SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · CALIFORNIA
SENIOR HELPERS franchise in California: what the public record shows
Franchisees of SENIOR HELPERS in California have taken 18 SBA loans since 1991 (average $312,766)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 7.7% is the better guide. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 54 franchised outlets in California (fiscal 2025) — about 0.14 per 100k residents.
Loans in CA
18
Resolved
6
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
7.7%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = CA. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
9,297
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
23.6
national 17.4
Versus the country
+36%
denser
Every business in SENIOR HELPERS's industry operating in California — 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.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — |
| 2022 | 47 | — |
| 2023 | 50 | — |
| 2023 | 50 | — |
| 2024 | 53 | — |
| 2025 | 54 | — |
| System | Loans in CA | Local charge-off | Units in CA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort Keepers | 12 | thin | — |
| Amada Senior Care | 11 | thin | 41 |
| NURSE NEXT DOOR | 10 | thin | — |
| SYNERGY HOME CARE | 9 | thin | 76 |
| Visiting Angels | 9 | thin | — |
| Firstlight Homecare | 8 | thin | — |
| Bright Star Healthcare/Brightstar | 7 | thin | — |
| HOME HELPERS HOME CARE | 7 | thin | 44 |
| ComForcare Senior Services | 5 | thin | 23 |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how SENIOR HELPERS compares to the systems a buyer in California 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 SENIOR HELPERS's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →