SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ILLINOIS
Ace Hardware franchise in Illinois: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Ace Hardware in Illinois have taken 42 SBA loans since 1991 (average $554,653), and of the 20 loans whose story has ended, 10.0% were charged off — versus 12.2% for Ace Hardware nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in IL
42
Resolved
20
Local charge-off
10.0%
National charge-off
12.2%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
6,185
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
48.7
national 39.6
Versus the country
+23%
denser
Every business in Ace Hardware's industry operating in Illinois — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$1,187
Illinois, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$1,252
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-5%
cheaper to staff
What Ace Hardware's industry actually pays workers in Illinois, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| System | Loans in IL | Local charge-off | Units in IL |
|---|---|---|---|
| True Value Hardware | 29 | 16.7% | — |
| Budget Blinds | 14 | 10.0% | — |
| Closets By Design | 6 | thin | — |
| Snap-On | 6 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Ace Hardware compares to the systems a buyer in Illinois would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Ace Hardware's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.