The Top 10 Education Franchises in 2025
Each year, Entrepreneur ranks the strongest franchise opportunities across industries, and these 10 education brands earned their place among the 2025 Franchise 500 rankings. They combine proven business models, scalable systems and a mission-driven approach that appeals to entrepreneurs who want to make an impact while building a sustainable business. From global tutoring giants to innovative early learning centers, here's a closer look at the education franchises that topped this year's list — and what makes them stand out.
Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.
1. Kumon
Founded: 1954
1954 Franchising since: 1958
1958 Overall rank: 10
10 Number of units: 25,563
25,563 Change in units: +0.57% over 3 years
+0.57% over 3 years Initial investment: $73,123 - $165,360
$73,123 - $165,360 Leadership: Yusuke Nakamura, CEO & COO
Yusuke Nakamura, CEO & COO Parent company: N/A
Kumon has been refining its after-school enrichment model since 1954, helping students worldwide build strong math and reading skills through daily practice and self-learning. With more than 25,000 locations across the globe and ranked in the top 10 of the Franchise 500, Kumon stands out for its low-overhead, high-impact approach to education. Backed by decades of success and led by CEO Yusuke Nakamura, this streamlined franchise offers a unique opportunity for those passionate about helping kids excel — without the complexities of a traditional tutoring center.
Related: 'Send a Man Next Time': How an Entrepreneur and Her Daughters Built a $2.5 Million Franchise in a Male-Dominated Field
2. The Learning Experience Academy of Early Education
Founded: 2001
2001 Franchising since: 2003
2003 Overall rank: 25
25 Number of units: 433
433 Change in units: +36.6% over 3 years
+36.6% over 3 years Initial investment: $780,799 - $5,608,799
$780,799 - $5,608,799 Leadership: Richard Weissman, CEO
Richard Weissman, CEO Parent company: N/A
Founded in 2001 and franchising since 2003, The Learning Experience has grown rapidly, now operating more than 400 locations and ranking #25 on the 2025 Franchise 500. The brand has expanded by more than 36% over the past three years, fueled by strong demand for quality early childhood education. The franchise combines playful, character-driven learning with robust operational support. With an initial investment ranging from $780,799 to $5.6 million, it's designed for serious, mission-driven entrepreneurs.
Related: I Walked Away From a Corporate Career to Start My Own Small Business — Here's Why You Should Do the Same
3. The Goddard School
Founded: 1983
1983 Franchising since: 1988
1988 Overall rank: 55
55 Number of units: 649
649 Change in units: +9.1 % over 3 years
+9.1 % over 3 years Initial investment: $902,500 - $8,514,000
$902,500 - $8,514,000 Leadership: Darin Harris, CEO
Darin Harris, CEO Parent company: Sycamore Partners
The Goddard School ranks among the top early childhood education franchises and #55 on the overall Franchise 500. With nearly 650 locations, it has expanded steadily, growing by more than 9% in the past three years. Under the leadership of CEO Darin Harris and backed by Sycamore Partners, the brand offers a premium, play‑based curriculum within thoughtfully designed centers. Initial investment ranges from approximately $902,500 to $8.5 million, reflecting the quality and scale of this trusted educational franchise.
Related: Use These 4 Storytelling Strategies to Grow a Loyal Following
4. Kiddie Academy
Founded: 1981
1981 Franchising since: 1992
1992 Overall rank: 86
86 Number of units: 355
355 Change in units: +17.9% over 3 years
+17.9% over 3 years Initial investment: $405,000 - $6,950,000
$405,000 - $6,950,000 Leadership: Casey Miller, CEO
Casey Miller, CEO Parent company: Essential Brands, Inc.
Kiddie Academy blends education and childcare through its signature "Life Essentials" curriculum, serving children from six weeks to 12 years old. Founded in 1981 and franchising since 1992, the brand now operates 355 locations nationwide — a nearly 18% increase over the past three years. Ranked #86 overall on the 2025 Franchise 500, Kiddie Academy offers year-round learning in a nurturing environment.
