How many people work in franchising in the US?

What this figure measures

A projection of the number of jobs at franchised businesses in the United States in 2026. The report's summary table puts 2026 employment at 8,944,955, up from an estimated 8,788,313 in 2025, which the headline rounds to nearly 8.9 million. Both numbers are model outputs: 2025 is labelled an estimate and 2026 a projection, so neither is a recorded headcount.

How it was produced

The employment series comes from FRANdata's work for the International Franchise Association's 2026 outlook. The methodology note describes a proprietary model linking franchise expansion to macroeconomic variables including interest rates, GDP growth, inflation, consumer disposable income and household wealth, supplemented by qualitative insights gathered from franchisors, franchisees, lenders and subject-matter experts. Employment for 2026 is extrapolated from the 2025 estimate, taking anticipated economic and industry developments into account.

What it does not tell you

A job total does not show wages, hours or the mix of full-time and part-time roles, and it covers franchised businesses in the United States only. The report itself expects employment trends to diverge across franchise industries as AI adoption reshapes workforce requirements, so a single national figure can hide sectors that shrink. As an extrapolation from an estimate, it may change once later data are published.

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