SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · NEW JERSEY
GOLD'S GYM franchise in New Jersey: what the public record shows
Franchisees of GOLD'S GYM in New Jersey have taken 13 SBA loans since 1991 (average $833,423)— 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 14.7% is the better guide. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 3 franchised outlets in New Jersey (fiscal 2025) — about 0.03 per 100k residents.
Loans in NJ
13
Resolved
7
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
14.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = NJ. 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
1,495
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
15.7
national 11.9
Versus the country
+32%
denser
Every business in GOLD'S GYM's industry operating in New Jersey — 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
$467
New Jersey, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$438
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+7%
costlier to staff
What GOLD'S GYM's industry actually pays workers in New Jersey, 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.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | — |
| 2024 | 5 | — |
| 2025 | 3 | — |
| System | Loans in NJ | Local charge-off | Units in NJ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retrofitness | 57 | 5.1% | — |
| THE LITTLE GYM | 23 | 20.0% | — |
| Orangetheory | 22 | 0.0% | — |
| Planet Fitness | 14 | thin | 71 |
| Curves for Women | 12 | 18.2% | — |
| F45 Training | 12 | thin | — |
| ANYTIME FITNESS | 10 | thin | — |
| BAR METHOD | 9 | thin | — |
| CycleBar | 6 | thin | — |
| Stretch Lab | 6 | thin | — |
| Yoga Six | 6 | thin | — |
| Lady of America | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how GOLD'S GYM compares to the systems a buyer in New Jersey 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 GOLD'S GYM's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.