NewBiz Alert Southwest Florida weekly brief
June 12, 2026 — Southwest Florida new business activity
By NewBiz Alert, for the week of May 22 to May 28, 2026, from Florida Division of Corporations filings. How we built this.
New businesses filed
658
week of May 22-28, 2026
Share that were LLCs
90%
593 of 658 filings this week
Busiest county
367
Lee County, down about 20% from the prior week
Top single sector
82
property holding and asset protection
Southwest Florida logged 658 new business filings the week of May 22 to 28, down from the week before across nearly every county.
The drop from the week before is broad. Nearly every county came in lower. Most sectors did too.
The trend
How the region is trending
Steady 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.
The week
What is forming
Retail grew the most this week, 10 more (up 22.2%). Property Holding & Asset Protection dropped the most, 41 fewer (down 33.3%).
| