SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · NORTH CAROLINA
Vision Source franchise in North Carolina: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Vision Source in North Carolina have taken 7 SBA loans in the FY1991–present FOIA files (average $1,735,728). Fewer than 30 of them were approved through FY2020 and have resolved, so no local loss ratio is published. Vision Source has too few seasoned resolved loans nationally for a national ratio. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 114 franchised outlets in North Carolina (fiscal 2016) — about 1.03 per 100k residents.
Loans in NC
7
Charged off (all years)
0 of 3
Loss ratio in NC
—
Loss ratio nationally
—
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = NC. 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
1,346
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
12.2
national 11.6
Versus the country
+5%
denser
Every business in Vision Source's industry operating in North Carolina — 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
$802
North Carolina, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$806
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+0%
costlier to staff
What Vision Source's industry actually pays workers in North Carolina, 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.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 99 | 0 |
| 2014 | 107 | 0 |
| 2014 | 107 | 0 |
| 2015 | 113 | 0 |
| 2015 | 113 | 0 |
| 2016 | 114 | 0 |
| System | Loans in NC | Charged off (all years) | Loss ratio in NC | Units in NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MASSAGE ENVY | 19 | 3 of 16 | — | 42 |
| AFC/AMERICAN FAMILY CARE | 12 | 1 of 3 | — | 23 |
| Hand and Stone | 8 | 0 of 3 | — | — |
| Medicap Pharmacy | 7 | 0 of 6 | — | — |
| The Joint...the chiropractic place | 7 | 0 of 3 | — | 11 |
| THE NOW | 6 | 0 of 2 | — | — |
| Gameday Men's Health | 5 | — | — | — |
| SweatHouz | 5 | — | — | 3 |
Other systems in Vision Source's sector whose franchisees borrowed in North Carolina. A loss ratio appears only where at least 30 loans approved through FY2020 have resolved; “—” means too few.
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 Vision Source’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.