SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · MAINE
Pearle Vision franchise in Maine: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Pearle Vision in Maine have taken 7 SBA loans in the FY1991–present FOIA files (average $168,571). Fewer than 30 of them were approved through FY2020 and have resolved, so no local loss ratio is published. Pearle Vision's national ratio is 0.4×.
Loans in ME
7
Charged off (all years)
4 of 7
Loss ratio in ME
—
Loss ratio nationally
0.4×
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = ME. Loss ratio = charge-offs among loans approved through FY2020 ÷ the charge-offs expected if each had defaulted at the national rate for franchise loans approved the same year; 1.0× is the same. Only charged-off and paid-in-full loans count. A ratio is shown at 30+ such loans; “not clear” marks a ratio chance alone could produce. The all-years count mixes every era and is evidence, not a rate to compare. Borrowers are matched to the brand by name and SBA franchise code; some matches may be wrong or missing.
Businesses in this industry
141
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
10
national 11.6
Versus the country
-14%
thinner
Every business in Pearle Vision's industry operating in Maine — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across the brand-state cells in the loan data, denser markets have historically charged off less often than the thinnest (see the research page). A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$1,016
Maine, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$806
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+26%
costlier to staff
What Pearle Vision's industry actually pays workers in Maine, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This cost signal is 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.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Pearle Vision’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.