FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · RHODE ISLAND

GOLD'S GYM franchise in Rhode Island: what the public record shows

Franchisees of GOLD'S GYM in Rhode Island have taken 5 SBA loans since 1991 (average $163,800)— 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.

SBA loan outcomes · Rhode Islandvs national

Loans in RI

5

Resolved

5

Local charge-off

thin

National charge-off

14.7%

Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = RI. 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.

Market density · Rhode Island vs nationalDense market

Businesses in this industry

178

statewide, all operators

Per 100k residents

16

national 11.9

Versus the country

+34%

denser

Every business in GOLD'S GYM's industry operating in Rhode Island — 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.

Same-sector systems with SBA loan history in Rhode Island2 systems
SystemLoans in RILocal charge-offUnits in RI
Fitness Together10thin4
ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS8thin

Same sector, same state, same public records — how GOLD'S GYM compares to the systems a buyer in Rhode Island would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.

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