Entrepreneur's annual Franchise 500® is the world's first, best and most comprehensive ranking of franchises. For 27 years, we've researched and analyzed thousands of franchises to bring you the critical information you need to help find a franchise that suits your needs.

This year was a banner year for franchising--almost all categories experienced growth, and franchising, by all accounts, is booming. Our top 10 is proof of that. Take a look at our winner's circle.

Virginia Beach, Virginia-based Liberty Tax Service is the second-largest online tax preparation service in the United States. In just two years, it's jumped from #28 to #10 on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 listing.

No. of Franchises: 1,723
Franchising Since: 1973
Startup Costs: $42.3K-52.4K

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As the oldest franchise company on our list, 7-Eleven has grown from a Dallas-based ice company launched in 1927 to an international convenience store chain. Approximately 6 million customers visit 7-Eleven stores in the United States and Canada each day, making this convenience store one of the top-ranked franchises to own for the past six years and the leader in the retail franchise category for 15 years.

No. of Franchises: 25,139
Franchising Since: 1964
Startup Costs: Varies

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Founded in Denver in 1973, RE/MAX is now a global network of more than 62,000 real estate agents. Since 2004, RE/MAX has consistently ranked in the top 20 franchises of Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 listing.

No. of Franchises: 6,019
Franchising Since: 1975
Startup Costs: $20K-200K

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This commercial cleaning service has ranked #1 on Entrepreneur's Top Homebased Franchises listing for six years in a row. Through a network of more than 100 regional offices worldwide, Jani-King contracts commercial cleaning services, while the work is performed by franchise owners who operate their own business.

No. of Franchises: 11,728
Franchising Since: 1974
Startup Costs: $11.3K-34.1K+

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This popular donut and coffee shop has been franchising for more than 50 years. Dunkin' Donuts' parent company also owns Baskin-Robbins and Togo's, allowing franchisees to operate combination stores that co-brand Dunkin' Donuts with Baskin-Robbins or Togo's.

No. of Franchises: 6,127
Franchising Since: 1955
Startup Costs: $179K-1.6M

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This national online tax service began franchising in 1986, the same year the IRS introduced electronic filing. It's the #2 franchise on the our Low-Cost Franchise listing for 2006 and has ranked #1 in the tax prep franchise category for 13 years.

No. of Franchises: 4,871
Franchising Since: 1986
Startup Costs: $49.8K-94K

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With more than 5,000 locations in 40 countries, The UPS Store is the world's largest retail shipping, postal and business services franchise--jumping from #23 in 2003 to #8 in 2006 on Entrepreneur's Fastest-Growing Franchises listing.

No. of Franchises: 5,465
Franchising Since: 1980
Startup Costs: $138.7K-245.5K

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This women-only fitness center is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest fitness franchise in the world, and ranks #1 on Entrepreneur's Low-Cost Franchises listing for 2006. Since it began franchising in 1995, Curves has grown exponentially, adding more than 4,000 locations in just three years.

No. of Franchises: 9,128
Franchising Since: 1995
Startup Costs: $38.4K-53.5K

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The first Quiznos' recipes were created in a Denver-based Italian restaurant in 1981. Now, 25 years later and second only to Subway in sales of sub sandwiches, Quiznos is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country.

No. of Franchises: 4,306
Franchising Since: 1983
Startup Costs: $71.7K-251.1K

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Starting with just one store in 1965, Subway is now the world's largest fast food chain with more than 23,000 restaurants in 75 countries. The company has ranked #1 on the Franchise 500 14 times.

No. of Franchises: 23,669
Franchising Since: 1974
Startup Costs: $70K-220K

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