an official-FDD-based calculation for month 37 and later, but it is not a complete expense budget. It excludes call-center charges, insurance, vehicle and travel, phone, accounting, conference costs, additional marketing, payroll, and other operating expenses.

At the 2025 one-territory median Gross Invoiced Revenue of $139,567, the mature royalty and Brand Fund minimums exceed their percentage calculations. The $30,120 floor equals 21.6% of median invoiced revenue and 23.5% of median collected revenue. The Brand Fund minimum can increase, and percentage fees take over at higher revenue levels. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 6, pp. 13–16.

Full-time owner involvement is part of the current operating model, not an optional earnings enhancement. Item 15 requires a Responsible Owner to devote full-time efforts and remain actively involved even when managers are hired. Item 19 also excludes passive franchisees because their operations were considered materially different from the current offer.

That requirement is why the scenario is labeled owner-operator benefit. Replacing the owner’s labor with a paid manager is not a valid passive-ownership scenario under the current FDD. A manager may assist the full-time Responsible Owner, but that added payroll can consume the modeled benefit.

The largest unresolved uncertainty is the outlet-level expense structure. That conclusion is uncertain but unavoidable because the 2026 Item 19 contains no payroll, marketing, call-center, vehicle, insurance, bad-debt, or other expense data for the reporting population.

Collection quality matters. The one-territory median Gross Invoiced Revenue was $139,567, while median Gross Collected Revenue was $128,047—a difference of $11,520. Across the median figures, approximately 91.7% of invoiced revenue was collected, although the two medians may not describe the same individual outlet. Buyer diligence should therefore examine invoice aging and collection timing, not just placements booked.

System composition also changed during 2025. Item 20 reports 24 franchised territory openings, 12 terminations, and three non-renewals, ending the year with 170 franchised territories. These counts do not establish profitability, but they are relevant context for interviewing current and former franchisees. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 20, pp. 42–48.

A buyer should replace the broad scenario assumptions with current, territory-relevant operating evidence. The range is estimated for a one-territory, full-time owner and remains limited until actual franchisee profit-and-loss statements or written Item 19 substantiation clarify the missing expense variables.

• Request the written substantiation supporting 2026 FDD Item 19 and confirm that the one-territory median and average calculations remain unchanged after any amendment.
• Ask several one-territory franchisees for 2025 and trailing-12-month Gross Invoiced Revenue, Gross Collected Revenue, collection lag, bad debt, and placement count.
• Obtain actual annual spending for Royalty Fee, Brand Fund Fee, Local Marketing Commitment, technology, call center, insurance, vehicle, conferences, accounting, and additional lead generation.
• Separate owner labor from residual business profit by recording weekly owner hours and the roles performed by any employee or manager.
• Interview former franchisees listed in Item 20 about revenue ramp, staffing, collections, transfer or closure circumstances, and whether confidentiality restrictions limit what they can discuss.
• Model debt service separately using the buyer’s real loan amount, interest rate, amortization term, fees, and required working capital; do not deduct the initial investment from one year of revenue.
• Confirm state-specific rules governing senior-community referral or placement fees and transportation practices for the proposed territory.

The strongest defensible view is a scenario-based annual owner-operator benefit of about $34,500 to $61,000 for one full-time, home-based territory, with a $47,000 base case. It is not official owner earnings; the official 2026 FDD evidence is revenue-only.