June 14, 2026 — Northwest Florida (Panhandle & Capital) new business activity

New business filings across Northwest Florida fell to 403 the week of May 24 to 30, the lowest weekly total in the past 13 weeks.

Most of this week's drop came from Leon County. Filings in Tallahassee fell to 61 from 95, a loss of 34. That one county is nearly half of the region's total decline of 74. Bay, Escambia, and Okaloosa each slipped as well.

The coast went the other way. Walton County rose to 42 from 28, a 50% gain, the biggest county gain in the region. Santa Rosa Beach climbed to 22 from 13. Panama City Beach rose to 23 from 16. Lynn Haven added 5 to reach 16. The word coast showed up 13 times in new business names this week, more than its usual rate. Short term rental holdings rose to 9 from 5. These point to summer season activity along the Gulf. Inland Okaloosa moved too. Crestview, the county seat and not a coastal town, nearly doubled its count to 25 from 13.

The sector mix shifted hard. Administrative and support services rose to 47 filings, up 11 from 36. Retail nearly doubled, rising to 27 from 14. Transportation and logistics rose to 21 from 14. Construction and trades fell to 27 from 48. Health care dropped to 15 from 33. Professional services slid to 38 from 55.

Even with the weak week, the region is running a little ahead of last year. The same week in 2025 saw 388 filings, so this year is up 3.9%. The longer trend points down. The 13 week average sits at 536.5, and this week ran well below it. This was the second week in a row of decline.

Very little growth over the past 13 weeks with a dip this past week pulling the average down.

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.

Retail grew the most this week, 13 more (up 92.9%). Construction & Trades dropped the most, 21 fewer (down 43.8%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Bay led the region this week with 75 new filings. 2 other counties also grew from the week before.

• On April 29, 2026, Florida State University and ReliaQuest announced a cybersecurity partnership. A $1.5 million gift backs it. The university calls it its largest gift to date for cybersecurity. The plan funds research and a yearly innovation challenge. It also brings faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in for hands on work. A research push like this draws work for technology and technical service firms, IT and security consultants, and the legal and accounting providers that support new ventures coming out of campus research. Professional services filings in the region ran at 38 this week. New technical firms tend to cluster around the university in Tallahassee. Florida State University News, 2026-04-29
• A Bay County mitigation working group confirmed on May 13, 2026 that a countywide full scale emergency preparedness drill is set for May 27 to 29, inside this week. Tyndall Air Force Base, Naval Support Activity, Port Panama City, Gulf Coast State College, Florida State University, and state agencies are taking part. The same agenda noted FEMA opened a combined 2024 and 2025 funding notice in late March 2026. That notice makes $1 billion available for mitigation infrastructure projects. Priority goes to projects ready to start and to lower income communities. The $1 billion in mitigation money opens future work for construction and site work crews, engineering and surveying firms, environmental and drainage contractors, and the security, freight, and supply businesses that serve large public projects. Bay County led the region with 75 filings this week. That gives a local base of firms positioned to chase the funding. Bay County Board of County Commissioners, Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group Meeting Agenda, May 13, 2026, 2026-05-13

Selling to brand new businesses here this week means following the coast and the everyday service trades. The fastest growth is in administrative and support services, retail, and transportation, plus a clear summer bump in Walton County and the beach towns. Construction and health care formed far fewer new companies, so prospects in those areas are thinner right now. Looking ahead, the $1 billion in federal mitigation money tied to Bay County and the cybersecurity work at the Tallahassee campus point to demand for construction, engineering, IT, and the professional services that back them up.

These counts come from new business formation records filed with the state for the 16 counties in Northwest Florida, for the week of May 24 to 30, 2026. We compare the week to the week before and to the same week last year, and we group filings into plain industry and place categories. 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, not a partial early read.

Frequently asked questions

Why did filings fall this week?

Most of the drop came from one place. Leon County fell 34 filings, from 95 to 61, which is nearly half of the region's total loss of 74. Construction also formed far fewer new companies than usual, and health care dropped from 33 to 15.

Is the region doing worse than last year?

No. The same week in 2025 had 388 filings, and this week had 403, so the region is up 3.9% from a year ago. The weak point is the recent trend, not the year over year picture. This was the second week in a row of decline, and the week ran below the 13 week average of 536.5.

What is growing right now?

Administrative and support services rose to 47 filings, up from 36. Retail nearly doubled to 27, and transportation and logistics rose to 21 from 14. Walton County and the beach towns also gained, a summer season lift.