Gold's Gym franchise
2026 filing · May 13, 2026Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Gold's Gym at a glance
A full-size health club offering strength equipment, cardio and group fitness classes. At the end of 2025 there were 182 Gold's Gym locations in the US, 132 franchised and 50 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 1999
- 27 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Dallas, Texas
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $2.36M–$5.16M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross revenue or $2,000 a month, whichever is greater, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- Yes
- 2% of gross revenue or $1,350 a month, whichever is more
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 182
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 132
- Company-owned
- 50
- Change in 3 years
- −26
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 19
- Most in Texas, Virginia and Tennessee
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- None
- Franchisor revenue, 2025
- $25M
- The company, not one location
- Franchisor net income
- $19.8M
- Latest filing
- May 13, 2026
- 2026 filing
From Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 188; 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
Gold's Gym among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Gold's Gym | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $3,759,000 | Costs more than 96% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 182 | More than 85% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,797,000 | Higher than 84% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.5× | Lower than 97% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Gold's Gym franchise costs
Opening one Gold's Gym costs an estimated $2,356,000 to $5,162,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements and construction costs ($1,500,000 to $3,125,000) and selectorized equipment and free weights ($425,000 to $850,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | ||
| Travel and living expenses during training | $4,000 | $7,000 | |
| Months’ rent | $52,500 | $320,000 | |
| Security deposit for lease | $17,500 | $110,000 | |
| Leasehold improvements and construction costs | $1,500,000 | $3,125,000 | |
| Selectorized equipment and free weights | $425,000 | $850,000 | |
| Cardiovascular equipment | $160,000 | $275,000 | |
| Signage | $40,000 | $85,000 | |
| Initial inventory, other equipment and supplies | $7,000 | $40,000 | |
| Computer system and Gym Management System | $10,000 | $25,000 | |
| Advertising and marketing | $50,000 | $120,000 | |
| Miscellaneous opening costs | $10,000 | $65,000 | |
| Additional funds – 3 months | $40,000 | $100,000 | |
| Total | $2,356,000 | $5,162,000 | |
Source: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 19
Gold's Gym franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross revenue or $2,000 a month, whichever is greater, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross revenue or $1,350 a month, whichever is more. |
| Transfer fee | $2,500 for non-control transfer and $10,000 for control transfers |
| Fee for ongoing training | $500 per person per session |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, pages 13 and 14
Other fees as filed, from page 15. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Gold's Gym publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average revenue
- $1,797,000
- Median revenue
- $1,759,000
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchised U.S. facilities open the full 2025 measurement period (126 locations). The average is about 0.5 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: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, pages 58–60
SBA loans to Gold's Gym franchisees
Lenders approved 209 SBA-backed loans for Gold's Gym franchisees from 1990 to 2025, $158.3M in all: 171 7(a) loans and 38 504 loans. Of the 191 that have ended, 163 were paid in full and 28 were charged off (14.7%). The other 18 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
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Gold's Gym | Typical gym brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −17% / −16% | +3.2% / +36% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 19% / 30% | 5.3% / 26% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical gym brand is the median of the 37 brands in gym franchises with three years of counts.
How Gold's Gym compares
Of the 92 gym franchises on this site, Gold's Gym is the 91st cheapest to open and the 8th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Gold's Gym | Typical gym brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $2.36M | $342K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $5.16M | $653K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $50K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6.5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $1.8M | $465K | $794K |
| US locations | 182 | 17 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 53 of 92 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 92 brands in gym franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 166 (−14) | 60 | – | – |
| 2022 | 158 (−8) | 63 | – | – |
| 2023 | 158 (0) | 52 | +10 | −10 |
| 2024 | 159 (+1) | 52 | +7 | −6 |
| 2025 | 132 (−27) | 50 | +4 | −31 |
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: fitness franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 180 to 132 (−48, −27%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 62
2021–2022: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 63
Where Gold's Gym locations are
At the end of 2025, Gold's Gym had locations in 20 states and territories. The most are in Texas, Virginia and Tennessee.
- Texas52
- Virginia25
- Tennessee16
- North Carolina15
- Maryland12
- California9
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 7 | 45 | 52 |
| Virginia | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Tennessee | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Maryland | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| California | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| New York | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Florida | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Washington | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Colorado | 5 | 0 | 5 |
All 20 states
| District of Columbia | 5 |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 4 |
| South Carolina | 4 |
| Idaho | 3 |
| New Jersey | 3 |
| Georgia | 2 |
| Michigan | 2 |
| Illinois | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 |
Source: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 63
Who owns Gold's Gym?
Gold's Gym franchises are sold by Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC. It is a subsidiary of RSG Group USA Inc.
From Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC’s 2026 filing, page 8.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | Its predecessor and the predecessor's parent companies filed for Chapter 11 in May 2020. |
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: Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Gold's Gym filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Gold’s Gym Franchise LLC’s 2026 filing, issued May 13, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | May 13, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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