Dairy Queen franchise
2026 filing · May 19, 2026Shares sales figures
Dairy Queen at a glance
A quick-service restaurant serving Blizzard treats, soft-serve, burgers and chicken strips. At the end of 2025 there were 74 Dairy Queen locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 1947
- 79 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $1.66M–$2.79M
- New DQ Grill & Chill restaurant, excluding land
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales for a DQ Grill & Chill restaurant (5% for a DQ Treat store), paid monthly
- Brand fund
- Yes
- 3% to 6% of gross sales for the sales promotion program
- Renewal fee
- $4,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 74
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 74
- Company-owned
- 0
- States
- 2
- Most in North Dakota and Montana
From Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 359; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Dairy Queen among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Dairy Queen | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $2,229,200 | Costs more than 93% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 74 | More than 71% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,775,019 | Higher than 84% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.8× | Lower than 88% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Dairy Queen franchise costs
Opening new DQ Grill & Chill restaurant, excluding land costs an estimated $1,664,700 to $2,793,700. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are building construction, site work and leasehold improvements ($880,000 to $1,540,000) and equipment and fixtures (including signs and EPOS system) ($605,000 to $770,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25,000 | ||
| Management Training Readiness Assessment fee | $600 | ||
| Initial training fee | $9,300 | ||
| SERVSAFE course | $600 | $1,200 | |
| Travel and living expenses | $24,000 | $38,100 | |
| Building construction, site work and leasehold improvements | $880,000 | $1,540,000 | |
| Prepaid rent and security deposit | $2,500 | $5,500 | |
| Building plans, design intent plans and architectural seal | $15,000 | $60,000 | |
| Construction consultation services | $0 | $7,500 | |
| Equipment and fixtures (including signs and EPOS system) | $605,000 | $770,000 | |
| Credit card processing fees | $200 | $2,000 | |
| Training inventory | $8,000 | $15,000 | |
| Opening inventory | $25,000 | $40,000 | |
| Opening team pre-opening and opening assistance | $0 | $25,000 | |
| Utility deposits, business licenses and government charges | $4,000 | $17,000 | |
| Insurance | $6,000 | $20,000 | |
| Professional fees | $10,000 | $15,000 | |
| Supplies and uniforms | $2,000 | $3,000 | |
| Additional funds (3-6 months) | $50,000 | $200,000 | |
| Total | $1,664,700 | $2,793,700 | |
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, page 31
Dairy Queen franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, page 22
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales for a DQ Grill & Chill restaurant (5% for a DQ Treat store), paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% to 6% of gross sales for the sales promotion program. |
| EPOS Software Support Program | About $1,200-$1,600 annually |
| Transfer Fee | Currently, $6,000-$8,500 |
| Renewal Fee | $4,000 |
| Transfer Initial Training Fee | $3,100 per person |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, page 25
Other fees as filed, from pages 25–26. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Dairy Queen publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $1,775,019
- Median sales
- $1,679,101
Yearly figures for 2025, covering subfranchised free-standing DQ Grill & Chill restaurants in Montana and North Dakota operating all of 2025 (40 locations). The average is about 0.8 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, pages 69–70
SBA loans to Dairy Queen franchisees
Lenders approved 1,563 SBA-backed loans for Dairy Queen franchisees from 1990 to 2025, $552.2M in all: 1,256 7(a) loans and 307 504 loans. Of the 1,420 that have ended, 1,271 were paid in full and 149 were charged off (10.5%). The other 143 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Dairy Queen compares
Of the 101 ice cream franchises on this site, Dairy Queen is the 100th cheapest to open and the 29th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Dairy Queen | Typical ice cream brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.66M | $285K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $2.79M | $597K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $1.78M | $561K | $794K |
| US locations | 74 | 18 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | +4.2% | +12.5% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 76 of 101 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 101 brands in ice cream franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 73 (+2) | 0 |
| 2024 | 74 (+1) | 0 |
| 2025 | 74 (0) | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: ice cream franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, page 73
Where Dairy Queen locations are
At the end of 2025, Dairy Queen had franchised locations in 2 states. The most are in North Dakota and Montana.
- North Dakota39
- Montana35
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| North Dakota | 39 |
| Montana | 35 |
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, page 74
Who owns Dairy Queen?
Dairy Queen franchises are sold by Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC. That company sells Dairy Queen franchises in Montana and North Dakota as a territory operator, and has no parent of its own. The brand belongs to American Dairy Queen Corporation, which is owned by International Dairy Queen, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
From Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC’s 2026 filing, page 12.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 18–21. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on pages 18–21, bankruptcy on page 22
Dairy Queen filings
The figures on this page come from Dairy Queen Montana / North Dakota LLC’s 2026 filing, issued May 19, 2026, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | May 19, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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