NewBizAlert Florida Insights
Florida New Business Formation Report: March 2026
By NewBizAlert by Success Driven Media, from Florida Division of Corporations filings. How we built this.
Total formations
72,446
record high in our records, March 2024 to March 2026
Year over year
+16.5%
+10,243 vs March 2025 (62,203)
Month over month
+19.5%
+11,827 vs February 2026, lifted by start of year timing
Trailing 12 months
702,151
rising from 691,908 prior window
Property holding LLCs
8,170
11.3% of counted formations; 614 short term rental
LLC share
85.7%
61,952 Florida LLCs
Florida recorded 72,446 new business formations in March 2026, the highest single month total in the 25 months of records we track and a 16.5% jump over March 2025. Read the year over year number first. Florida's start of year filing calendar always runs hot, so the March to March comparison is the clean signal. Below the headline, the rolling 12 month count rose to 702,151 from 691,908, so the yearly floor is climbing alongside the single month spike. Tampa Bay led all named regions at 29.0% year over year growth, and LLCs set up to hold property and protect assets were the second largest named group at 8,170 formations, with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals (homes rented out for short stays).
- March 2026 set a record at 72,446 formations, up 16.5% year over year. Read the yearly comparison first. The +19.5% month over month gain is lifted by Florida's strong start of year season, and the trailing 12 month total rising to 702,151 confirms the trend is real, not just a calendar effect.
- Growth spread away from the Gold Coast. Tampa Bay grew 29.0% year over year, the fastest of any named region, while Southeast Florida, still the volume leader at 36.8% share, grew 15.9%, just under the statewide average. Central Florida added 22.1% and the First Coast 21.1%.
- Setting up businesses to hold property and protect assets is a large, distinct slice of the market. That group was the second largest named category at 8,170 formations (11.3%), with 614 short term rental holdings inside it. The names people chose back this up: business names with the words property, capital, and a street address all rose together.
- Formation was broad based. The industry spread score was 1,037 and the county spread score was 896, both in the broad based range (these scores show how clustered or spread out the activity is, where lower means more spread out). No single registered agent (the person or company a business names to receive legal mail) handled even 5% of filings, so the record is real demand across many sectors and counties, not one big batch or a single sector boom.
- The unassigned group (no Florida county on the main address) reached 9,418 formations, 13.0% of the month and the fastest growing group at 30.0% year over year. It outweighs four named regions combined and must be shown so the seven regions add up to the total.
Section 1
Statewide overview
Total formations
72,446
Month over month
+19.5%
11,827 filings
Year over year
+16.5%
10,243 filings
3 month average
66,016
Trailing 12 mo
rising
Momentum
1x increase
accelerating-up
The +19.5% month over month gain is lifted by Florida's strong start of year filing season (late year months routinely land at 42,000 to 50,000; start of year months land above 60,000). The +16.5% year over year gain is the cleaner signal.
March 2026 produced 72,446 new Florida business formations, the most in any month of the 25 months we track (March 2024 through March 2026). Lead with the year over year figure. Formations rose 16.5% above March 2025, a gain of 10,243 and the widest March to March gap in the records. The month over month gain of 19.5% over February is larger in percentage terms, but Florida's filing calendar swings hard every start of year. Late year months routinely land in the 42,000 to 50,000 range (December 2024 bottomed at 42,756, November 2025 at 44,153) before the start of year jumps. So the yearly read is the cleaner one.
The trailing 12 month total reached 702,151, up from the prior comparable window of 691,908. The rolling yearly count is rising, which means this is demand growth, not a one month blip. The 3 month average of 66,016 sits well above any 2024 or early 2025 cluster. The trend is pointing up and gaining speed, though the run is only one month, so weight the year over year and trailing 12 month direction over the short run.
The makeup of the month tells a holding and services story. Florida LLCs were 85.7% of all formations at 61,952 filings. Among the plain everyday categories, the group set up to hold property and protect assets was the second largest named category at 8,170, behind only the catch all Other group. Of those property holding businesses, 614 were set up to run short term rentals. The property count is complete for March 2026, so this is a solid number.
Activity was spread out, not clustered. The industry spread score was 1,037 and the county spread score was 895.9, both in the broad based range. The top 5 industries held 58.9% of counted formations, with Management of Companies and Enterprises at 17.0% the only standout. Registered agent services handled 14.4% of formations and no single firm topped 4.5%, so no big batch from one filer skewed the count. Out of state owners accounted for 4.3% of formations with a known address.
Industry mix (friendly categories)
When a business registers, it reports a standard government industry code, the same kind of classification the U.S. Census Bureau uses. We take those codes and group them into our own plain everyday categories. A business lands in 'Other' when its code does not fit one of our named categories. Every business is still counted, so 'Other' is a labeling matter, not missing data.
Flagship signal: Property Holding & Asset Protection
8,170 holding entities (11.3% of formations)+13.2%, including 614 seasonal / short term rental holdings (7.5% of the bucket).
Second largest named category. The property count is complete for March 2026, so this number is solid. It is measured over 72,308 counted formations, slightly below the 72,446 headline total. Most businesses are not property holdings, so this group is about a quarter of the property type filings, not a sign of missing data. The short term rental count is a slice inside the property holding group, not added on top.
Industry HHI
1037.1
broad-based
Top 5 industry share
58.9%
County HHI
895.9
broad-based
Out of state
4.3%
3,050 filings
Both the industry spread score and the county spread score (each a measure of how clustered or spread out the activity is, where lower means more spread out) sit in the broad based range. The county score covers only formations tied to a Florida county; the 9,418 unassigned filings (13.0%) are left out, which would slightly understate how clustered the geography is if those filings group in one place.
Entity type mix
- LLC (Florida)61,952(85.7%)
- Corp (Florida, for profit)6,118(8.5%)
- Out of state LLC1,866(2.6%)
- Florida nonprofit corp1,620(2.2%)
- Out of state for profit corp621(0.9%)
Registered agent concentration
- NORTHWEST REGISTERED AGENT LLC4.46%
- REGISTERED AGENTS INC2.83%
- INC AUTHORITY RA1.79%
- ZENBUSINESS INC.1.71%
- REPUBLIC REGISTERED AGENT LLC1.02%
The top agent at 4.46% is well below the 10% mark that would flag one filer dominating the month, so no single big batch skewed the count. Each agent's share is its share of all counted formations.
Trending words in new names
Address named LLCs (a holding company tell): 2.4% of new names.
Industry by region
The same grid, read three ways: raw volume, what each region specializes in, and a bubble view that lets the eye compare across both axes at once.
Chart 1: Volume (absolute counts)
| Industry | Northwest Florida | North Central Florida | Northeast Florida | Central Florida | Tampa Bay | Southwest Florida | Southeast Florida |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management of Companies & Enterprises | 323 | 170 | 477 | 1,679 | 2,306 | 547 | 5,054 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 172 | 93 | 244 | 889 | 1,260 | 258 | 2,162 |
| Real Estate and Rental & Leasing | 207 | 101 | 245 | 748 | 908 | 303 | 1,512 |
| Construction | 243 | 105 | 260 | 737 | 862 | 389 | 1,420 |
| Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services | 207 | 123 | 270 | 712 | 759 | 307 | 1,449 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 111 | 69 | 159 | 464 | 626 | 191 | 1,554 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 138 | 93 | 211 | 582 | 572 | 211 | 1,252 |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 78 | 88 | 200 | 650 | 539 | 190 | 1,267 |
| Retail Trade | 81 | 45 | 128 | 402 | 371 | 149 | 887 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 81 | 45 | 107 | 360 | 405 | 79 | 742 |
New business counts by industry and region. A darker cell marks the stronger region for that industry.
Chart 2: Specialization (share within each region)
| Industry | Northwest Florida | North Central Florida | Northeast Florida | Central Florida | Tampa Bay | Southwest Florida | Southeast Florida |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management of Companies & Enterprises | 20% | 18% | 21% | 23% | 27% | 21% | 29% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 10% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 15% | 10% | 12% |
| Real Estate and Rental & Leasing | 13% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 9% |
| Construction | 15% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 15% | 8% |
| Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services | 13% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 9% | 12% | 8% |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 7% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 9% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 8% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 7% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 5% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 6% | 7% | 7% |
| Retail Trade | 5% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 6% | 5% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 4% |
Each region column is read on its own terms: a cell is the percentage of that region taken by the industry, so the shading shows what each part of Florida specializes in rather than its raw size. The darkest cell in a column marks the leading sector for that region.
Chart 3: Bubble matrix
| Industry | Northwest Florida | North Central Florida | Northeast Florida | Central Florida | Tampa Bay | Southwest Florida | Southeast Florida |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management of Companies & Enterprises | |||||||
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | |||||||
| Real Estate and Rental & Leasing | |||||||
| Construction | |||||||
| Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services | |||||||
| Health Care & Social Assistance | |||||||
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | |||||||
| Transportation & Warehousing | |||||||
| Retail Trade | |||||||
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation |
Circle area scales to the number of formations, so a large bubble is a busy pairing of industry and region, and the eye can compare across both the rows and the columns at once. Hover a circle for the exact count.
