BrightStar Senior Living franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a BrightStar Senior Living franchise takes $201,308 – $2,202,720 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $50,000 – $55,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
BrightStar Senior Living franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $50,000 | $55,000 | $50,000 to $55,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $201,308 | $2,202,720 | $201,308 to $2,202,720 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $201,308 | $2,202,720 | $201,308 to $2,202,720 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means BrightStar Senior Living's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
See the full BrightStar Senior Living cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How BrightStar Senior Living's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where BrightStar Senior Living's disclosed cost sits against the Health & Fitness category:
- Minimum startup cost of $201,308 — about in line with the Health & Fitness median of $184,861.
- Initial franchise fee of $50,000 — about in line with the Health & Fitness median of $49,000.
Category medians are computed from the Health & Fitness brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Health & Fitness franchises
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How BrightStar Senior Living's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2015–2017: began the window at 0 units; 1 units opened, 0 closed, ending at 1 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for BrightStar Senior Living or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask BrightStar Senior Living for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether BrightStar Senior Living is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether BrightStar Senior Living grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only BrightStar Senior Living can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the BrightStar Senior Living franchise
BrightStar Senior Living is a health & fitness franchisor with 1 unit at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2015 and 2017, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 1 unit openings and 0 closures, ending at 1 units. Its parent company is BrightStar Senior Living Franchising, LLC.
Disclosure filings report 3 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The "Traditional" franchise offered in this disclosure document is to operate an assisted living and memory care Facility under the "BrightStar Senior Living" trademark providing various services for seniors and other individuals in need, including residential assisted living, memory care, and ancillary services. (We offer "Hybrid" franchises for BrightStar Senior Living Facilities in a separate franchise disclosure document.
BrightStar Senior Living franchise: quick answers
- How much does a BrightStar Senior Living franchise cost?
- $201,308 – $2,202,720 all-in to open, per BrightStar Senior Living's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many BrightStar Senior Living units are there?
- 1 unit at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have BrightStar Senior Living's units held up?
- 100% of units at risk between 2015 and 2017 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).