June 4, 2026 — Northeast Florida (First Coast) new business activity

Northeast Florida logged 738 new business formations the week of May 14-20, up about 7% from the same week a year ago and up modestly from the week before.

The First Coast had a busy week. Most of the new businesses came from Duval County, with 466 filings. Clay and Flagler counties grew the fastest. Each rose about 25% from the week before. The kinds of business forming were spread out. Professional services led with 74. Property holding companies were close behind at 73.

The bold average line shows steady growth over the past quarter.

The bold line is the 13-week average. Read it for the longer trend. The thin line is each week's count, which swings week to week.

Professional Services grew the most this week, 22 more (up 42.3%). Management of Companies dropped the most, 8 fewer (down 20.0%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Duval led the region this week with 466 new filings. Gains were broad, with 4 other counties also up from the week before.

• A new 38,432 square foot grocery store was scheduled to open May 21, 2026 at 1 Riverside Ave. in downtown Jacksonville. It was built into a mixed-use project on the old Florida Times-Union site with apartments and retail. It stocks more than 800 locally sourced Florida products. A new anchor store downtown can draw foot traffic that helps nearby small retailers and food businesses. Whole Foods Market Newsroom, 2026-04-23
• On May 14, 2026 a commercial real estate firm released a midyear Jacksonville industrial outlook. It said new industrial construction finishing in 2026 is expected to hit its lowest level since 2018. The North Jacksonville port area is set to draw more investor interest thanks to low vacancy and strong trade-driven leasing. Tight warehouse space near the port can push new transportation and logistics startups to compete harder for sites. That sector added 7 filings this week. Jacksonville Daily Record, 2026-05-21
• Ocean Alliance is a shipping consortium that includes CMA CGM, COSCO, and Evergreen. It announced weekly direct container sailings from JAXPORT's Blount Island terminal to ports in Vietnam, China, South Korea, and Japan. The move is part of a 2026 network change that adds more Southeast Asia stops and brings Jacksonville back into an East Coast route. More direct Asia shipping routes give local importers, truckers, and warehouse firms steadier cargo to build a business around. Hoodline, 2026-04-12
• The Jacksonville Port Authority hired an engineering firm to plan and carry out a port expansion. It is meant to improve ship-to-rail connections at two of its marine terminals. The work responds to rising demand for aggregate imports in Florida. Better rail links at the port can mean more steady contract work for local trucking, construction, and support service firms over the next few years. International Transport Journal, 2026-03-04
• St. Johns County put out a request for proposals to hire a marketing agency. The agency would promote the St. Augustine area as a destination for live music, arts, and culture. It is part of wider tourism marketing along Florida's Historic Coast. More tourism promotion around St. Augustine can lift hospitality and arts businesses in St. Johns County. That county added 6 filings this week. O'Dwyer's PR News, 2026-03-16

If you sell to new businesses on the First Coast, this was a solid week. Filings ran a bit ahead of last week and last year. The growth is spread across professional services, retail, personal services, logistics, and the trades. Demand is not riding on one sector. Duval is still where most of the action is. But Clay and Flagler are growing fast in percentage terms. It is worth watching those markets. Nearly all of these are LLCs. No single filing service is behind the volume. You are looking at a lot of small, independent owners just getting started.

We count new business formations recorded with the State of Florida for the seven counties in Northeast Florida (First Coast): Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns. We wait about two weeks after a week ends for the state to finish recording all of its filings, so the counts here are complete and accurate. Week over week and year over year comparisons use the same county set. Industry groups use a friendly category map. About 21% of this week's filings carry the added property-type detail. So the property and short term rental figures are directional.

Frequently asked questions

How many new businesses started in Northeast Florida this week?

738 new businesses filed in the seven First Coast counties for the week of May 14-20, 2026. That is up 37 from 701 the week before. It is up 51 from 687 the same week last year.

Which county had the most new businesses?

Duval, by a wide margin, with 466 of the 738 filings. Clay (75) and Flagler (54) grew the fastest, each up about 25% from the prior week.

What kinds of businesses are forming?

The mix is broad. Professional services led with 74. Property holding companies had 73. Construction and trades had 57. Retail and personal services also had strong weeks. Finance and manufacturing slipped.

Are these final numbers?

Yes. We wait about two weeks after the week ends for the state to finish recording all filings, so these counts are complete.