SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ILLINOIS
Curves for Women franchise in Illinois: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Curves for Women in Illinois have taken 23 SBA loans since 1991 (average $124,593), and of the 20 loans whose story has ended, 10.0% were charged off — versus 19.0% for Curves for Women nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in IL
23
Resolved
20
Local charge-off
10.0%
National charge-off
19.0%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IL. 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
1,566
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
12.3
national 11.9
Versus the country
+3%
denser
Every business in Curves for Women's industry operating in Illinois — 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.
| System | Loans in IL | Local charge-off | Units in IL |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANYTIME FITNESS; ANYTIME FITNESS EXPRESS | 74 | 12.2% | — |
| Orangetheory | 16 | 7.1% | — |
| GOLD'S GYM | 15 | thin | 1 |
| Stretch Lab | 14 | thin | — |
| Yoga Six | 13 | thin | — |
| Fitness Together | 11 | thin | 3 |
| Pure Barre | 10 | thin | — |
| F45 Training | 9 | thin | — |
| THE LITTLE GYM | 9 | thin | — |
| Club Pilates | 7 | thin | — |
| I LOVE KICKBOXING | 7 | thin | — |
| Planet Fitness | 5 | thin | 107 |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Curves for Women compares to the systems a buyer in Illinois 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. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Curves for Women's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →