Home Services
College Hunks Hauling Junk Franchise
A junk removal and moving franchise providing residential and commercial pickup, hauling, and moving services, offered as standalone Hauling Junk or Moving concepts, or both together. Co-founded by two college friends and built a national media profile around its youth-driven branding and employee-development culture.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from College Hunks Hauling Junk's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$55,000
Total to open
$258,100–$480,500
Ongoing royalty
7% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough home services industry average, not a figure from College Hunks Hauling Junk's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$468,100 – $690,500
Startup investment
$258,100–$480,500
Royalty per year (7%)
$42,000
Total royalty, 5yr
$210,000
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. College Hunks Hauling Junk's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical home services profit margin (~15%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general home services industry benchmark, not a figure from College Hunks Hauling Junk's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
2.9–5.3 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: College Hunks Hauling Junk is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is College Hunks Hauling Junk actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
GrowingFrom Item 20 of College Hunks Hauling Junk's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 128 | 151 | +23 |
| 2022 | 151 | 185 | +34 |
| 2023 | 185 | 202 | +17 |
Most recent year (2023): gained 17 franchised units, ending the year at 202 total.
What you're actually signing up for
The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.
Training & ongoing support (Item 11)
Initial training runs roughly 5 to 15 days at CHHJ's Tampa, FL headquarters (or virtually) for up to two people, with up to 5 additional days available at extra cost. Ongoing support centers on the SLC, a centralized lead-distribution call center at headquarters that routes incoming leads to franchisees by zip code, plus an annual convention when the company holds one.
Territory protection (Item 12)
Territory is sold in "Zones" of roughly 300,000-400,000 people, and comes with a real, escalating Minimum Annual Royalty by year of operation ($8,050 in Year 1 up to $14,337 by Year 10 for the Junk line alone) -- miss it twice and CHHJ can revoke your exclusivity or take back a Zone. A distinctive feature: CHHJ can buy back your entire business after 60 months of operation at 5x normalized EBITDA, whether you want to sell or not.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
10-year term with one real 10-year renewal option (conditions include no more than 2 default notices during the initial term and mandatory attendance at all annual conventions). Disputes go to mediation only, not binding arbitration, with litigation venued in Florida under Florida law. Non-compete after termination is 2 years within 20 miles.
How College Hunks Hauling Junk compares to other Home Services franchises
Across the 11 home services franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $168,982–$317,036, with royalties averaging around 7.4% of gross sales (based on the 7 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
$142,903–$312,398 · 10% royalty
Pool Scouts$96,662–$133,787 · 8% royalty
PuroClean$108,503–$152,618 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
1-800-GOT-JUNK?$182,300–$303,500 · 8% royalty
Re-Bath$275,875–$606,925 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Two Men and a Truck$146,950–$512,450 · 6% royalty
Mr. Rooter$152,900–$298,675 · 6% royalty
Servpro$263,305–$385,570 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Mosquito Joe$150,155–$191,575 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Weed Man$81,150–$109,400 · 7% royalty
College Hunks Hauling Junk Franchise FAQ
How much does it cost to franchise a College Hunks Hauling Junk?
Based on College Hunks Hauling Junk's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $258,100–$480,500, including the $55,000 franchise fee. California DFPI Franchise Application (Post-Effectiveness Amendment), App ID app-32296, filed 6/14/2024, effective 12/26/2024. FDD dated May 2, 2024, as amended June 12, 2024.
What is the College Hunks Hauling Junk franchise fee and royalty rate?
The initial franchise fee is $55,000, and the ongoing royalty is 7% of gross sales, per the filing on record.
Is the College Hunks Hauling Junk franchise growing or shrinking?
Growing. Across 2021–2023, College Hunks Hauling Junk added a net 74 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.
Keep going
- College Hunks Hauling Junk and Servpro are both home services franchises; College Hunks Hauling Junk's total investment starts about $5,205 lower than Servpro's. Servpro Franchise
- College Hunks Hauling Junk and Re-Bath are both home services franchises; College Hunks Hauling Junk's total investment starts about $17,775 lower than Re-Bath's. Re-Bath Franchise
Where this came from: California DFPI Franchise Application (Post-Effectiveness Amendment), App ID app-32296, filed 6/14/2024, effective 12/26/2024. FDD dated May 2, 2024, as amended June 12, 2024. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2024-06-14. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.