Best Junk Removal Franchises 2026: Costs, Profits & Real FDD Data
Important note — please read before using this guide. The financial, fee, and outlet figures in this article are drawn from the most recent Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) available at the time of writing — primarily 2025 and 2026 registration-year filings. FDDs are re-filed by franchisors every year, so newer numbers may be available by the time you read this. This guide is editorial research and industry commentary — it is not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice and should not be treated as a recommendation to invest in any particular franchise. Always pull the current FDD for any brand you are seriously considering, and work with a qualified franchise attorney and an independent financial advisor before signing any franchise agreement.
Quick Summary: Junk removal franchising splits into two distinct business models — truck-based haul-away brands and dumpster-rental operators — and the numbers behind them differ sharply. Here is what the most recent FDDs show across 10 leading brands.
FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document): The legal document every franchisor must give prospective buyers. It has 23 standardized sections (“Items”) covering fees, investment, litigation, and more.
Item 19 / FPR: The Financial Performance Representation — the only place a franchisor may share actual or projected revenue or profit figures. If a brand makes “no FPR,” its FDD shows no earnings data at all.
Item 7: The estimated initial investment to open — a low-to-high range covering the franchise fee, equipment, trucks, and early operating capital.
Royalty fee: The ongoing fee you pay the franchisor, usually a percentage of revenue paid monthly. Some junk brands use a flat dollar fee instead.
Initial franchise fee: The upfront fee (from Item 5) to join the system, paid when you sign the franchise agreement.
Gross revenue / gross sales: Total money a unit takes in before expenses.
Most junk-removal franchise marketing leads with lifestyle promises and truck photos. This guide leads with the numbers franchisors are legally required to disclose. Every figure below comes from a brand's current Franchise Disclosure Document — the same document you will receive if you request information — not from a sales deck.
We reviewed every page of each brand's FDD across 10 leading junk-removal and dumpster-rental systems, primarily 2025 and 2026 registration-year filings. Some franchisors present their Item 19 financial data as detailed multi-page tables, segmented by unit age or territory, that don't reduce neatly to a single number. For those brands we summarize the most buyer-relevant figure and point you to the full Item 19 to review with an advisor. Two brands — JDog Junk Removal & Hauling and Rubbish Works — make no Financial Performance Representation at all, which we note plainly rather than filling the gap with estimates.
One structural point shapes everything that follows: junk removal is really two businesses. Truck-based haul-away brands send a crew and a truck to load and remove material, charging by volume. Dumpster-rental brands drop a container, leave it, and pick it up later. The two models have different startup costs, different royalty structures, and different revenue patterns — so we compare within each model wherever it matters.
| Brand | Type | Initial Fee | Royalty | Total Investment | FPR? | Item 19 Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-800-GOT-JUNK? | Full-service haul-away | $65,000–$97,500 | 8%* | $183,800–$294,000 | Yes | 80% of 149 established franchisees topped $1,000,000 total gross revenue (FY2024) |
| College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving | Haul-away + moving | $55,000 | 7% | $203,100–$355,500 | Yes | Units open 60+ months averaged $1,999,230 gross sales (median $1,555,903) |
| Junk King | Full-service haul-away | $55,000–$77,000 | 8% | $121,200–$236,000 | Yes | Top-quartile units averaged $1,070,285 gross sales; 2nd quartile $518,635 |
| The Junkluggers | Eco haul-away | $50,000 | 7% | $96,010–$359,160 | Yes | All franchised businesses generated $47.69M total gross revenue (FY2025) |
| JDog Junk Removal & Hauling | Veteran-owned haul-away | $10,000–$45,000 | $400–$2,000/mo† | $30,000–$187,250 | No | Does not disclose financial performance data in its FDD |
| Bin There Dump That | Dumpster rental | $29,000 | Per-vehicle (~$600)‡ | $133,800–$313,000 | Yes | Average revenue per truck $300,895 (FY2025, all locations) |
| redbox+ | Roll-off dumpster | $59,900 | 6% | $671,182–$1,059,865 | Yes | ~$309,041 average revenue per operating territory; top-5% franchisees $3.44M |
| Dumpster Dudez | Dumpster rental | $40,000–$50,000 | 7% | $358,000–$439,000 | Yes | Affiliate units ranged ~$324K–$1.74M gross revenue by maturity (FY2025) |
| Junkco+ | Full-service haul-away | $55,000 | 5%–8% tiered | $227,760–$337,760 | Yes | Single illustrative unit: $815,528 annual gross revenue on 1,075 jobs |
| Rubbish Works | Full-service haul-away | $65,000 | 6% | $131,850–$236,000 | No | Does not disclose financial performance data in its FDD |
*1-800-GOT-JUNK? charges an 8% royalty plus a combined 8% Sales, Marketing & Technology fee (it bundles marketing and technology into one charge), and an additional up-to-5% local branding fee where a branding cooperative applies. †JDog uses a flat monthly royalty that ramps over the term ($800/mo in year one rising to $2,000/mo) rather than a percentage. ‡Bin There Dump That charges a flat per-vehicle royalty (about $600 per truck in year one), with a contractual ceiling of up to 8% of gross sales. See each brand’s Item 6 for full detail.
The haul-away brands show the widest revenue spread in the category. College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving's 2026 FDD is the most detailed: it segments franchisees by how long they have operated, and the 82 units open 60+ months averaged $1,999,230 in total gross sales (median $1,555,903), with the top performer reaching $6,912,644. Newer cohorts ramp up to that level, averaging $730,493 and $1,126,072 in their earlier years — a clear illustration of how tenure drives revenue in this model.
1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s 2025 FDD takes a distribution approach rather than a single average: of 149 established franchisees, 119 (80%) reported total gross revenue over $1,000,000, while 10 (7%) came in under $500,000. Because a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise requires a minimum of eight subterritories, these figures reflect multi-territory operations. Junk King's 2026 FDD reports by quartile — its top-quartile 44 units averaged $1,070,285 in gross sales (median $885,220), and its second quartile averaged $518,635 — a useful reminder that systemwide averages hide a steep performance curve.
The Junkluggers' 2026 FDD reports $47.69 million in total gross revenue across all franchised businesses for fiscal 2025, which works out to roughly $293,000 per unit across about 163 franchised locations — lower than College Hunks or Junk King's mature figures, consistent with the brand's smaller-territory, eco-focused positioning. Junkco+, a newer BELFOR Franchise Group brand, discloses a single illustrative unit at $815,528 in annual gross revenue on 1,075 jobs (about $758 per job) rather than a systemwide average — a figure best read as one representative location, not a system norm.
Two haul-away brands make no FPR. JDog Junk Removal & Hauling's 2025 FDD states plainly that it does not make any representations about franchisee financial performance, and Rubbish Works' 2026 FDD does the same. For these brands, the only way to gauge earnings is to speak directly with current and former franchisees listed in Item 20.
Dumpster brands report on a per-unit-of-equipment basis, which makes them easy to benchmark. Bin There Dump That's 2026 FDD reports $300,895 in average revenue per truck across all locations for 2025 ($104.4 million system revenue over 225,927 jobs); broken out by truck age, trucks aged 0–2 years averaged $263,574 and those aged 2–5 years averaged $311,090. redbox+'s 2026 FDD reports about $309,041 in average revenue per operating territory, with top-quartile territories near $879,860 and top-5% franchisees — who often run multiple territories — averaging $3,440,162; its Item 19 also breaks out variable costs (disposal 26.6%, fuel 5.6% of revenue). Dumpster Dudez's 2026 FDD leans on company and affiliate locations, which ramped from roughly $324,000 to $1,742,242 in gross revenue by maturity in 2025, alongside a separate franchisee-earnings table — useful directional data, but affiliate-weighted rather than a clean franchisee average.
Best for: Operators who want a lower entry point and are comfortable managing crews and labor. JDog opens from as little as $30,000 all-in, and College Hunks' detailed Item 19 shows real upside for mature, well-run units ($1.999M average gross sales at 60+ months). The tradeoff is a wider performance spread — results depend heavily on local execution and tenure.
Best for: Buyers with more capital who prefer an asset-driven, lower-labor model. redbox+ requires $671,182–$1,059,865 to open but reports steady per-territory revenue and detailed expense disclosure. Bin There Dump That offers a lighter entry ($133.8K–$313K) with a clean per-truck revenue benchmark of about $300,895. The tradeoff is heavier upfront spending on trucks and containers.
Junk-removal royalties cluster between 6% and 8% of revenue — redbox+ and Rubbish Works sit at the low end (6%), while 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and Junk King sit at the top (8%). But the headline royalty rarely tells the whole story. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? layers an additional combined 8% Sales, Marketing & Technology fee on top of its 8% royalty, pushing its effective ongoing fee burden well above peers; College Hunks adds a 2% brand fund and a 1% technology fee to its 7% royalty (about 10% combined).
Two brands break the percentage mold entirely. JDog Junk Removal & Hauling charges a flat monthly royalty that ramps over the term — $800/month in year one rising to $2,000/month after year three — which is cheaper than a percentage at high revenue but heavier on a small new unit. Bin There Dump That charges a flat per-vehicle royalty (about $600 per truck in year one), with the franchisor reserving the right to move to as much as 8% of gross sales. Junkco+ uses a tiered royalty that steps between 5% and 8% based on revenue. The lesson for buyers: compare the full fee stack — royalty plus marketing plus technology — not just the single royalty number a recruiter quotes.