Related: How a Police Officer Started a Pet Care Business Making $3 Million a Year
5. Mathnasium Learning Centers
Founded: 2002
2002 Franchising since: 2003
2003 Overall rank: 97
97 Number of units: 1,231
1,231 Change in units: +5.7% over 3 years
+5.7% over 3 years Initial investment: $112,936 - $149,616
$112,936 - $149,616 Leadership: Tyler Sgro, CEO
Tyler Sgro, CEO Parent company: Roark Capital
Mathnasium Learning Centers specializes exclusively in math tutoring, leveraging the proprietary Mathnasium Method™ to help students excel. Founded in 2002 and franchising since 2003, it sits at #97 on the 2025 Franchise 500 and supports over 1,200 centers, showing a steady 5.7% growth over three years. The brand stands out for its inexpensive entry point — typically between $113,000 and $150,000, making it one of the more accessible opportunities in education franchising.
Related: This CEO Took a Cult-Favorite Bagel Brand National. Here's the Top Lesson He Learned.
6. Sylvan Learning
Founded: 1979
1979 Franchising since: 1980
1980 Overall rank: 115
115 Number of units: 570
570 Change in units: +0.2% over 3 years
+0.2% over 3 years Initial investment: $107,922 - $239,012
$107,922 - $239,012 Leadership: Susan Valverde, brand president
Susan Valverde, brand president Parent company: Unleashed Brands LLC
Sylvan Learning — an education stalwart since 1979 — now boasts nearly 600 centers under the leadership of brand president Susan Valverde and parent company Unleashed Brands LLC. Ranked #115 on the 2025 Franchise 500, the brand appeals to operators valuing stability and longevity. What's more, Sylvan offers a relatively low entry cost (between $108,000 and $239,000), making it an attractive, reliable option in the competitive educational franchise landscape.
Related: 3 Lessons I Learned Selling My Billion-Dollar Company
7. School of Rock
Founded: 1998
1998 Franchising since: 2005
2005 Overall rank: 118
118 Number of units: 416
416 Change in units: +35.5% over 3 years
+35.5% over 3 years Initial investment: $425,250 - $704,800
$425,250 - $704,800 Leadership: Stacey Ryan, president
Stacey Ryan, president Parent company: School of Rock LLC
School of Rock blends music education with live performance, creating an engaging, confidence-building experience for students. Founded in 1998 and franchising since 2004, the brand has grown to more than 400 locations worldwide. Its patented SongFirst teaching method combines one-on-one instruction, group rehearsals and real gigs, helping students learn faster and perform better. With global reach and a proven creative model, School of Rock offers entrepreneurs a chance to inspire communities through music.
Related: She Turned a Temporary Post-College Job Into Starting a Business at 23. Then Some 'Eye-Opening' Advice Helped Her Grow It to $5 Million.
8. Huntington Learning Center
Founded: 1977
1977 Franchising since: 1985
1985 Overall rank: 130
130 Number of units: 268
268 Change in units: -6.29% over 3 years
-6.29% over 3 years Initial investment: $163,521 - $302,211
$163,521 - $302,211 Leadership: Eileen Huntington, co-founder & CEO
Eileen Huntington, co-founder & CEO Parent company: Huntington Learning Centers Inc.
Huntington Learning Center, founded in 1977 and franchising since 1985, has built a lasting reputation for improving student performance. Operating more than 250 centers nationwide under the leadership of co-founder Eileen Huntington, the brand ranks among the top education franchises. Startup costs range from about $148,000 to $263,000, with a 25% franchise fee discount offered to veterans.
Related: Fried, Fast And Franchised — These Are The Top 10 Chicken Franchises in 2025
9. Lightbridge Academy
Founded: 1997
1997 Franchising since: 2011
2011 Overall rank: 179
179 Number of units: 78
78 Change in units: +47.2% over 3 years
+47.2% over 3 years Initial investment: $1,067,233 - $4,885,000
$1,067,233 - $4,885,000 Leadership: Gigi Schweikert, CEO
Gigi Schweikert, CEO Parent company: Lightbridge Franchise Co. LLC
At the heart of Lightbridge Academy's mission is its Circle of Care philosophy, built on the belief that families, teachers, staff, franchisees and communities are equally essential. Founded in 1997 and franchising since 2011, it offers early learning for children from six weeks through pre-kindergarten. With nearly 80 centers open, the system combines innovative curriculum, high safety standards and technology-rich environments — all backed by award-winning support and deep-rooted family leadership.
Related: How I Survived My First Crisis as a CEO — And Rebuilt From Zero
10. Primrose Schools
Founded: 1982
1982 Franchising since: 1988
1988 Overall rank: 197
197 Number of units: 513
513 Change in units: +13.0% over 3 years
+13.0% over 3 years Initial investment: $742,900 - $8,595,000
$742,900 - $8,595,000 Leadership: Jo Kirchner, CEO
Jo Kirchner, CEO Parent company: Roark Capital Group
Founded in 1982 in Marietta, Georgia and franchising since 1988, Primrose Schools now hosts over 500 independently-owned locations across more than 34 states, guided by CEO Jo Kirchner. Recognized in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 (#197) and known for multi-unit growth, Primrose blends a research-backed Balanced Learning curriculum with a philanthropic culture through its Primrose Promise. Franchisees benefit from award-winning support and a brand committed to educational excellence and community impact.
Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ZipRecruiter Second Quarter 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations
Explore ZipRecruiter's Fair Values from the Community and select yours ZipRecruiter (NYSE:ZIP) Second Quarter 2025 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$112.2m (down 9.2% from 2Q 2024). Net loss: US$9.51m (down by 236% from US$7.01m profit in 2Q 2024). US$0.10 loss per share (down from US$0.071 profit in 2Q 2024). We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period ZipRecruiter EPS Beats Expectations Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) surpassed analyst estimates by 23%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 8.4% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 11% growth forecast for the Interactive Media and Services industry in the US. Performance of the American Interactive Media and Services industry. The company's shares are up 8.8% from a week ago. Risk Analysis Be aware that ZipRecruiter is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis and 2 of those are concerning... Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Growth Stock Is Up 100% in the Last Year, but Still Down 15% From All-Time Highs: Should You Buy Today?
Key Points Shopify is growing quickly as it expands its commerce tools around the globe. It keeps adding new tools for customers, such as cryptocurrency payments and artificial intelligence (AI). Even though the business is great, the stock trades at an expensive valuation. 10 stocks we like better than Shopify › Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) is still in the middle of its 2021 hangover, as shares are down 15% from all-time highs set during the COVID-19 pandemic stock market bubble. The stock is up over 100% in the last 12 months, but still has not eclipsed previous highs after going through a brutal drawdown in 2022. At the same time, business performance has been rock-solid if not stellar, as management keeps adding new commerce tools and attracting new businesses to join the platform. With Shopify stock still down from all-time highs, should you buy shares in 2025 for your portfolio? Here's what the numbers say. Steady global expansion As a software and payments provider for online businesses, Shopify has grown to dominate the North American market. Now, it is moving internationally. Last quarter, growth in payments volume for its European division was 42%, outpacing overall growth. The company has built up a best-in-class set of tools for entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to sell and process payments online. Last quarter, even Starbucks signed a deal with Shopify, which shows the capabilities of the platform for online shopping. Overall revenue grew 31% year over year in the quarter, with strong growth expected for the rest of the year. Profit margins remain strong, with free cash flow margins of 16% in the quarter. This combination of growth and profitability is impressive and the key reason why Shopify's stock has soared in the last 12 months. As more and more businesses sign up for Shopify's software tools and payment processing, the more growth Shopify will achieve. Add new features such as advertising and the Shop Pay application for consumers, and it looks like growth will continue for many years into the future. AI, crypto, and new products Shopify is embracing new technologies as a way to leverage more usage from its business customers. It now has two artificial intelligence (AI) services called Sidekick and Magic that help analyze trends for a business, create content, and marketing products. Providing more value for enterprises will help customers stay entrenched within the Shopify ecosystem, leading to revenue growth and pricing power. What's more, Shopify is now beginning to expand and accept more forms of payment, such as Circle's stablecoin USDC. This should help with cross-border transactions and make it easier for shoppers who want to pay in different ways on Shopify's e-commerce storefronts. It will not only help drive new payment growth (which directly translates to revenue for Shopify), but also adoption of shopping across borders. On the whole, Shopify is building a huge ecosystem of products for businesses trying to sell things online. Its breadth of tools is unmatched in the software world, which is why so