2024 Franchising Economic Outlook

The 2024 Franchising Economic Outlook is IFA’s annual study in partnership with FRANdata detailing the franchise sector’s performance for the past year and projected economic outlook for the year ahead, as well as an in-depth state outlook for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The report highlights sector growth across eight key franchising business lines and details regional trends, including the top states for franchise growth. It also provides key insights into the state of the U.S. economy, trends in business, and challenges facing small business owners.                                                                                               

Key highlights from the report include:

• The overall number of franchise establishments will increase by more than 15,000 units in 2024, or 1.9%, to 821,000 units in the U.S.
• Franchising will add approximately 221,000 jobs in 2024. Growing at 3.0%, total franchise employment is forecasted to reach 8.9 million.
• The total output of franchised businesses — the measure of total economic activity in nominal dollars — will increase by 4.1% to $893.9 billion in 2024, up from $858.5 billion in 2023.
• Franchises’ GDP will continue to grow, increasing at a pace of 4.3% to $545.8 billion.
• Personal services and quick service restaurants (QSRs) will experience the strongest growth of any industry.
• Growth in the Southeast and Southwest will outpace the rest of the U.S. franchise market in 2024. The top ten states for franchise growth include: Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, and Virginia. California and Washington are forecast to be the slowest-growing states for franchising at - 4.2% and -2.3%, respectively.

 Thank you to Benetrends Financial for sponsoring this year's report.