Whataburger
The total investment to open a Whataburger franchise ranges from $60,000 to $698,800. The initial franchise fee is $40,000. Ongoing royalties are 4%.
What is the Whataburger franchise?
Whataburger is a full service restaurant where customers can order burgers and other meals. The estimated total initial investment is $60,000 to $698,800, and the initial franchise fee is $40,000.
The ongoing royalty is 4 percent of sales. Whataburger is headquartered in San Antonio, TX, and was founded in 1950.
Loan Activity Score
54/100
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
Active Lenders
4
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Whataburger has 1,211 locations. Public SBA loan records show 4 lenders made 7 loans to franchisees of Whataburger. PeerSense calculates Whataburger's score as 54 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1950 · 1,211 locations
$60,000 to $698,800
$40,000
1,211
Proprietary PeerSense metric
ModerateDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Whataburger
7
Total SBA loans
$466K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Whataburger
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Emerging (3 to 9 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
7
Total Volume
$3.3M
Active Lenders
4
1 selective
States
3
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Whataburger based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
10.3% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
7 loans
Across 4 lenders
Lender Diversity
4 lenders
Avg 1.8 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$60,000 to $698,800 total
Whataburger: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
1994
4 approvals. The best year on record for Whataburger.
Top SBA State
Louisiana
4 SBA financed Whataburger locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$490K
Median $640K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Whataburger unit.
Lender Concentration
75%
Concentrated
Share of Whataburger approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Whataburger's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 1994 (4 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 14% of cumulative volume ($657K approved). Operator density is highest in Louisiana with 4 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $490K, with the median at $640K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 75% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$621
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Whataburger, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman