Each year, Entrepreneur magazine releases its list of the top 500 franchise companies in the United States. This year, 40 Texas-based companies made the list from a number of different industries, with 7-Eleven leading the pack at No. 10.

The list, in its 40th year of publication, is determined by a number of criteria, including what Entrepreneur calls the five pillars: cost and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.