Government & policy
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026 (House 98-4, Senate 35-0), to become law July 1, 2026 unless signed earlier or vetoed, expanding zoning preemptions for workforce and affordable housing on government and religious-institution land and extending the tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage. In the same month, Construction ranked fifth statewide at 4,605 filings and Real Estate reached 4,878. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- Florida HB 803, signed in May 2026 with most provisions effective July 1, 2026, exempts residential construction under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from permit requirements, mandates 5-business-day permit review for single-family projects under $15,000, and cuts commercial permit fees by at least 25% when private providers handle plan review or inspections. The month it cleared, Construction posted 4,605 new formations. GovWell, 2026-05-07
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction (with a minimum $400 deduction for owners with at least $1,000 in QBI), restored 100% bonus depreciation, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. These federal changes took effect for 2026 tax planning alongside Florida's window-record 72,446 March formations. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
- The 2026 Florida Sine Die Report lists SB 122 / HB 103, which would have repealed county authority to levy local business taxes (a loss of more than $50 million annually to counties), among failed bills, and the Starter Homes Act (SB 948 / HB 1143) also failed to pass. Existing local permitting and business-tax structures stayed in place, so the record 72,446 March formations occurred without any reduction in local business-tax obligations. Florida Association of Counties, 2026 Sine Die Report, 2026-03-13
Section 2
Region by region
Northwest Florida (Panhandle & Capital)
2,558 formations(3.5% of state)
Leon County posted 528 formations in March, a z-score of 2.63 above its 25-month baseline mean of 317.5 (the z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran), making it the third-highest county z-score in the state. Escambia also stood out at z=2.54 above its baseline mean of 293.5. Both counties moved the same way and together account for roughly 40% of the region's total.
Northwest Florida posted 2,558 new business formations in March 2026, a 24.9% year over year gain and a 14.3% month over month rise from 2,238 in February. The region holds a 3.5% share of statewide activity. Year over year is the cleaner read here. The 14.3% monthly pop is partly Florida's spring filing season, which lifts March numbers across all regions.
Leon County is the signal. With 528 formations against a 25 month baseline mean of 317.5 (the typical month, give or take a swing of 80.16), it posted a z-score of 2.63, the third highest of any county in the state this month. The z-score shows how far above its normal level the county ran. That is a strong reading in the state capital, where government work, university linked services, and big money flows concentrate. The 28.5% month over month rise adds to the picture.
Escambia County (Pensacola) added 499 formations, a z-score of 2.54 above its baseline mean of 293.5. Together, Leon and Escambia account for roughly 40% of the region's March total and both ran well above their normal levels. Bay County (Panama City) added 436 formations, up 10.4% from February, a steadier pace in line with its usual level.
Two small counties in the northwest tier showed sharper percentage moves. Jefferson County jumped to 25 formations from 15 (+66.7%) and Gadsden County reached 70 from 51 (+37.3%). Both carry low counts, so percentage moves bounce around, but the direction fits the broader regional pickup centered on the Tallahassee corridor.
Management of Companies and Enterprises is the top category in the region at 323 filings, in line with the holding company and money management formations that gather around government and institutional activity in Leon County. Construction ranks second at 243, reflecting panhandle home and commercial building work. Real Estate (207) and Administrative Support (207) tie for third, with Professional Services at 172. The mix is typical for a region that pairs a government hub with beach resort markets: holding companies and construction near the top, services close behind.
Tourism and seasonal demand
Northwest Florida's beach markets (Destin, Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach) drive spring formation demand in lodging and hospitality, though March sits at the edge of snowbird season rather than the peak summer rush. The region gets spring break traffic across the Emerald Coast corridor, which has long driven food service and short term rental registrations ahead of summer. Visit Florida's first quarter 2026 data shows Florida as a whole welcomed an estimated 39.88 million visitors in the January through March period, with hotel rooms sold up 0.6% year over year statewide, even as overall visitor volume edged down 1.0% from the first quarter of 2025 (source: Visit Florida Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates). The region's Arts, Entertainment and Recreation count was 81 filings, in line with a region where seasonal formation spikes trail the Emerald Coast's peak summer rather than lead it.
Property holding and short term rentals
Property holding counts are reported at the statewide level, which gives industry counts by region rather than the plain category breakdown region by region. Statewide, the group set up to hold property and protect assets totaled 8,170 formations in March 2026, with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals (homes rented out for short stays), 7.5% of all property holding businesses formed statewide. Northwest Florida's beach corridor, especially Okaloosa and Walton counties, is a known vacation rental market, but county by county property breakdowns are not available here. The statewide short term rental figure (614 businesses) is complete for March 2026, so it is a solid count for the month rather than a partial estimate. Florida's average homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, up 18% year over year, a steady overhead cost for property holding LLCs along the coast (source: Insurify).
Emerging counties: Jefferson (+66.7%), Gadsden (+37.3%), Leon (+28.5%).
Government & policy
- The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, in partnership with FloridaCommerce, scheduled an Opportunity Zone 2.0 Workshop for April 9, 2026 at Lively Technical College in Tallahassee, part of FloridaCommerce's statewide Opportunity Zone 2.0 Tour. Leon County recorded 528 new business formations in March 2026, a z-score of 2.63 above its 25-month baseline and a 28.5% month-over-month increase. Northwest Florida as a region posted 2,558 formations in March, a 24.9% year-over-year gain. Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, 2026-04-09
- Florida's Great Northwest announced in January 2026 that Field International Group selected Escambia County for its first U.S. headquarters and manufacturing operation, committing $8 million in capital expenditures and 50 jobs averaging $80,000 annually, with a second phase under consideration adding $12 million and 50 more jobs. Escambia County recorded 499 new business formations in March 2026, a z-score of 2.54 above its 25-month baseline. Florida's Great Northwest, 2026-01-08
Corroboration
- The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, in partnership with FloridaCommerce, scheduled an Opportunity Zone 2.0 Workshop for April 9, 2026 at Lively Technical College in Tallahassee. Leon County posted 528 new business formations in March 2026, a 28.5% month-over-month increase and a z-score of 2.63 above its 25-month baseline mean of 317.5, the third-highest county z-score in Florida that month. Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, 2026-04-09
- Florida's Great Northwest announced in January 2026 that Field International Group, a UK-based engineering and manufacturing firm, selected Escambia County for its first U.S. headquarters, committing $8 million in capital expenditures and 50 jobs averaging $80,000 annually, with a second phase adding $12 million and 50 more jobs. Escambia County recorded 499 new business formations in March 2026, a z-score of 2.54 above its 25-month baseline. Florida's Great Northwest, 2026-01-08
North Central Florida (Nature Coast & Heartland)
1,507 formations(2.1% of state)
Columbia County posted 124 formations at a z-score of 2.79 above its 25-month baseline (the z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran), the single strongest county signal in the region and one of the top readings statewide. Hamilton County reached a z-score of 2.57 (25 formations), the second north-central county to run far above its normal level this month.
North Central Florida posted 1,507 new business formations in March 2026, 2.1% of the statewide total of 72,446. The month over month gain was 16.3%, below the statewide average of 19.5%. Year over year, the region grew 24.2%, from 1,213 filings in March 2025, a solid gain that tracks closely with most of the state's mid sized regions.
The region's story this month is about which counties ran hot, not raw volume. Columbia County printed 124 formations against a 25 month baseline mean of 66.8, a z-score of 2.79, the highest county reading in the region and a top ten county signal statewide. The z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran. Hamilton County (25 formations) also ran far above its norm at 2.57, more than doubling its baseline mean of 11.4. These are small count counties where a handful of new businesses moves the needle, but two north-central counties running this far above normal in the same month is not typical.
Marion County (Ocala) leads the region by volume at 685 formations, up 12.3% from February. Alachua County (Gainesville) follows at 438, up 20.7%. Together those two anchors account for roughly three quarters of regional volume. The university and horse economy that define this corridor show up clearly in the mix: Management of Companies leads at 170 filings, followed by Administrative & Support at 123, Construction at 105, and Real Estate at 101. Professional Services and Other Services each had 93 filings.
The three fast growing counties, Union (19 filings, +90.0%), Hamilton (25, +66.7%), and Madison (23, +43.8%), are rural and start from a low base, so the raw numbers stay small even at high growth rates. Their rise together adds texture to the broader north-central signal but does not change the region's overall moderate pace.
Farming and the outdoor recreation economy do not show up as a top category in the regional mix, which reflects how the categories are organized rather than any lack of farm activity. The region's mix is broad based, with no single industry commanding an outsized share at the regional level.
Tourism and seasonal demand
North Central Florida's tourism and hospitality count is not broken out at the regional level. Statewide, Hospitality and Tourism filings rose 21.6% month over month to 4,090 in March 2026, driven partly by the tail end of snowbird season. For Gainesville and Ocala, the springs and horse tourism draw runs year round rather than bunching into one quarter, so the seasonal signal is softer here than on the Gulf Coast or in Central Florida. No regional hospitality number is available for this region.
Property holding and short term rentals
Property holding and short term rental counts are available at the statewide level only. Statewide, 8,170 property holding businesses formed in March 2026, with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays (7.5% of the property holding group). North Central Florida's horse estates, rural land parcels, and spring access properties attract holding company structures, but the regional property counts are not available here. The property count is complete for March 2026, so these statewide figures are solid, not partial. Regional property counts are not available.
Emerging counties: Union (+90%), Hamilton (+66.7%), Madison (+43.8%).
