SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · PENNSYLVANIA
General Nutrition Center franchise in Pennsylvania: what the public record shows
Franchisees of General Nutrition Center in Pennsylvania have taken 5 SBA loans since 1991 (average $158,500)— 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 12.4% is the better guide.
Loans in PA
5
Resolved
4
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
12.4%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = PA. 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
1,494
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
11.4
national 11.6
Versus the country
-2%
thinner
Every business in General Nutrition Center's industry operating in Pennsylvania — 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
$963
Pennsylvania, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$806
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+19%
costlier to staff
What General Nutrition Center's industry actually pays workers in Pennsylvania, 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 PA | Local charge-off | Units in PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine Shoppe | 31 | 3.8% | — |
| AFC/AMERICAN FAMILY CARE | 17 | thin | 25 |
| Pearle Vision | 11 | thin | — |
| Medicap Pharmacy | 10 | thin | — |
| ELLIE MENTAL HEALTH | 7 | thin | — |
| Max Muscle | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how General Nutrition Center compares to the systems a buyer in Pennsylvania 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 General Nutrition Center's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.