SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · IOWA
TACO JOHN'S franchise in Iowa: what the public record shows
Franchisees of TACO JOHN'S in Iowa have taken 17 SBA loans since 1991 (average $276,067), and of the 16 loans whose story has ended, 6.3% were charged off — versus 17.9% for TACO JOHN'S nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 50 franchised outlets in Iowa (fiscal 2025) — about 1.54 per 100k residents.
Loans in IA
17
Resolved
16
Local charge-off
6.3%
National charge-off
17.9%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IA. 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
5,253
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
162.1
national 179.9
Versus the country
-10%
thinner
Every business in TACO JOHN'S's industry operating in Iowa — 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
$410
Iowa, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-24%
cheaper to staff
What TACO JOHN'S's industry actually pays workers in Iowa, 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 | 53 | — |
| 2024 | 52 | — |
| 2025 | 50 | — |
| System | Loans in IA | Local charge-off | Units in IA |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIZZA RANCH | 78 | 10.0% | 65 |
| Domino's Pizza | 29 | 0.0% | — |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop | 25 | 30.0% | — |
| Quiznos | 24 | 37.5% | — |
| Culver's | 22 | 0.0% | — |
| SCOOTER'S COFFEE | 16 | thin | 93 |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 14 | 53.8% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 11 | thin | — |
| Little Caesars | 11 | thin | — |
| Firehouse Subs | 9 | thin | 5 |
| GODFATHER'S PIZZA | 9 | thin | — |
| Little Ceasar'S Pizza | 9 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how TACO JOHN'S compares to the systems a buyer in Iowa 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 TACO JOHN'S's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.