Item 7 startup ranges in this category span an unusually wide band — from under $30,000 to over $1 million — driven almost entirely by the haul-away versus dumpster split.
Of the 10 brands in our analysis, 7 grew their systemwide outlet count over the most recent three reporting years, while 3 contracted. The growth is concentrated in the dumpster segment and among newer haul-away entrants.
The fastest absolute growers each added 46–48 locations: The Junkluggers' 2026 FDD shows growth from 119 to 167 total outlets between 2023 and 2025 (+48), Bin There Dump That from 198 to 244 (+46), and Dumpster Dudez from 9 to 55 (+46) — the last a striking percentage gain off a small base. Newer brands Junkco+ (1 to 20) and Rubbish Works (11 to 13) are still building out. Among the established names, Junk King grew modestly (163 to 171) and 1-800-GOT-JUNK? edged up from 133 to 146 between 2022 and 2024.
Three brands contracted. JDog Junk Removal & Hauling saw the steepest decline, from 174 to 94 total outlets between 2023 and 2025 — a net loss of 80 locations — a meaningful signal a prospective buyer should ask about directly. College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving slipped from 189 to 165 (−24) and redbox+ from 276 to 253 (−23). A declining count is not automatically a red flag — net figures fold in transfers, terminations, and non-renewals, and a mature system may simply be shedding underperforming units — but the scale of JDog's contraction stands out and warrants questions.
The clearest profitability driver in the data is tenure. College Hunks' age-segmented Item 19 shows average gross sales climbing from roughly $730,000 in early years to $1,999,230 at 60+ months, and Bin There Dump That's per-truck revenue rising from $263,574 (trucks aged 0–2) to $311,090 (aged 2–5). New buyers should budget for a multi-year ramp rather than expecting mature numbers in year one.
Scale is the second driver. 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s multi-subterritory model and redbox+'s multi-territory top performers ($3.44M average for the top 5% of franchisees) both show that the strongest operators run several territories, not one. Where brands disclose costs — redbox+'s disposal (26.6%) and fuel (5.6%) lines, College Hunks' cost of service near 11% of revenue — the data confirms disposal and fuel are the costs that most directly shape margins in this category.
No single brand is “most profitable” for every owner, but College Hunks reports the highest mature-unit average in our data — $1,999,230 in gross sales for units open 60+ months — and redbox+'s top 5% of franchisees averaged $3.44M. Profitability depends on model, territory count, and tenure.
The FDDs don't state break-even directly, but the tenure data is telling: College Hunks and Bin There Dump That both show revenue climbing steadily for the first several years, so most owners should plan for a multi-year ramp rather than year-one maturity.
Haul-away brands are crew-and-truck operations that typically need hands-on management, especially early. Dumpster-rental models like redbox+ and Bin There Dump That are more asset-driven and lower-labor, which some owners run with a smaller team, but no FDD here guarantees an absentee model — confirm with the franchisor.
It shows whatever financial performance the franchisor chooses to disclose — average or median gross revenue, per-truck or per-territory figures, quartile breakdowns, and sometimes cost detail. 8 of the 10 brands here make an Item 19 representation; JDog and Rubbish Works make none.
By outlet count, The Junkluggers (+48), Bin There Dump That (+46), and Dumpster Dudez (+46) led growth over the most recent three reporting years. Dumpster Dudez's gain off a base of 9 is the largest in percentage terms.
That depends on your capital and operating style. Entry ranges from about $30,000 (JDog) to over $1 million (redbox+), and mature units at the strongest brands clear seven figures in revenue. Pull the current FDD, talk to existing franchisees, and review Item 19 with a franchise advisor before deciding.
The right junk-removal franchise comes down to two questions: how much capital you can deploy, and whether you would rather run crews or manage equipment. Lower-capital, hands-on buyers gravitate to haul-away brands like JDog, College Hunks, or Junk King; higher-capital, lower-labor buyers lean toward dumpster systems like redbox+, Bin There Dump That, or Dumpster Dudez. Whichever path fits, let the FDD — not the sales pitch — anchor your decision.
Use the comparison table above as a starting point, then pull the current FDD for any brand on your shortlist and review Item 19 and Item 7 with a franchise attorney and an independent financial advisor. This data was compiled from Franchise Disclosure Documents filed with state regulators (including the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions), primarily 2025 and 2026 registration-year filings.
Javier is an experienced franchise industry professional with a focus on development, operations, and performance. With almost a decade of experience in the industry, he has witnessed both the successes and failures of franchise owners. Javier strongly believes that buying a franchise is not just an investment, but a life-changing event that presents a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. He enjoys helping aspiring franchise owners navigate the decision-making process and increase their chances of success.
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