Top 10 Senior Care Franchises To Watch in 2020

The U.S. in-home care market is expected to grow to $225 billion by 2024, driven by a fast-growing elderly population. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that citizens over the age of 65 will comprise about 20% of the U.S. population by 2030, and 90% of seniors say that they desire to age in place. As such, it’s clear that senior care businesses are about to have a huge client base on their hands, giving way to ample revenue opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to enter the space. 

With the “Silver Wave” mounting, 1851 dove into the top senior care franchise businesses to consider in 2020.

Seniors Helping Seniors

Unit count: 200

Investment range: $86,785 to $141,390

Franchise opportunity website: https://franchise.seniorshelpingseniors.com/

Seniors Helping Seniors provides companionship and non-medical care to clients through a caregiver base made up of other senior citizens, which in turn provides seniors in need of emotional and physical caretaking the company of those closer to them in age. As more seniors stand to benefit from supplemental income during retirement and the elderly population in need of living assistance grows, Seniors Helping Seniors’ business model thrives at this intersection. This intergenerational care system creates a viable care and caretaking option for people aged 65 and up, regardless of their level of activity or independence.

What you can learn from this brand: As evidenced through its name, Seniors Helping Seniors is a brand that champions companion-driven care solutions for the growing aging population across the world. Founded as a result of the inspiration creator Kiran Yocom derived from a personal connection to Mother Teresa and her teachings, Seniors Helping Seniors is a mission-driven organization, through and through. 

Right at Home*

Unit count: 500-plus

Investment range: $80,150 to $147,150

Franchise opportunity website: https://rightathomefranchise.com/

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care to seniors and adults with disabilities who want to remain in their independent living situation. Despite being a national organization, Right at Home maintains local connections through independently-owned businesses and expertly trained caregivers comprised of members of the communities in which it operates.

What you can learn from this brand: Despite being one of the largest, most well-known players in the in-home care space, Right at Home has continued to innovate in order to expand its offering to anyone who might need it. Inspired by the personal experience and local need of one franchisee in Pennsylvania, Right at Home has begun testing a pilot program involving care for children 18 years old and younger—a program that has the potential to expand the brand’s offering systemwide.

Senior Helpers

Unit count: More than 300 territories nationwide

Investment range: $104,800 to $144,300

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.seniorhelpersfranchise.com/

Founded by Peter Ross and Tony Bonacuse in 2002, the Senior Helpers mission is simple: Focus on what a person can do. This is a key differentiator for the brand because, as a person ages, focus is often directed toward what they can’t do, whether in relation to mobility, communication, or otherwise. Senior Helpers’ caregiving philosophy means the brand prioritize care plans that affirm and give independence back to its clients, regardless of where they are in their journey. The brand was recently named to the Franchise Times Top 200+ list for 2019, coming in at No. 188 overall.

What you can learn from this brand: Senior Helpers CEO Peter Ross currently serves as president of the Home Care Association of America, meaning the company is on the forefront of innovation and advocacy for the industry as a whole. This is evident both through the rollout of its new reminiscence therapy franchise concept called Town Square and the pivotal development of its proprietary LIFE Profile assessment, a means of quantifying factors associated with healthy aging as a means of minimizing an individual’s hospitalization risk.

“Senior Helpers has also begun partnering with providers and payers to become more active in the healthcare system, an industry where home care has always taken a back seat,” Ross said. “As more care is pushed into the home and skilled nursing continues to rise in demand, home care and what Senior Helpers does will play an even more important role in this field.”

BrightStar

Unit count: 330-plus

Investment range: $93,048 to $154,307

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.brightstarfranchising.com/

BrightStar functions as a two-fold franchise entity through its BrightStar Care and BrightStar Senior Living models. What began as an in-home health care model designed to serve clients of all ages with compassionate, respectable and thorough individualized care has grown into an assisted living facility that combines quality care with a semi-independent lifestyle. 

What you can learn from this brand: BrightStar expanded its business to include specific living facilities as a result of increasing demand and the identification of specific needs that couldn’t be addressed in an in-home setting. The introduction of a second model helped the brand carve out a niche for itself as a player in both the in-home care and out-of-home care spaces. The move attracts entrepreneurs of different investment levels; provides consumers with multiple options all under the same trusted BrightStar name; and gives BrightStar an overall business footing whichever way industry trends blow.

HomeInstead Senior Care

Unit count: 600-plus

Investment range: $115,000 to $125,000

Franchise opportunity website: https://franchises.homeinstead.com/

HomeInstead Senior Care provides in-home non-medical care for the elderly. Its franchise model has focused on personalization for over 25 years and was designed with the goal of alleviating the stress that family caregivers can feel when taking care of their loved ones in need. The brand has a robust transfer process that helps seamlessly transition those franchisees looking to retire out of the HomeInstead system, in addition to ample opportunities for independent businesses to join and benefit from HomeInstead’s global name recognition and support systems.

What you can learn from this brand: HomeInstead recently developed a program aimed at providing its franchisees with specific education to better identify clients showing signs of Alzheimer's Disease. The Alzheimer's Friendly Business Training program was designed to help its employees understand the disease and teach simple techniques to ensure customers with Alzheimer's are treated with compassion and respect—a valuable skill set as more and more seniors suffer from the effects of the disease.

FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers

Unit count: 380-plus

Investment range: $92,250 to $294,500

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.fyzicalfranchise.com/

This young brand, founded in 2012, has experienced impressive growth in its short time in the senior care sector, in large part due to its unique offering that has no direct competition in the space. FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers’ business model offers comprehensive patient care through unique balance protocols and healthy lifestyle products and services focused primarily on fall prevention. All of this, in turn, optimizes profitability and growth for its franchisees. 

What you can learn from this brand: At its simplest, FYZICAL identified a glaring need in what was already a crowded sector and created a science-driven solution to fill it. Though young, the brand is charging forward due to its data-driven and tech-focused offering that is fully capable of measuring results in an industry that typically trends toward a qualitative display of results over a quantitative one. 

CarePatrol

Unit count: 130

Investment range: $72,220 to $89,145

Franchise opportunity website: https://carepatrolfranchise.com/

Rather than provide its clientele in-home senior care services, CarePatrol’s business model functions as a consultancy, helping families find safe, quality assisted living and independent living options for their loved ones. CarePatrol is an agency resource for families to determine the best option available to them based on their specific financial, physical and geographical requirements, as well as their loved one’s individual needs. Its services come free to those who enlist them, as the brand is paid by vetted senior care businesses that want to be included among the options CarePatrol puts forth.

What you can learn from this brand: CarePatrol’s services differ from the other brands on this list in that franchisees function as expert advisors to clients and their families. By independently evaluating a given senior’s specific challenges and needs, CarePatrol has carved out a market for itself as the premier consultant in the space, taking the burden of the care search off of families. Plus, with a low investment and high franchisee satisfaction, CarePatrol has earned recognition in two categories of high importance to those entrepreneurs considering opportunities in senior care.

TruBlue -Total House Care

Unit count: 42

Investment range: $59,650 to $86,00

Franchise opportunity website: https://trubluefranchise.com/

TruBlue is truly unique in the senior industry because it addresses an issue that the elderly and their families are also facing while aging in place, which is a safe and healthy home. A surging demand for in-home companion and medical care has created an enormous opportunity for ensuring the homes themselves are safe and adequately maintained inside and out. By providing senior home safety modifications and ongoing home repairs and maintenance, families enjoy peace in mind knowing that those critical tasks are handled.

What you can learn from this brand: TruBlue provides a helping hand around the house–inside and out. TruBlue’s services include to-do list chores, handyman services, house cleaning, maintenance, yard work, emergency repairs, seasonal work and preventative maintenance, all handled by a personal House Care Manager. TruBlue strives to provide affordable, worry-free living for seniors and hassle-free living for busy adults by providing full-service, trustworthy house care services. As certified specialists, TruBlue franchisees will be able to perform Senior Home Safety Assessments and can make those recommend safety modifications if needed.

FirstLight* Home Care

Unit count: 250-plus

Investment range: $110,881 to $167,876

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.firstlightfranchise.com/

FirstLight Home Care provides nonmedical in-home care to seniors, adults with disabilities, new mothers, veterans, those recovering from surgery and other adults in need of assistance. The franchise's caregivers help clients with a wide range of needs, including personal hygiene, cooking, cleaning, running errands, mobility assistance and dementia care. Because its services are non-medical, FirstLight has cast a wide net with its client base, resulting in ample business opportunities for franchisees in their local markets. 

What you can learn from this brand: This year, FirstLight Home Care was named as a Top Franchise for Veterans, a Top Senior Care Franchise and one of the year's Most Innovative Franchises by Franchise Business Review, recognition that indicates impressive validation from within. 

Homewatch CareGivers

Unit count: 200-plus

Investment range: $83,000 to $141,500

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.homewatchcaregivers.com/franchise-opportunities/

Founded in 1980, Homewatch CareGivers is one of the longest-standing franchises to be included on this list. The experience gained over its nearly 40 years in operation has given the brand critical insight, which in turn has informed its proven system and care practices. Such a tried-and-true approach to care gives Homewatch CareGivers’ clients and their families the confidence of seasoned success while still allowing franchisees the chance to impress their own experience, skills and local knowledge onto the brand for systemwide improvement.

What you can learn from this brand: A 2017 acquisition by Authority Brands marked private equity’s entrance into the brand, bringing with it a capital infusion that has sparked innovation such as the development of Care Watch, the brand’s real-time matching system that connects caregivers with clients based on unique needs. Homewatch CareGivers also has a partnership with ride-hailing service Lyft, which it uses to help coordinate clients’ rides to medical appointments and social outings.

A Place at Home

Unit count: 10

Investment range: $75,800 to $184,500

Franchise opportunity website: https://www.aplaceathomefranchise.com/

A Place at Home was founded in 2012 in senior care mecca Omaha, Nebraska by two business partners unimpressed by the consistency and level of involvement of caregivers in the senior care space. Built on the pillars of compassion, accountability, respect and ethics, A Place at Home’s care differentiator comes through a senior-focused model rather than in-home care-focused one. The brand offers four service lines: In-home care, care coordination, senior living alternatives, and staffing, allowing it to offer a comprehensive solution to seniors, no matter their stage of ability or need. 

What you can learn from this brand: Despite the crowded nature of the senior care space, this emerging brand is making a name for itself through measured growth. Young brands with enormous growth potential have a level of flexibility other more established brands may not, leaving entrepreneurs looking for the chance to own a market the freedom to do so more easily. In October, the brand celebrated the opening of its 10th franchised location in North Texas, a milestone that spurred the launch of its first franchise conference, signaling A Place at Home’s full-fledged emergence as a competitive force in the space.