SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · TEXAS
Learning Express franchise in Texas: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Learning Express in Texas have taken 11 SBA loans since 1991 (average $188,503), and of the 11 loans whose story has ended, 27.3% were charged off — versus 22.5% for Learning Express nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 11 franchised outlets in Texas (fiscal 2019) — about 0.04 per 100k residents.
Loans in TX
11
Resolved
11
Local charge-off
27.3%
National charge-off
22.5%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = TX. 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
6,992
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
22.3
national 26.5
Versus the country
-16%
thinner
Every business in Learning Express's industry operating in Texas — 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
$573
Texas, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$645
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-11%
cheaper to staff
What Learning Express's industry actually pays workers in Texas, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 9 | — |
| 2018 | 10 | — |
| 2019 | 11 | — |
| System | Loans in TX | Local charge-off | Units in TX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids R Kids | 155 | 1.7% | — |
| Primrose School (Daycare) | 113 | 1.0% | — |
| Kiddie Academy | 105 | 8.8% | — |
| PRIMROSE SCHOOLS | 104 | 0.0% | 142 |
| Childrens Lighthouse | 93 | 0.0% | — |
| The Goddard School | 89 | 3.7% | — |
| The Learning Experience | 73 | 21.4% | — |
| SYLVAN LEARNING | 39 | 33.3% | 60 |
| College Hunks Hauling Junk | 25 | 58.3% | 12 |
| Huntington Learning Center | 20 | 28.6% | — |
| Gymboree | 17 | 25.0% | — |
| Goddard Early Learning Center | 16 | 0.0% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Learning Express compares to the systems a buyer in Texas 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 Learning Express's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.