September 18, 2026 — Southwest Florida new business activity

• accountants: Charlotte County Administration, City of LaBelle
• civil engineers: City of Wauchula, Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• site work crews: City of Arcadia, Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• tax advisors: Charlotte County Administration, City of LaBelle
• biomedical equipment technicians: NCH Healthcare System
• building contractors: City of LaBelle
• child care operators: City of LaBelle
• civil contractors: FEMA / Florida Division of Emergency Management
• commercial developers: City of LaBelle
• commercial painters: City of Wauchula / Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency
• commercial property owners: Charlotte County Administration
• earthwork contractors: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• electrical contractors: FEMA / Florida Division of Emergency Management
• excavation crews: City of Wauchula
• general contractors: City of Wauchula / Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency
• generator suppliers: FEMA / Florida Division of Emergency Management
• health care staffing agencies: NCH Healthcare System
• homebuilders: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• land use attorneys: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• land use consultants: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• material suppliers: City of Arcadia
• medical device suppliers: NCH Healthcare System
• municipal service vendors: City of LaBelle
• paving contractors: City of Arcadia
• pipe suppliers: City of Wauchula
• property owners: City of LaBelle
• retailers: Charlotte County Administration
• self-storage developers: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• sign makers: City of Wauchula / Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency
• small business advisors: City of LaBelle
• storefront remodelers: City of Wauchula / Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency
• surgical supply vendors: NCH Healthcare System
• surveyors: Hendry County Board of County Commissioners
• traffic control firms: City of Arcadia
• utility contractors: City of Wauchula
• utility equipment vendors: FEMA / Florida Division of Emergency Management

Southwest Florida logged 1,061 new business filings the week of August 28, its highest weekly total in 13 weeks and a 24.4% jump over the same week last year.

Southwest Florida filed 1,061 new businesses the week of August 28 through September 3, the strongest single week in the last 13 and a 9.6% gain over the week before. The same week a year ago brought 853 filings, so this week ran 24.4% ahead of that mark. The 13 week average sits at 920, which means this week cleared the recent pace by a wide margin rather than riding a long climb.

The gain was broad, not a one-county story. Lee County led with 576 filings, up 44, and Collier added 285, up 40, together about 81% of the week. Naples stayed the top city at 273, while Fort Myers rose 19.4% to 185 and Bonita Springs jumped 65.4% to 43. Inland, Hendry climbed a rank with 24 filings, up 41.2%, and Highlands rose 10% to 44.

Professional, scientific and technical services led the sector mix with 139 filings, up 54 from the week before, a 63.5% jump. Accommodation and food services more than doubled, from 27 to 52. Real estate and rental and leasing held second place at 128. Construction dipped 10.5% to 102, and management of companies fell 32.4% to 69, the two clear declines in an otherwise up week.

The trailing 13 week total is still slightly below the prior window, so this reads as a strong single week rather than a sustained climb. For anyone selling to new businesses, the signal is a bigger pool of fresh prospects this week, concentrated in the professional services and hospitality trades that serve other businesses and visitors.

Una desaceleración constante en las últimas 13 semanas aunque un salto esta última semana mantuvo alto el promedio.

La línea gruesa es el promedio de 13 semanas. Léela para ver la tendencia más larga. La línea delgada es el conteo de cada semana, que cambia de una semana a otra.

• 2025-26
• 2024-25
• 2023-24
• 2022-23
• 2021-22

La formación de negocios nuevos suele ser más alta alrededor de Jan y más baja alrededor de Dec, y se mantiene cerca de 4,000 al mes a lo largo de los años.

Cada línea es un año, que termina en el mes actual a la derecha, así puedes leer el año pasado de izquierda a derecha. El Día de Año Nuevo queda fuera porque la oficina estatal está cerrada, así casi ningún negocio se registra ese día.

Professional Services grew the most this week, 54 more (up 63.5%). Property Holding & Asset Protection dropped the most, 14 fewer (down 8.2%). 5 other sectors shown here also grew.

Lee County led the region this week with 576 new filings.

• The City of Arcadia announced lane closures on US 17 at the SR 70 westbound (Hickory Street) intersection from Friday, September 18 through Monday, September 21 for pavement restoration and roadway construction by Watson Civil Construction.

  A state-road pavement job means site work, traffic control and paving crews are active in Arcadia this week, and the contractor running it will need local support for materials and labor.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • paving contractors
  • traffic control firms
  • site work crews
  • material suppliers

  City of Arcadia, 2026-09-11

• NCH Health System surgeons are pioneering a single-port robotic system for complex hernia repairs, performing the procedures through one small incision, which the system says makes it among the first hospitals in the country to offer the technology.

  A hospital adding a new robotic surgery platform creates ongoing work for the medical device and equipment service firms that install and maintain the system, and it draws patients who support the surrounding health care economy.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • medical device suppliers
  • biomedical equipment technicians
  • surgical supply vendors
  • health care staffing agencies

  NCH Healthcare System, 2026-09-16

• Charlotte County Administration announced it will host a series of town hall meetings beginning September 22, 2026 to inform residents about the 1% Local Option Sales Tax and property tax reform.

  A proposed 1% sales tax and property tax reform would change what local businesses collect and pay, so retailers, accountants and commercial property owners have a direct stake in how these meetings land.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • retailers
  • accountants
  • commercial property owners
  • tax advisors

  Charlotte County Administration, 2026-09-15

• A joint FEMA and Florida Division of Emergency Management public notice dated September 15, 2026 announces FEMA's consideration of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding for Charlotte County to buy and install two permanent 1,000kW generators at the Rotonda Water Reclamation Facility.

  Installing two 1,000kW generators at a water reclamation plant is a sizable electrical and civil job, and it opens bids for the electrical contractors, generator suppliers and site crews that do this kind of public works.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • electrical contractors
  • generator suppliers
  • civil contractors
  • utility equipment vendors

  FEMA / Florida Division of Emergency Management, 2026-09-15

• The City of Wauchula posted ITB 26-06 on September 16, 2026, inviting sealed bids for the Heard Bridge Water Main Loop Project. The job covers about 5,300 linear feet of 8 inch PVC and 1,820 linear feet of 8 inch HDPE water main, with bids due October 16, 2026.

  A water main loop of this length is a real utility construction contract, and the open bid means excavation, pipe-laying and utility contractors in Hardee County have a concrete job to chase before the October 16 deadline.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • utility contractors
  • excavation crews
  • pipe suppliers
  • civil engineers

  City of Wauchula, 2026-09-16

• The City of Wauchula posted on August 11, 2026 that the Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency is opening a commercial revitalization grant cycle running from August 11 to September 29, 2026.

  A commercial revitalization grant cycle puts money on the table for storefront and building improvements, which is a direct opening for the contractors, sign makers and storefront remodelers who do that work.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • storefront remodelers
  • sign makers
  • general contractors
  • commercial painters

  City of Wauchula / Wauchula Community Redevelopment Agency, 2026-08-11

• The Hendry County Board of County Commissioners' September 14, 2026 agenda lists item G, RZ23-0016 Jahna Sand Mine, a quasi-judicial public hearing to rezone the subject properties from General Agriculture (A-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD), continued from the May 12, 2026 meeting.

  A sand mine rezoning to planned unit development signals long-term site work and eventual construction, which means surveyors, land use attorneys and earthwork contractors have a reason to watch this hearing.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • surveyors
  • land use attorneys
  • earthwork contractors
  • civil engineers

  Hendry County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-09-14

• The Hendry County Board of County Commissioners' July 28, 2026 regular meeting agenda lists quasi-judicial public hearings on four rezonings. They are RZ25-0001 Casa Biscayne (58 single-family homes), RZ25-0004 Murray Park (a mine with later residential and commercial uses), RZ25-0007 Olde Florida RV Resort PUD amendment for self-storage, and RZ25-0008 Murphys Landing residential subdivision.

  Four separate rezoning hearings, including 58 new homes and a self-storage amendment, point to a pipeline of residential and commercial construction that will feed homebuilders, site work crews and the trades that follow rooftops.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • homebuilders
  • site work crews
  • self-storage developers
  • land use consultants

  Hendry County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-07-28

• The City of LaBelle's Regular Commission Meeting agenda for August 13, 2026 includes a moratorium on data centers, a Local Small Business Advisory Committee item, and Resolution 2026-21 granting a special exception for a child care facility at 90 Howe Avenue.

  A child care facility special exception means a new build or fit-out and then ongoing operations, while a data center moratorium changes the rules for any developer eyeing that use, so child care operators and commercial developers both have a stake in this agenda.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • child care operators
  • commercial developers
  • building contractors
  • small business advisors

  City of LaBelle, 2026-08-13

• The City of LaBelle's September 17, 2026 City Commission Final Budget Special Meeting agenda lists Resolution 2026-35 adopting the final levy of ad valorem taxes for FY2026-2027 and Resolution 2026-36 adopting the final budget for fiscal year 2026-2027.

  A final budget and tax levy set the rates local businesses will pay and the services the city will fund, so property owners and the firms that advise them have a direct reason to track what the commission adopted.

  A quiénes les sirve

  • property owners
  • tax advisors
  • accountants
  • municipal service vendors

  City of LaBelle, 2026-09-17

A record week of 1,061 filings, led by a 63.5% jump in professional services and a doubling of hospitality, means a bigger pool of new prospects for anyone who sells to new businesses in Southwest Florida this period. The cited developments show where the demand is concrete. A water main bid in Wauchula, a generator install in Charlotte County, and a sand mine plus four rezoning hearings in Hendry all point to construction and utility work that is open now or moving through review. A child care special exception in LaBelle adds to the pipeline. Firms best placed to act are the contractors, engineers, accountants and tax advisors who can reach these new filers and the public projects behind them.

These counts come from Florida's state business filing records for the eight counties of Southwest Florida, tallied for the week of August 28 through September 3, 2026. We wait about two weeks after the week ends for the state to finish recording all of its filings, so the counts are complete and accurate. Industry and property categories are assigned from the filing records themselves.

Preguntas frecuentes

How many new businesses filed in Southwest Florida this week?

1,061 new businesses filed the week of August 28 through September 3, 2026, the highest weekly total in the last 13 weeks.

Which sectors grew the most?

Professional, scientific and technical services led with 139 filings, up 63.5% from the week before. Accommodation and food services more than doubled, from 27 to 52.

Which counties drove the week?

Lee County led with 576 filings and Collier added 285, together about 81% of the week's total. Naples was the top city at 273.

Why do the counts lag the calendar?

We wait about two weeks after the week ends for the state to finish recording all of its filings, so the counts are complete and accurate rather than provisional.