Government & policy
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026 with a House vote of 98-4 and a unanimous Senate 35-0. It expands zoning preemptions to allow workforce and affordable housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands, bars local governments from using setbacks or stepbacks to restrict building height on qualifying projects, and extends tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage, to become law July 1, 2026. Construction filings statewide reached 4,605 in March 2026 (+17.4% month over month); north-central Construction filings totaled 105. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- Florida HB 803, signed May 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, exempts residential construction work under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from building-permit requirements (excluding structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, and flood-zone work), mandates a 5-business-day permit review for single-family projects under $15,000, and requires a minimum 25% commercial permit-fee reduction when private providers perform plan review or inspections. This coincides with Construction formations statewide totaling 4,605 in March 2026. GovWell, 2026-05-07
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction (with a minimum $400 deduction for owners with at least $1,000 in QBI), restored 100% bonus depreciation permanently, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. Florida recorded 72,446 new business formations in March 2026, the highest single-month total in the 25-month trailing window. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
Corroboration
- No corroborating event found specific to North Central Florida (Gainesville/Ocala) for March 2026 in the provided research sources. The region's 24.2% year-over-year growth aligns with the statewide trend, but no regional economic announcement, infrastructure project, or policy action specific to this corridor appears in the supplied source set. (no corroborating event found)
Northeast Florida (First Coast)
3,604 formations(5% of state)
Duval County posted 2,293 formations at +28.0% month over month, ranking 7th statewide and landing on the fast growing counties list. Flagler (307 filings, z-score 2.60) and Clay (341 filings, z-score 2.53) each ran far above their 25-month baselines (the z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran), the two sharpest county signals in the region.
Northeast Florida recorded 3,604 new business formations in March 2026, a 22.8% month over month gain and a 21.1% year over year gain. The region holds a 5.0% share of the state's 72,446 total filings. Both readings are up, and the year over year figure, the cleaner signal given Florida's spring filing season, points to lasting forward momentum rather than a seasonal bounce.
Duval County drove the bulk of the volume at 2,293 filings, up 28.0% from February. That puts Duval 7th statewide by county count, unchanged year over year in rank but with a month over month pickup that landed it on the statewide fast growing counties list. St. Johns County added 444 filings (+18.7% month over month). Baker County, a small count standout, posted 31 filings, up 34.8% from its prior month.
Two counties outside the volume leaders ran far above their normal levels. Flagler recorded 307 formations, 2.60 standard deviations above its 25 month baseline mean. Clay reached 341 formations, 2.53 standard deviations above its own baseline. Both ran well past the line that flags a real break from trend. Neither county's volume approaches Duval's, but the signal is real and worth watching across coming months.
The industry mix here tracks the region's character. Management of Companies led with 477 filings, reflecting Jacksonville's established finance back office and holding company activity. Construction ranked third at 260 filings and Real Estate fourth at 245, in line with the metro's steady flow of home building. Administrative and Support Services came in second at 270. Transportation and Warehousing placed sixth at 200, a reliable sign of port adjacent logistics activity around Jacksonville's Blount Island Marine Terminal and the surrounding industrial belt.
At the regional level, Northeast Florida's 21.1% year over year gain trails Tampa Bay (29.0%) and Northwest Florida (24.9%) but beats the statewide figure of 16.5%. The region is not the state's fastest growing, and that should be said plainly. What it shows is a broad, lasting lift rather than a single month spike.
Tourism and seasonal demand
No region specific tourism or hospitality count is available for Northeast Florida. Statewide, Hospitality and Tourism formations totaled 4,090 in March 2026, up 21.6% month over month. Northeast Florida's heritage tourism base (St. Augustine) and Jacksonville's convention business add to this category, but it is not broken out at the region level. Visit Florida's first quarter 2026 data shows Florida's 19 commercial airports handled 29.9 million boardings, up 1.8% year over year, a backdrop of steady visitor traffic across the state.
Property holding and short term rentals
Businesses set up to hold property and protect assets accounted for 8,170 statewide filings in March 2026 (up 13.2% month over month), with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays (7.5% of the property holding total, up 11.8% from February). The property holding counts are not broken out by region. For Northeast Florida, the category matters: St. Johns County in particular draws vacation rental and income property LLC formation. Statewide, the property count is complete for March 2026, so these counts are solid rather than partial estimates. About a quarter of all counted formations are property type filings; most businesses are not property holdings, so this is a share of the market, not a gap in the data.
Emerging counties: Baker (+34.8%), Duval (+28%).
Government & policy
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026, expanding zoning preemptions to allow workforce and affordable housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands, barring local governments from using setbacks or stepbacks to restrict building height on qualifying projects, and extending tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage, to become law July 1, 2026. Construction formations statewide reached 4,605 in March 2026 (+17.4% month-over-month); Northeast Florida recorded 260 Construction filings. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 803, with most provisions effective July 1, 2026, exempting residential construction work under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from building-permit requirements, mandating a 5-business-day permit review for single-family projects under $15,000, and requiring local governments to reduce commercial permit fees by at least 25% when private providers perform plan review or inspections. The permitting streamlining coincides with Construction ranking among the top-five industries by new business formations statewide in March 2026. GovWell, 2026-05-07
Corroboration
- Jacksonville-based logistics firm Axionlog had site-clearing and foundation permits issued (December 2025 and January 2026) and sought a construction permit for an almost $7.59 million expansion of its North Jacksonville cold-storage warehouse, adding 59,336 square feet to the existing 38,375-square-foot project for a 97,711-square-foot total at 11370 New Berlin Road near Blount Island Marine Terminal. Duval County posted 2,293 new business formations in March 2026, up 28.0% month-over-month. Jax Daily Record, 2026-03-10
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026, expanding zoning preemptions for workforce and affordable housing and extending tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage. Construction formations ranked 5th statewide at 4,605 filings (+17.4% month-over-month) in March 2026. Northeast Florida recorded 260 Construction filings that month. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
Central Florida (I-4 Corridor & Space Coast)
11,455 formations(15.8% of state)
Lake County posted 842 formations, a z-score of 2.75 above its 25-month baseline mean of 495.0 (the z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran), the most extreme county result in the region and one of two county outliers statewide that ran this far above normal.
Central Florida posted 11,455 new business formations in March 2026, capturing 15.8% of the statewide total. That is a 20.7% month over month gain from 9,491 in February and a 22.1% year over year gain from 9,381 in March 2025. Both directions are up. The year over year read is the cleaner signal, and 22.1% growth holds up solidly across the full rolling window.
Orange County anchors the region with 4,755 filings, a 20.0% month over month rise that lifted it one rank statewide to 4th. Polk County climbed fastest in percentage terms, rising 27.1% month over month to 1,640 filings and landing on the statewide fast growing counties list. Lake County was the region's standout: 842 formations against a 25 month baseline mean of 495.0 put it at a 2.75 z-score, one of only two counties statewide that ran this far above normal. The z-score shows how far above its normal level the county ran.
Osceola (1,091), Brevard (1,087), Volusia (981), and Seminole (892) each posted gains ranging from 12.0% to 25.5% month over month. Seminole's 25.5% gain was the second sharpest in the region. Brevard's 15.9% rise is more moderate, but it reflects the Space Coast's steadier, defense and aerospace driven filing cadence rather than a tourism burst.
Management of Companies leads the regional industry count at 1,679, well ahead of Professional Services at 889. That gap reflects a high volume of holding structure and enterprise vehicle formations, in line with the region's cluster of national and international tourism operators using Orlando as their corporate address. Construction (737) and Real Estate and Rental (748) together account for 1,485 filings, in a region where home building corridors in Polk, Lake, and Osceola keep expanding. The March passage of Florida HB 1389 (the Live Local Act 4.0), with a unanimous 35-0 Senate vote and a 98-4 House vote, extended zoning preemptions for workforce housing onto government owned and religious institution lands, a policy shift that reinforces the formation signal in construction and real estate categories.
Tourism and seasonal demand
Central Florida recorded 360 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation filings in March 2026, and lodging and food service businesses (counted in the statewide Hospitality and Tourism category) added to the region's broad based formation count. March is the final month of Florida's core snowbird and spring break season, when tour operators, entertainment venues, and short stay food service businesses typically register ahead of the summer change. Orlando International Airport recorded 7.6 million boardings in the first quarter of 2026, the highest volume of any Florida commercial airport that quarter, according to Visit Florida's Q1 2026 data. The airport started a $253 million Gate Link tram replacement project in December 2025 (source: Inside the Magic). Separately, Daytona Beach International Airport recorded a 21.2% year over year rise in boardings in the first quarter of 2026, the fastest growth rate of any Florida commercial airport that quarter per the same Visit Florida release, directly alongside Volusia County's 981 formations.
Property holding and short term rentals
The statewide group set up to hold property and protect assets counted 8,170 businesses in March 2026, with 614 set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays (7.5% of the property holding total, up 11.8% from February). The property count for March 2026 is complete, so these figures are solid rather than partial. Central Florida's mix of vacation rental heavy corridors in Osceola and vacation home markets around the Lake County chain of lakes means property holding formations are a meaningful slice of the region's 11,455 total, though the property counts are not broken out by region. Florida's average annual homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% rise over 2024, according to Insurify, a steady overhead cost for short term rental holding businesses. Citizens Property Insurance recommended a statewide average personal lines rate cut of 2.6% effective June 1, 2026, with three in five policyholders projected to see an average reduction of 11.5%, offering partial relief, though Insurify projects the statewide average will still rise a further 2% by the end of 2026 to $8,458.
Emerging counties: Polk (+27.1%).
Government & policy
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026, with a House vote of 98-4 and a unanimous Senate vote of 35-0, to become law July 1, 2026. The bill expands zoning preemptions to allow workforce and affordable housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands, bars local governments from using setbacks or stepbacks to restrict building height on qualifying projects, and extends tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage. This policy environment coincides with Construction formations ranking 5th statewide at 4,605 filings (+17.4% month-over-month) and Real Estate formations at 4,878 (+12.9% month-over-month) in March 2026. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction (with a minimum $400 deduction for any owner with at least $1,000 in QBI), restored 100% bonus depreciation permanently, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. These federal tax changes, which took full effect for 2026 tax-year planning, coincide with Florida recording 72,446 new business formations in March 2026, its highest single-month total in the 25-month trailing window. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
Corroboration
- Orlando International Airport recorded 7.6 million enplanements in Q1 2026, the highest volume of any Florida commercial airport, and started a $253 million Gate Link people-mover replacement project on December 3, 2025. These investments align with Orange County's 4,755 new business formations in March 2026, its highest rank (4th statewide) in over a year. Inside the Magic, 2026-01
- Daytona Beach International Airport recorded a 21.2% year-over-year increase in enplanements in Q1 2026, the fastest growth rate of any Florida commercial airport that quarter per Visit Florida data. Central Florida's Volusia County recorded 981 new business formations in March 2026, up 12.0% month-over-month. Visit Florida, Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates, 2026-05-22
Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast)
13,342 formations(18.5% of state)
Tampa Bay posted a 29.0% year over year gain in March 2026, the steepest regional year over year rise of any Florida region, while Sarasota County climbed two ranks to 10th statewide with a 26.0% month over month surge.
Tampa Bay put up 13,342 new business formations in March 2026, a 29.0% year over year gain that topped every other Florida region on that measure. Month over month the region rose 19.8%, broadly in line with Florida's statewide 19.5% spring rebound. The year over year number is the cleaner signal here. Tampa Bay's records show a base of 10,344 formations in March 2025, and the 2,998 filing gap between then and now is the largest absolute year over year regional gain outside Southeast Florida.
Pinellas County drove the volume story, recording 5,712 filings and holding its statewide rank of 3rd. Hillsborough added 3,995, steady at 6th statewide. Together the two anchor counties account for roughly 72% of the region's March total. Sarasota was the month's rank mover: 1,152 filings, up 26.0% from February's 914, climbing two positions to 10th in the state. Pasco (1,119) and Manatee (908) rounded out the five named counties in the region.
Management of Companies and Enterprises led every sector within the region at 2,306 filings, in line with Tampa Bay's established role as a holding company and financial services hub. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services came second at 1,260. Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (908) and Construction (862) took the next two slots, reflecting steady formation activity tied to the area's home and commercial building work. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation posted 405 filings, the only segment where Tampa Bay's share of statewide filings in that category leans above its 18.5% regional weight, fitting the metro's growing event and creative economy.
No Tampa Bay county ran far enough above its normal level to flag as an outlier this month. The region's gains are broad based across all five counties rather than concentrated in one odd pocket, which makes the 29.0% year over year reading more durable as a signal.
Tourism and seasonal demand
Port Tampa Bay set a record this March with a projected 51 cruise port calls, and projects 1.8 million cruise passengers for full year 2026 versus 1.66 million in 2025 (Bay News 9, March 13, 2026). That activity lands in the final month of core spring break season, when lodging, food service, and tour operator businesses typically register ahead of the summer change. Statewide, Hospitality and Tourism formations reached 4,090 in March, up 21.6% month over month; the regional data shows Arts, Entertainment and Recreation at 405 filings for Tampa Bay alone. Visit Florida's first quarter 2026 data put statewide hotel rooms sold up 0.6% year over year, confirming baseline demand held even as overall visitor volume edged down 1.0%.
Property holding and short term rentals
Businesses set up to hold property and protect assets were the second largest named category statewide at 8,170 filings in March 2026, with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays (7.5% of the property holding group, up 11.8% from February's 549). The property count for this month is complete, so these counts are solid, not partial. Sarasota County's 26.0% month over month jump, the largest recorded for that county in 25 months of records, lines up with the City of Sarasota's new vacation rental rule (25-5560), which requires short term rental homes on residential lots (owner not on site) to get a Vacation Rental Certificate through a five step process with yearly renewal (source: Choose Gulf Coast). LLCs are the standard form for short term rental operators who want to separate their personal liability. Statewide, Florida's average homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% rise over 2024, adding steady overhead for property holding businesses across the region.
Emerging counties: Sarasota (+26%).
Government & policy
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026 with a 98-4 House vote and unanimous 35-0 Senate vote, expanding zoning preemptions for workforce housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands, barring local setback or stepback restrictions on qualifying projects, and extending tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage, to become law July 1, 2026. This coincides with Construction formations at 862 filings within Tampa Bay in March 2026. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- Florida HB 803, signed in May 2026, exempts residential construction work under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from permit requirements, mandates 5-business-day permit review for single-family projects under $15,000, and requires local governments to reduce commercial permit fees by at least 25% when private providers perform plan review, coinciding with Construction posting 862 filings within Tampa Bay in March 2026. GovWell, 2026-05-07
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction with a minimum $400 deduction, restored 100% bonus depreciation permanently, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million, coinciding with Florida recording 72,446 new business formations in March 2026, its highest single-month total in the 25-month trailing window. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
Corroboration
- Port Tampa Bay set a March record with a projected 51 cruise port calls and projects 1.8 million cruise passengers for full-year 2026 versus 1.66 million in 2025, coinciding with Tampa Bay posting a 29.0% year-over-year rise in new business formations in March 2026. Bay News 9, 2026-03-13
- The Water Street Tampa office tower Thousand & One reached 95% occupancy as of early March 2026, with RSM expanding its lease to nearly 20,000 sq ft and Berkadia relocating its Tampa headquarters to the building. This aligns with Hillsborough County recording 3,995 new business formations in March 2026. Business Observer FL, 2026-03-02
- Port Tampa Bay received the ZIM Canada (11,900 TEUs), its largest containership by gross tonnage, in April 2026 and is advancing a $1.3 billion channel deepening from 43 to 47 feet, aligning with Pinellas County's 5,712 new business formations in March 2026 and Tampa Bay's 13,342 regional total. Port Tampa Bay, 2026-04-10
- City of Sarasota Ordinance 25-5560 requires short-term-rental properties on residentially zoned lots (owner not on premises) to obtain a Vacation Rental Certificate through a five-step process with annual renewal, coinciding with Sarasota County's 26.0% month-over-month formation jump in March 2026, the largest recorded for that county in the trailing 25-month window. Choose Gulf Coast, 2026
- Florida issued 100,945 new residential construction permits in 2025 (down 4% from 2024), with West Florida leading at 26,427 permits, a 20% year-over-year gain, and Pasco County at 6,938 permits, up 105% year-over-year. This aligns with Tampa Bay ranking second statewide in new business formations in March 2026 at 13,342 and posting a 29.0% year-over-year gain, the steepest regional gain in the state. HBWeekly, 2026
Southwest Florida
3,803 formations(5.3% of state)
Lee County slipped one rank statewide from 7th to 8th by formations month over month, while Collier County posted a 16.9% monthly gain. Construction is the region's second largest industry at 389 filings, running high relative to Southwest Florida's statewide formation share of 5.3%, in line with active home building across both Lee and Collier.
Southwest Florida recorded 3,803 new business formations in March 2026, a 14.5% rise from February and 19.3% above March 2025. The region holds a 5.3% share of statewide filings. Both moves are real gains, though 14.5% month over month is the softest regional print in Florida that month, a full five percentage points below the statewide rate of 19.5%. The year over year read of 19.3% is the cleaner signal of underlying momentum, and it shows the region growing at a solid clip.
Lee County anchors the region at 2,082 formations, ranking 8th among all Florida counties. It slipped one rank from 7th in the prior month, and its 13.2% monthly gain was below the statewide average. Collier County added 1,057 formations, a 16.9% monthly rise, and did not stand out as an outlier this month. The two counties together account for the full regional total. Southwest Florida's geographic definition is tight, and there is no third county diluting the picture.
Construction is the sharpest story. The region posted 389 construction filings, the second largest industry after Management of Companies at 547. That 389 count is a meaningful cluster for a region whose total is 3,803: roughly 10.2 filings per 100 formations, compared to a statewide construction share of about 6.4%. The gap reflects a build cycle that predates the spring reporting period. Florida HB 803, signed in May 2026 with most provisions effective July 1, 2026, requires permit review within five business days for single-family projects under $15,000 and requires local governments to cut commercial fees at least 25% when private providers perform plan review. That policy tailwind arrives after this month's count but sets up the forward formation environment for the trades.
Real Estate and Rental & Leasing added 303 filings regionally. Management of Companies led all categories at 547, in line with the Gulf Coast pattern of holding company formation around retirement wealth and real estate asset protection. Administrative & Support Services came in at 307, Professional Services at 258. Health Care at 191 is the smallest of the mid sized categories, low relative to the region's large retiree population, but new health related LLC formation typically lags state licensing approval cycles.
The month over month softness relative to statewide is worth saying plainly. Florida's March surge was broad and steep, driven partly by the final snowbird rush and partly by federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax incentives that took full effect for 2026 planning. Southwest Florida took part in both but at a more moderate pace. The region's formation base is smaller and its industry mix more concentrated in property and construction than in the diversified professional or logistics sectors that drove larger percentage gains elsewhere.
Tourism and seasonal demand
Southwest Florida closed core snowbird season in March 2026 against a measurable headwind. Visit Florida's first quarter 2026 data shows Canadian visitors to Florida fell 12.1% year over year to an estimated 1.05 million. The Gulf Coast carries a heavy share of Canadian owned vacation rentals and condos, so that pullback likely dampened the hospitality and short term rental formation spike that other coastal regions saw more fully. Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, a category that captures tour operators and Gulf experience businesses, came in at only 79 regional filings, the lowest of any tracked category. Lodging and food service is not broken out separately in the regional data. The statewide Hospitality & Tourism category gained 21.6% month over month; Southwest Florida's share looks muted in the regional data.
Property holding and short term rentals
Businesses set up to hold property and protect assets are the second largest named category statewide at 8,170 formations, with 614 of those set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays, 7.5% of the property holding total. For March 2026, the property count is complete, so the statewide counts are solid, not partial. Management of Companies at 547 is the top regional industry, and the high share of address named LLCs statewide (2.4% of all formations) reflects the holding pattern concentrated in Gulf Coast retirement markets like this one. Florida's average homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% rise over 2024, making overhead on property holding businesses a real and ongoing cost in the market. Citizens Property Insurance recommended a 2.6% statewide average personal lines rate cut effective June 1, 2026, with three in five policyholders projected to see an average reduction of 11.5%, offering some relief for the forward period but not changing the March 2026 cost picture.
Government & policy
- Florida HB 803, signed in May 2026 with most provisions effective July 1, 2026, exempts residential construction work under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from permit requirements, mandates a 5-business-day review for single-family projects under $15,000, and requires local governments to cut commercial permit fees at least 25% when private providers perform plan review. Construction formations in Southwest Florida reached 389 in March 2026. GovWell, 2026-05-07
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026, with a House vote of 98-4 and a unanimous Senate vote of 35-0, to become law July 1, 2026. The bill expands zoning preemptions for workforce and affordable housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands and bars use of setbacks or stepbacks to restrict building height on qualifying projects. Real Estate formations in Southwest Florida totaled 303 in March 2026. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction with a minimum $400 deduction, restored 100% bonus depreciation, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. Management of Companies formations in Southwest Florida totaled 547 in March 2026. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
Corroboration
- Visit Florida Q1 2026 data shows Canadian visitors to Florida fell 12.1% year-over-year to an estimated 1.05 million, 2.6% of total visitation. Lee County ranked 8th statewide in new business formations in March 2026 at 2,082 filings, up 13.2% month-over-month, in a Gulf Coast market with heavy Canadian-owned vacation-rental exposure. Visit Florida, Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates, 2026-05-22
- Florida's average annual homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% increase over 2024 and the highest nationally, projected to rise a further 2% to $8,458 by year-end 2026. Elevated insurance costs are a persistent overhead factor for property-holding and short-term-rental entities forming in Southwest Florida. Insurify, 2026
- Citizens Property Insurance recommended a statewide average personal-lines rate decrease of 2.6% effective June 1, 2026, with three in five policyholders projected to see an average reduction of 11.5% ($359), and saw its policy count fall from a 1.42 million peak in October 2023 to about 385,000 by end of 2025. This rate relief is a forward factor for property-holding entities forming in Southwest Florida. Citizens Property Insurance, 2025-12-10
Southeast Florida (Gold Coast, Treasure Coast & Keys)
26,621 formations(36.8% of state)
Miami-Dade County led all Florida counties in March 2026 with 13,832 formations, a 22.0% month over month gain, while Management of Companies & Enterprises accounted for 5,054 filings in Southeast Florida alone, a 19.0% regional share that exceeds the sector's 17.0% statewide share, confirming the Gold Coast's outsized role as Florida's holding LLC and enterprise capital.
Southeast Florida posted 26,621 new business formations in March 2026, a 19.9% month over month gain from 22,205 in February and a 15.9% year over year gain from 22,962 in March 2025. The region's 36.8% statewide share makes it the largest formation market in Florida by a wide margin. Year over year, the region's 15.9% gain trails Tampa Bay's 29.0% and several smaller regions, so the Gold Coast is growing its absolute lead while ceding relative pace to faster moving regions elsewhere in the state.
Miami-Dade anchors the region with 13,832 filings, up 22.0% month over month. Broward followed at 6,731 filings, up 20.4%, and Palm Beach posted 4,683 filings, up 13.3%. St. Lucie, the Treasure Coast's main county in this data, added 549 filings, up 24.8%. Okeechobee came on as a small but fast moving hotspot at 76 filings, a 31.0% month over month rise. Martin County recorded 292 filings against a 25 month baseline mean of 202.0, a z-score of 2.53, running above its own norm even at modest volume. The z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran. Together these five counties account for the bulk of the region's count. The statewide unassigned row (blank or out of state main address) makes the totals reconcile but is not broken out by region.
The industry profile is the region's sharpest difference. Management of Companies & Enterprises produced 5,054 filings in Southeast Florida, a 19.0% regional share against a 17.0% statewide share. No other Florida region comes close to that cluster in this category. Professional, Scientific & Technical Services added 2,162 filings, and Health Care & Social Assistance reached 1,554. Real Estate and Rental & Leasing came in at 1,512 filings, Construction at 1,420, and Administrative & Support Services at 1,449. The region's holding company strength, visible in both the Management of Companies count and the street address named LLC pattern common in asset protection filings, reflects the Gold Coast's established role as a hub for international money structuring, family office formation, and real estate deals.
The South Florida 'Ambition Accelerated' initiative, a $10 million corporate relocation campaign seeded by related companies controlled by Stephen M. Ross and Citadel founder Ken Griffin, launched February 2, 2026 at the Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach. It targets the Gold Coast corridor from West Palm Beach to Miami. The launch came a month before this formation surge. The campaign is set up to attract corporate relocations to the region (see corroboration below). Any link to the March count cannot be proven from formation data alone, but the timing sits alongside Palm Beach's 4,683 filings and Miami-Dade's 13,832.
Tourism and seasonal demand
March is the final month of core snowbird season, and Southeast Florida's hospitality and tourism formation activity runs on that calendar. The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau reported Miami Beach hotel bookings for the mid February through mid April period up 38% year over year as of February 2026, with average daily room rates topping $640, per WLRN. FIFA World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for summer 2026 pushed June hotel reservations countywide to more than double versus the prior year. This demand backdrop sits alongside the region's Arts, Entertainment & Recreation filings of 742 and its place within the statewide 4,090 Hospitality and Tourism formations that rose 21.6% month over month in March. PortMiami closed fiscal year 2025 with 8,564,225 cruise passengers, a 4.02% rise over fiscal 2024 and the highest annual passenger count in the seaport's history, per Miami-Dade County's December 2025 release. Cruise Terminal G at PortMiami, a $345 million facility designed to handle up to 7,000 passengers and Icon class vessels, broke ground January 8, 2026 and targets completion in late 2027. The port's cargo volume reached 1,115,058 TEUs, the 11th straight year above one million TEUs. In Broward, Port Everglades began Phase 1 of a $152 million bulkhead replacement project covering about 2,840 linear feet of 1950s era seawalls, scheduled for completion by December 2026, per SmoothX reporting. Both port building programs draw new vendor, logistics, and subcontractor LLCs that register in Florida before breaking ground.
Property holding and short term rentals
Businesses set up to hold property and protect assets are the most distinctive formation category in Southeast Florida. The region's 5,054 Management of Companies filings, 19.0% of its total, cluster heavily in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, where international buyers and family offices commonly form multi layer holding structures. Statewide, property holding businesses totaled 8,170 in March 2026, up 13.2% from February, with 614 set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays (7.5% of the property holding total, up 11.8% month over month). These statewide figures are the only property holding counts available; the Southeast region's share is not separately broken out. The property count is complete this month, so the property holding and short term rental figures are solid reads, not partial estimates. Florida's average annual homeowners insurance cost reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% rise over 2024, per Insurify, a steady overhead cost for any LLC formed to hold Florida property.
Emerging counties: Okeechobee (+31%), Martin (n/a).
Government & policy
- South Florida's 'Ambition Accelerated' initiative launched February 2, 2026 at the Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach, a $10 million corporate-relocation campaign seeded by related companies controlled by Stephen M. Ross and Citadel founder Ken Griffin, targeting the Gold Coast corridor from West Palm Beach to Miami. The campaign sits alongside Southeast Florida recording 26,621 new business formations in March 2026, the highest regional count in the state. Mondaq / Lewis Brisbois, 2026-03-25
- Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) was approved by the Legislature on March 13, 2026, with a House vote of 98-4 and a unanimous Senate vote of 35-0, to become law July 1, 2026. The bill expands zoning preemptions to allow workforce and affordable housing on government-owned and religious-institution lands, bars local governments from using setbacks or stepbacks to restrict building height on qualifying projects, and extends tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage. This policy environment coincides with Real Estate formations at 4,878 statewide (+12.9% month-over-month) and 1,512 in Southeast Florida specifically. Bilzin Sumberg, 2026-03-13
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction (with a minimum $400 deduction for any owner with at least $1,000 in QBI), restored 100% bonus depreciation permanently, and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. These federal tax changes, which took full effect for 2026 tax-year planning, coincide with Florida recording 72,446 new business formations in March 2026, its highest single-month total in the 25-month trailing window. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
Corroboration
- PortMiami closed fiscal year 2025 with 8,564,225 cruise passengers, up from 8,233,056 the prior year, a 4.02% increase and the highest annual passenger count in the seaport's history, per a Miami-Dade County press release dated December 2, 2025. Cargo volume reached 1,115,058 TEUs, the 11th consecutive year above one million TEUs. The continued cruise and cargo strength at PortMiami aligns with Miami-Dade and Broward combining for 20,563 new business formations in March 2026. Miami-Dade County, 2025-12-02
- On January 8, 2026, Miami-Dade County and Royal Caribbean Group broke ground on Cruise Terminal G at PortMiami, a $345 million facility designed to accommodate up to 7,000 passengers and Icon-class vessels, with completion targeted for late 2027. PortMiami contributes $61 billion annually to the local economy and supports more than 340,000 jobs. This investment coincides with Miami-Dade County leading all Florida counties in March 2026 new business formations at 13,832 filings, a 22.0% month-over-month increase. PR Newswire, 2026-01-08
- Port Everglades began Phase 1 of a $152 million bulkhead replacement project, replacing approximately 2,840 linear feet of 1950s-era seawalls at Berths 1, 2, and 3 with steel-reinforced concrete, scheduled for completion by December 2026. Port Everglades supports more than 200,000 Florida jobs and drives over $30 billion in annual economic value. This active port construction coincides with Broward County recording 6,731 new business formations in March 2026 (+20.4% month-over-month), the second-highest county total in the state. SmoothX, 2025-01-01
- South Florida's 'Ambition Accelerated' initiative launched February 2, 2026 at the Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach, a $10 million corporate-relocation campaign seeded by related companies controlled by Stephen M. Ross and Ken Griffin, targeting the Gold Coast corridor from West Palm Beach to Miami. The campaign coincides with Southeast Florida recording 26,621 new business formations in March 2026, the highest regional count in the state. Mondaq / Lewis Brisbois, 2026-03-25
- The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau reported Miami Beach hotel bookings for mid-February through mid-April up 38% year-over-year as of February 2026, with average daily room rates topping $640. FIFA World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens drove June hotel reservations countywide to more than double versus the prior year. This demand backdrop aligns with Miami-Dade recording 13,832 new business formations in March 2026. WLRN, 2026-02-23
Section 3
Industry spotlights
Property holding and asset protection: the second largest named category, formed against rising insurance overhead
Businesses set up to hold property and protect assets were the second largest named category in March at 8,170 formations, 11.3% of counted formations. They grew 13.2% month over month, adding 954 businesses. That pace ran below the 19.5% headline, so this kind of structuring expanded more slowly than the market overall this month. The count is complete for March 2026, so this is a solid number, not an estimate.
Inside that group, 614 businesses were set up to run short term rentals, homes rented out for short stays, 7.5% of the property holding total, up 11.8% from 549. Short term rental structuring grew almost in step with the broader property group, which reads as a stable, lasting habit rather than a spike.
The names people chose point at the same activity. Property appeared in 876 new names (up 2.29 per 1,000), capital in 787 (up 1.99 per 1,000), and 1,754 businesses (2.4% of named formations) began with a street number, the clearest sign of an LLC set up just to hold a property. Most holding businesses use other kinds of names, so the address named count is the floor of this segment, not the ceiling.
The cost backdrop matters for these businesses. Florida's average homeowners insurance reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% jump and the highest of any state, with a projected further 2% rise to $8,458 in 2026. Citizens Property Insurance recommended a 2.6% average personal lines rate cut effective June 1, 2026, and its policy count fell from roughly 1.42 million at its October 2023 peak to about 385,000 by the end of 2025 as more than 546,000 policies moved to private insurers in 2025. On the federal side, the OBBBA permanently restored 100% bonus depreciation and a $2.5 million Section 179 limit, both relevant to property and equipment holding structures. We count business formation, not insurance spend or investment returns, so treat these as the setting around the formations, not a cause we can prove.
Region concentration: Management and holding structures skew to Southeast (5,054 Management formations) and Tampa Bay (2,306).
A meaningful slice of Florida formation is asset structuring, not the launch of an operating business. For lead generation that difference is the product: address named and property holding LLCs behave differently from consumer service startups.
- Florida's average annual homeowners insurance reached $8,292 in 2025, an 18% increase and the most expensive in the nation, with a projected further 2% rise to $8,458 by year-end 2026. Insurify, 2026
- Citizens Property Insurance fell from roughly 1.42 million policies at its October 2023 peak to about 385,000 by end of 2025, after depopulation moved more than 546,000 policies to private insurers in 2025, and recommended a 2.6% average personal-lines rate decrease effective June 1, 2026. Citizens Property Insurance, 2025-12-10
- The OBBBA permanently restored 100% bonus depreciation and raised the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million, effective for 2026 tax planning. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, 2026-01-01
The property service ecosystem: cleaning, logistics, and admin support track the holding boom
The words and the industry counts move together. Cleaning was the single fastest rising name word at 1,139 appearances, 15.75 per 1,000, up 3.16 from its usual level. Cleaning sits at the meeting point of low startup cost and steady property service demand. Home (1,047 names, up 1.86 per 1,000) and care (903 names, up 2.30) were the next two highest volume risers, in line with a home based services cluster forming around residential property.
On the operating side, Administrative and Support Services grew 27.1% month over month to 4,318 formations and Transportation and Logistics grew 27.5% to 3,383, both well above the 19.5% headline. Logistics as a name word rose to 9.63 per 1,000 (up 2.64), and the Transportation industry count moved the same way, which strengthens the read that this is real demand rather than a labeling shift. Founders choosing logistics over trucking are positioning for multi client, light asset freight coordination.
There is no direct correlation computed between these service categories and property holding or short term rentals by region. That cross-tab is not available. What we can say: the service categories closest to property (cleaning heavy admin support, home and care services) grew faster than the market, in the same month property holding and short term rental structuring stayed elevated. The regions carrying the most property and management structures, Southeast and Tampa Bay, are also the largest admin support and transportation markets in the industry by region table (Southeast admin support 1,449, transportation 1,267; Tampa Bay 759 and 539).
Region concentration: Southeast and Tampa Bay anchor both the holding structures and the largest admin support and transportation counts in the table.
The service businesses that orbit property (cleaning, home services, last mile logistics, admin support) grew faster than the overall market, the same month property structuring stayed strong. The link is directional, not a computed correlation.
- Jacksonville-based logistics firm Axionlog had site-clearing and foundation permits issued and sought a construction permit for an almost $7.59 million expansion of its North Jacksonville cold-storage warehouse to roughly 97,711 square feet near Blount Island Marine Terminal, reported March 10, 2026. Duval County posted 2,293 March formations, up 28.0% month-over-month. Jax Daily Record, 2026-03-10
- The City of Sarasota's vacation-rental ordinance (25-5560) requires short-term rentals on residentially zoned lots (owner not on premises) to obtain a Vacation Rental Certificate through a five-step process with annual renewal. Sarasota County climbed two ranks to 10th statewide at 1,152 March formations, up 26.0% month-over-month, alongside 614 statewide short-term-rental-flagged property-holding entities. Choose Gulf Coast, 2026
Hospitality and tourism: 4,090 formations close out the snowbird quarter
Hospitality and Tourism formations reached 4,090 in March, up 21.6% month over month from 3,364. March closes Florida's core snowbird season, when short stay lodging, tour operators, and food service businesses register ahead of the summer change.
The visitor backdrop was mixed but durable. Visit Florida's first quarter 2026 data put statewide visitation near 39.88 million, down about 1.0% from the first quarter of 2025, with hotel rooms sold up 0.6% year over year and overseas arrivals up 8.5% to 2.3 million, offsetting a 12.1% drop in Canadian visitors to 1.05 million. Florida's 19 commercial airports handled 29.9 million boardings, up 1.8%. Baseline demand held even as headline visitor volume softened.
The two big cruise gateways were busy. Port Tampa Bay set a March record with a projected 51 cruise calls, and projects 1.8 million cruise passengers for 2026 versus 1.66 million in 2025. That ran alongside Tampa Bay's 29.0% year over year formation gain, the steepest of any region. In Southeast, PortMiami closed fiscal 2025 with 8,564,225 cruise passengers, the highest annual count in its history, and broke ground in January 2026 on the $345 million Cruise Terminal G. Miami-Dade led all counties at 13,832 March formations.
Region concentration: Southeast and Tampa Bay, the two largest cruise gateways, carried the hospitality formation load.
Tourism adjacent formation closed the snowbird quarter strong, concentrated in the cruise gateway metros of Miami-Dade and Tampa Bay.
- Port Tampa Bay set a March record with a projected 51 cruise ship calls, and projects 1.8 million cruise passengers for 2026 versus 1.66 million in 2025. Tampa Bay posted a 29.0% year-over-year rise in March formations. Bay News 9, 2026-03-13
- Visit Florida's Q1 2026 release shows roughly 39.88 million visitors January through March 2026, down 1.0% from Q1 2025, with hotel rooms sold up 0.6% and overseas arrivals up 8.5% to 2.3 million; the state's 19 commercial airports handled 29.9 million enplanements, up 1.8%. Visit Florida, Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates, 2026-05-22
- PortMiami closed fiscal year 2025 with 8,564,225 cruise passengers, a 4.02% increase and the highest annual passenger count in its history, and broke ground in January 2026 on the $345 million Cruise Terminal G. Miami-Dade and Broward combined for 20,563 March formations. Miami-Dade County, 2025-12-02
Healthcare: 3,587 formations, climbing one rank as home based care formalizes
Healthcare formations reached 3,587 in the plain category view (3,590 in the standard sector view), up 21.1% month over month, and the sector climbed from eighth to seventh in the year over year industry rank. The names point at where the growth sits: care appeared in 903 new names (up 2.30 per 1,000) and home in 1,047 (up 1.86), a mix in line with home health aides, personal care, and similar owner operator services turning into LLCs rather than big clinics forming.
Florida's demographics frame the demand. The state has over 4.2 million residents aged 65 and older, the highest senior population share in the country, and a home health agency typically registers as an LLC with Sunbiz before applying for its state license. Two 2026 laws expanded licensed care categories: SB 1404 requires assisted living facilities serving memory care residents to hold a memory care specialty license, and SB 688 reestablished naturopathic doctor licensure under a new Board of Naturopathic Medicine.
Healthcare formation skews to the big metros. The industry by region table puts Southeast at 1,554 health care filings and Tampa Bay at 626, the two largest, with Central at 464.
Region concentration: Southeast (1,554) and Tampa Bay (626) carry most health care formation in the table.
Healthcare formation reads as small home based and personal care operators registering before licensing, not a wave of big clinics.
- Florida SB 1404 (2026) requires assisted-living facilities serving memory-care residents to obtain a memory-care services specialty license, and SB 688 reestablished naturopathic-doctor licensure under a new Board of Naturopathic Medicine. Health Care and Social Assistance ranked seventh in March 2026 at 3,590 filings, up 21.0% month-over-month and up one rank year-over-year. Akerman LLP, 2026-03-24
- Florida has over 4.2 million residents aged 65 and older, the highest senior-population share of any state; home health agencies typically register as an LLC with Sunbiz before applying for an AHCA license. Credentialing.org, 2026
Top movers: every named category grew, led by Accommodation and Food and Transportation
With formations up 16.5% year over year, no named industry category posted a count decline. The fastest growth by month over month ran in Accommodation and Food Services at +28.0% (2,052 in the standard sector view), Transportation and Warehousing at +27.5% (3,386), Administrative and Support at +26.8% (4,330), and Retail Trade at +25.6% (2,342). These are seasonal sensitive, service heavy categories, so March's start of year surge lifts them automatically alongside any real demand.
The slowest movers were Wholesale Trade at +5.4% (800) and Agriculture at +1.2% in the standard sector view (678). Both grew, just well off the headline pace.
On the rank table, the cleaner year over year signal shows Real Estate climbing from fifth to fourth and displacing Construction (fourth to fifth), Health Care moving eighth to seventh, and Transportation and Warehousing sliding the most, from seventh to ninth. Month over month, the top 10 industry order was identical, so the year over year read is the only rank signal worth reporting. The by industry change figures are month over month only; no by industry year over year change is available.
Region concentration: Statewide; the spotlight is the breadth of positive movement across all named categories.
Growth was broad. The spread between the fastest and slowest categories reflects which sectors carry Florida's start of year surge, not a sector rotating out.
- Florida issued 100,945 new residential construction permits in 2025, down 4% from 2024, with West Florida leading at 26,427 permits and a 20% year-over-year gain. The West Florida rebound aligns with Tampa Bay's 29.0% year-over-year March formation gain, the steepest regional gain in the state. HBWeekly, 2026
- South Florida's 'Ambition Accelerated' initiative launched February 2, 2026 in West Palm Beach, a $10 million corporate-relocation campaign targeting the West Palm Beach to Miami corridor. Southeast Florida recorded 26,621 March formations, the highest regional count in the state. Mondaq / Lewis Brisbois, 2026-03-25
Section 4
Anomalies & notables
Eight counties ran far above their own 25 month normal levels this month. Columbia County (Lake City area) topped the list at a z-score of 2.79, with 124 formations against a baseline mean of 66.8, 85.6% above its own norm. The z-score shows how far above its normal level a county ran. Lake County followed at 2.75 (842 formations vs 495.0 mean), and Leon at 2.63 (528 vs 317.5). The county level signals are reliable.
The standout pattern is clustering. Two separate areas ran high together. In the Panhandle and capital, Leon (2.63) and Escambia (2.54, 499 vs 293.5) both broke their normal levels in the same month, with the Northwest region up 24.9% year over year. In the First Coast orbit, Flagler (2.60, 307 vs 173.3), Clay (2.53, 341 vs 203.0), and Martin (2.53, 292 vs 202.0) all ran high while Duval led the top 10 counties at +28.0% month over month. Several neighboring counties moving together is not what a flat statewide seasonal lift alone produces.
Treat the industry outliers as directional only. Three industries ran high against their normal levels: Mining and Oil and Gas at 4.31 (36 vs 15.8), Utilities at 3.32 (131 vs 70.9), and Manufacturing at 2.63 (576 vs 346.1). The reason these look dramatic but are not confirmed real spikes: over the past two years more filings have moved out of the catch all Other group into named industries, which lowers older per industry normal levels and makes current readings look higher. A large share of filings are still hard to sort into a named industry, so there is real room for this effect. Do not write any of these as a real industry surge.
No new entrants this month. Both the industry and county new entrant lists are empty, so no category or geography showed up without prior presence in the 25 month baseline. The record total is a broad surge across established markets, not the rise of brand new formation types.
| Series | This month | Baseline | z | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 124 | 66.8 | 2.79 | |
| Lake | 842 | 495 | 2.75 | |
| Leon | 528 | 317.5 | 2.63 | |
| Flagler | 307 | 173.3 | 2.6 | |
| Hamilton | 25 | 11.4 | 2.57 | |
| Escambia | 499 | 293.5 | 2.54 | |
| Clay | 341 | 203 | 2.53 | |
| Martin | 292 | 202 | 2.53 |
Artifact check: Clean at the statewide level. The top registered agent, Northwest Registered Agent LLC, handled 3,228 formations at 4.46% share, well below the 10% mark that would flag one filer dominating the month. The top 10 agents combined for 14.4% of counted formations. That supports treating the county standouts (Columbia, Lake, Leon, Escambia, Flagler, Clay, Martin) as real local signals rather than batch effects. One caution: this check is statewide, so heavy local agent activity inside a tiny county like Hamilton (25 formations) is not visible at this level and would warrant a county level check before calling it organic.
Naming color: The names carry the month's character. Cleaning led all word trends at +3.16 per 1,000 (1,139 names), the clearest sign of low cost property service entry. Legacy posted the second steepest rise (+2.89 per 1,000) on just 515 names, a brand permanence signal whose sharp jump on a low base often comes before wider adoption. Logistics (+2.64), studio (+2.52), and elite (+2.31) round out the risers. The asset management cluster shows up clearly: property (+2.29), capital (+1.99), and 1,754 address named LLCs (2.4% of named formations) point at the same holding activity the property holding category measures directly. Word by industry cross-tabs are not available, so the clustering reads are interpretation, not computed correlation.
Section 5
What it means
Read this as an early signal. A business registers with Sunbiz before it hires, leases, buys equipment, or takes a customer, so March's 72,446 formations are a forward signal of intended activity, not a record of activity already happening. The year over year gain of 16.5% and the rising trailing 12 month base (702,151) say Florida's flow of new businesses is genuinely wider than a year ago, beyond the start of year calendar effect.
The shape of the surge matters as much as the size. It is broad based: low industry and county spread scores, no dominant registered agent, every named category growing. That points to general business confidence rather than a single sector or metro running hot. At the same time, the makeup leans toward holding and asset structures (property holding at 11.3%, address named LLCs at 2.4%, the holding pattern, and the property and capital name trends), so a large share of these filings are vehicles to title and protect assets, not operating businesses about to staff up.
By geography, the story is spread. Tampa Bay grew fastest year over year at 29.0%, the First Coast and Central Florida outpaced the state, and the unassigned group (no Florida county) grew 30.0% year over year to 13.0% of the month. Formation is spreading beyond the Gold Coast, and a growing share carries an out of state or blank main address.
Honest limits
- This data is business identity and address only. There is no revenue, employment, payroll, or survival data. We cannot say how many of these businesses will hire, transact, or still exist in a year.
- Month over month figures carry Florida's strong start of year filing season. The +19.5% month over month gain overstates underlying momentum; the +16.5% year over year is the cleaner read.
- Record high means highest within our 25 month records (March 2024 to March 2026), not an all time record.
- Industry level outlier readings are confounded by sorting more filings into named industries over time and are directional only. County level standouts are reliable.
- The named category total (72,308 counted formations) is slightly below the 72,446 headline total of all formations; the category percentages are over counted formations. The Other group (25.0%) is a catch all label for industry codes that do not map to a named category, not missing data: industry coverage is complete with zero filings of unknown industry.
- Per resident rates are unavailable (no county population figure in the source), so all growth and share comparisons are on raw counts. A large county leads by volume regardless of its rate against its resident base.
- Out of state share (4.3%) is computed only over the 71,052 formations with a known home state; 1,394 with no home state are left out.
Section 6
Methodology & sources
Florida new business formations filed with the state during March 2026 (March 1 to March 31, 2026), drawn from the official Florida Division of Corporations records, also known as Sunbiz. Counts and shares are at the business level. Comparisons use February 2026 for month over month and March 2025 for year over year. Normal levels for the standout checks use the 25 month window, March 2024 through March 2026.
Two industry views run side by side. The standard view maps to broad sectors. The plain view sorts businesses set up to hold property and protect assets into their own category, the only path to that category and its short term rental slice. Businesses that do not fit fall back to the standard sector (real estate maps to Real Estate, management of companies maps to Management of Companies). The Other group in the plain view is industry codes that do not map to a named category, not missing data; industry coverage is complete with zero filings of unknown industry.
- Identity and address data only. No revenue, employment, payroll, or survival information.
- Month over month figures carry Florida's strong start of year filing season; year over year is the cleaner trend signal.
- Record high is within the 25 month window only, not all time.
- Industry level outlier readings are confounded by more filings being sorted into named industries over the window and are directional only; county standouts are reliable.
- Per resident formation rates are unavailable; no county population figure exists in the source. All comparisons are on raw counts.
- The named category mix is over 72,308 counted formations, slightly below the 72,446 headline total; the property segment reflects the roughly one quarter of counted formations that are property type filings (those are complete for March 2026).
- Out of state share is over the 71,052 formations with a known home state; 1,394 with no home state are left out.
- The county spread score leaves out the 9,418 unassigned (no Florida county) formations, which slightly understates how clustered the geography is.
External sources
- Bilzin Sumberg (2026-03-13) Florida HB 1389 (Live Local Act 4.0) approved March 13, 2026 (House 98-4, Senate 35-0), to become law July 1, 2026, expanding zoning preemptions for workforce and affordable housing and extending tax-exemption vesting to the building-permit stage.
- GovWell (2026-05-07) Florida HB 803, signed May 2026 with most provisions effective July 1, 2026, exempts residential construction under $7,500 on single-family dwellings from permit requirements and mandates 5-business-day permit review for single-family projects under $15,000.
- Carr, Riggs & Ingram (2026-01-01) The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently extended the 20% QBI deduction effective for 2026, restored 100% bonus depreciation, and raised the Section 179 limit to $2.5 million.
- Florida Association of Counties, 2026 Sine Die Report (2026-03-13) The 2026 Florida Sine Die Report lists SB 122 / HB 103 (ending county local business taxes) and the Starter Homes Act (SB 948 / HB 1143) among failed bills, leaving local business-tax structures in place.
- PR Newswire (2026-01-08) PortMiami broke ground January 8, 2026 on the $345 million Cruise Terminal G, designed for up to 7,000 passengers, with completion targeted late 2027.
- Miami-Dade County (2025-12-02) PortMiami closed fiscal 2025 with 8,564,225 cruise passengers, a 4.02% increase and the highest annual passenger count in its history; Miami-Dade and Broward combined for 20,563 March 2026 formations.
- Bay News 9 (2026-03-13) Port Tampa Bay set a March record with a projected 51 cruise ship calls, and projects 1.8 million cruise passengers for 2026 versus 1.66 million in 2025.
- Port Tampa Bay (2026-04-10) Port Tampa Bay received the ZIM Canada (11,900 TEUs) in April 2026, its largest containership by gross tonnage, and advanced a $1.3 billion channel deepening from 43 to 47 feet. Pinellas posted 5,712 March formations; Tampa Bay's regional total was 13,342.
- Business Observer FL (2026-03-02) A Water Street Tampa office tower (Thousand & One) reached 95% occupancy by early March 2026, with RSM expanding to nearly 20,000 sq ft and Berkadia relocating its Tampa headquarters. Hillsborough recorded 3,995 March formations.
- Visit Florida, Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates (2026-05-22) Visit Florida's Q1 2026 release shows roughly 39.88 million visitors, down 1.0% from Q1 2025, hotel rooms sold up 0.6%, overseas arrivals up 8.5% to 2.3 million, and 29.9 million airport enplanements across 19 commercial airports, up 1.8%. Canadian visitation was an estimated 1.05 million, down 12.1%.
- WLRN (2026-02-23) The Greater Miami CVB reported Miami Beach hotel bookings for mid-February through mid-April up 38% year-over-year as of February 2026, with average daily room rates topping $640, and FIFA World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium driving June reservations countywide to more than double. Miami-Dade recorded 13,832 March formations.
- Inside the Magic (2026-01) Orlando International Airport started a $253 million Gate Link people-mover replacement project on December 3, 2025; it recorded 7.6 million Q1 2026 enplanements, the highest of any Florida airport. Orange County posted 4,755 March formations, its highest rank (4th) in over a year.
- Visit Florida, Q1 2026 Visitor Estimates (2026-05-22) Daytona Beach International Airport recorded a 21.2% year-over-year enplanement increase in Q1 2026, the fastest of any Florida commercial airport. Volusia recorded 981 March formations, up 12.0% month-over-month.
- Jax Daily Record (2026-03-10) Jacksonville-based Axionlog sought permits for an almost $7.59 million cold-storage expansion to roughly 97,711 square feet near Blount Island, reported March 10, 2026. Duval County posted 2,293 March formations, up 28.0% month-over-month.
- Florida's Great Northwest (2026-01-08) Field International Group selected Escambia County for its first U.S. headquarters, committing $8 million and 50 jobs averaging $80,000, announced January 2026. Escambia recorded 499 March formations, a z-score of 2.54 above its baseline.
- Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality (2026-04-09) The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality and FloridaCommerce scheduled an Opportunity Zone 2.0 Workshop for April 9, 2026 at Lively Technical College, part of FloridaCommerce's statewide Opportunity Zone 2.0 Tour. Leon County posted 528 March formations, a z-score of 2.63, far above its normal level.
- Mondaq / Lewis Brisbois (2026-03-25) South Florida's 'Ambition Accelerated' initiative launched February 2, 2026 at the Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach, a $10 million corporate-relocation campaign seeded by related companies controlled by Stephen M. Ross and Ken Griffin. Southeast Florida recorded 26,621 March formations.
- Akerman LLP (2026-03-24) Florida SB 1404 (2026) requires memory-care assisted-living facilities to hold a specialty license and SB 688 reestablished naturopathic-doctor licensure. Health Care ranked 7th in March 2026 at 3,590 filings, up 21.0% month-over-month.
- Credentialing.org (2026) Florida has over 4.2 million residents aged 65-plus, the highest senior share nationally; home health agencies register as an LLC with Sunbiz before AHCA licensure.
- Choose Gulf Coast (2026) The City of Sarasota's vacation-rental ordinance (25-5560) created a mandatory Vacation Rental Certificate program for short-term rentals via a five-step process with annual renewal. Sarasota County climbed to 10th statewide at 1,152 March formations, up 26.0% month-over-month, alongside 614 statewide STR-flagged property-holding entities.
- Insurify (2026) Florida's average homeowners insurance reached $8,292 in 2025, up 18% and the highest nationally, projected to rise a further 2% to $8,458 in 2026.
- Citizens Property Insurance (2025-12-10) Citizens Property Insurance fell from roughly 1.42 million policies at its October 2023 peak to about 385,000 by end of 2025, transferred more than 546,000 policies to private insurers in 2025, and recommended a 2.6% average personal-lines rate decrease effective June 1, 2026 (three in five policyholders averaging an 11.5% reduction).
- HBWeekly (2026) Florida issued 100,945 new residential construction permits in 2025, down 4%, with West Florida leading at 26,427 permits (up 20%) and Pasco County at 6,938 (up 105%); the rebound aligns with Tampa Bay's 29.0% year-over-year March formation gain.
- SmoothX (2025-01-01) Port Everglades began Phase 1 of a $152 million bulkhead replacement covering approximately 2,840 linear feet of 1950s-era seawalls, completion by December 2026; the port supports more than 200,000 Florida jobs and over $30 billion in annual economic value. Broward recorded 6,731 March formations.
Frequently asked questions
- How many new businesses formed in Florida in March 2026, and is that a record?
- 72,446 new businesses formed in March 2026. That is the highest single month total in our 25 month records (March 2024 through March 2026), so it is a record for our records, not an all time record. Formations rose 16.5% over March 2025 and 19.5% over February 2026.
- Why is the year over year figure more meaningful than the month over month figure?
- Florida's filing calendar swings hard every start of year. Late year months routinely land at 42,000 to 50,000 formations, then the start of year jumps past 60,000. The 19.5% month over month jump is lifted by that timing. The 16.5% year over year gain compares March to March, which strips out the calendar effect, so it is the cleaner read on real demand. The trailing 12 month total also rose, to 702,151 from 691,908.
- What kinds of businesses are forming?
- Florida LLCs were 85.7% of all formations (61,952). The largest named category after the catch all Other group was businesses set up to hold property and protect assets at 8,170 (11.3%), which includes 614 short term rental holdings (homes rented out for short stays). Operating service categories grew fastest month over month: Administrative and Support (+27.1%) and Transportation and Logistics (+27.5%). Every named industry category grew; none declined.
- Is one region or industry driving the surge?
- No. The industry spread score of 1,037 and the county spread score of 896 both sit in the broad based range (these scores show how clustered or spread out the activity is, where lower means more spread out), and no single registered agent (the person or company a business names to receive legal mail) handled even 5% of filings. Southeast Florida is still the largest market at 36.8% share, but Tampa Bay grew fastest year over year at 29.0%. The growth is spread across sectors and counties.
- What does this data not tell me?
- It is business identity and address only. There is no revenue, employment, payroll, or survival data, so we cannot say how many of these businesses will hire, transact, or still exist in a year. Per resident rates are also unavailable because the source has no county population figure, so all comparisons are on raw counts.
- What is the unassigned group, and why disclose it?
- 9,418 formations (13.0% of the month) carry a blank or out of state main address and cannot be tied to a Florida county. It is the fastest growing group at 30.0% year over year and outweighs four named regions combined. We show it so the seven named regions plus unassigned add up to the 72,446 total. It includes out of state filers using Florida as a home base for forming the business.
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