many commerce companies are signing deals with them. Expect this growth to continue for many years, as long as product innovation remains top tier. Should you buy Shopify stock? Shopify is a fast-growing business, but that does not necessarily make the stock a buy. Total revenue was $10 billion over the last 12 months. Revenue growth is expected to be over 20% for the rest of 2025. At the same time, 20%-plus growth cannot continue forever, no matter what company you are. On a long-enough timeline, a growth rate significantly above global economic growth would mean absorbing the entire global economy, which is not going to happen (no matter how good Shopify's commerce tools are). Revenue growth will be strong for many years, but it will eventually slow for Shopify. If Shopify's revenue grows at an average rate of 15% for the next five years, it will reach $20 billion in revenue by 2030. With a gross profit margin of 50%, I believe that Shopify can achieve a 20% net income margin once the business matures. This would turn $20 billion in revenue into $4 billion in annual net earnings five years from now. Today, Shopify has a market cap of $187 billion, which would give the stock a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 47 based on these earnings growth projections. Despite how good of a business it is, this nosebleed P/E ratio means investors should avoid Shopify stock after its recent 100% run over the last 12 months. Should you invest $1,000 in Shopify right now? Before you buy stock in Shopify, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Shopify wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,106,071!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Shopify and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Growth Stock Is Up 100% in the Last Year, but Still Down 15% From All-Time Highs: Should You Buy Today? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MediaCo's EstrellaTV Caps Off July With Surging Prime Ratings and Strong Year-Over-Year Growth Among P18-49
NEW YORK, August 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EstrellaTV, the multiplatform Spanish-language network owned by MediaCo Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MDIA), closed out the July ratings period with significant momentum, notching some of its strongest audience gains of the season and extending a months-long trend of year-over-year growth in prime among Adults 18-49. In the final week of July, EstrellaTV delivered 18.3k among P18-49 viewers in Monday-Sunday prime, marking the network's 5th highest weekly prime delivery this season and a substantial +24% increase over its season-to-date average. This robust performance capped a month in which EstrellaTV averaged 13.8k P18-49 viewers in the daypart, up +13% vs. July 2024 (12.2k). It was the fourth consecutive month and the sixth time in the past eight months that EstrellaTV has posted year-over-year gains in this key demo. By contrast, top Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo posted year-over-year declines in July among P18-49 in MS prime of -35% and -21%, respectively. Unimas saw a +15% bump year-over-year for July, largely driven by FIFA Mundial coverage. However, without the heavy soccer content in the final week, Unimas' audience fell -43% compared to its average across the first three weeks of the month. Strong prime time programming fueled EstrellaTV's July performance: Alarma TV (9p) averaged 30.4k P18-49 viewers in July, up +37% vs. its season-to-date average. In the final two weeks of the month, the show soared even higher, averaging 38.1k and 35.7k, respectively. Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento (8p) closed the month strong, delivering 18.7k P18-49 viewers in the final week, +10% above its STD average. 100 Latinos Dijeron (7p) was also a standout, climbing +23% vs. STD in the final week (18.7k vs. 15.2k). These gains reinforce EstrellaTV's growing relevance among younger Hispanic audiences and the continued strength of its programming strategy. MediaCo's EstrellaTV added more firepower to its summer season with the live music, reality competition, Objetivo Fama, on August 2nd at 8PM EST. Since its premiere, the show is building momentum with viewers and part of a non-stop music and soccer programming line-up this Saturday, August 16th beginning at 8PM EST with the heated Tigres vs. América Liga MX rivalry match. Source: Nielsen National TV View, National Sample; Panel Only, TV with Digital. Live+Same Day, Strict Daypart Averages Mon-Sun 7p-11p; P18-49 AA (units). Season-to-date (9/23/24-7/27/25), July 2025 (6/30/25-7/27/25); July 2024 (7/01/24-7/28/24). ABOUT MEDIACO MediaCo Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MDIA) is a diverse-owned, multi-platform media company serving multicultural audiences across the U.S. Through its influential brands—including Hot 97, WBLS, EstrellaTV, Estrella News, Que Buena Los Angeles, and the Don Cheto Radio Network—MediaCo reaches over 20 million people monthly via television, radio, digital, and streaming platforms. Its content spans music, news, and entertainment across major local and national markets. Learn more at View source version on Contacts For press inquiries: press@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
