SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ARKANSAS
Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners franchise in Arkansas: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners in Arkansas have taken 7 SBA loans since 1991 (average $329,200)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 11.3% is the better guide.
Loans in AR
7
Resolved
6
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
11.3%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = AR. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
532
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
17.2
national 26.7
Versus the country
-36%
thinner
Every business in Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners's industry operating in Arkansas — 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
$520
Arkansas, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$659
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-21%
cheaper to staff
What Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners's industry actually pays workers in Arkansas, 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 AR | Local charge-off | Units in AR |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVPRO | 8 | thin | 15 |
| Lawn Doctor | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners compares to the systems a buyer in Arkansas 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 Comet One-Hour Dry Cleaners's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.