Looking into the "average salary" of a franchise owner is a bit of a misnomer. Although income statistics exist for this category of earner, franchise ownership is not a salaried position. Like other business owners, franchise owners derive their income based on the performance of the franchise they own. This produces a wide range of possible earnings for people with this job description.

How Franchises Work

A franchise owner has entered into a contract with a franchising corporation. The corporation allows the franchise owner to use its brand names and -- often -- its business systems, along with guarantees of advertising and public relations support. In exchange for these rights, the franchise owner pays the corporation a franchising fee, plus a percentage of his income from operating the franchising business. You can find franchising in many industries: McDonald's, Curves and Premiere Martial Arts are just three examples.

Average Income

According to job resource website SimplyHired.com, the average income for a franchise owner in the United States is $128,000. It's worth noting again that this income is not usually a salary as defined in other jobs. Rather, that income represents profit from operating the franchise business as a whole.

Range of Income

The "average salary" of any job is something of an illusion: although it represents a median or mean income, few people make that specific amount of money. For franchise owners, the average salary designation is even less meaningful. Highly successful owners of multiple franchise locations make millions of dollars every year, and every year hundreds of franchise owners close their doors with a tremendous loss.

Due Dilligence

Some franchise opportunities represent strong business opportunities with legitimate support by the franchising operation. Others are cynical attempts by less-than-scrupulous businesspeople to cash in on the American dream of business ownership. If you are considering becoming a franchise owner, look carefully into the policies, performance and reputation of whatever franchise you are considering becoming a part of.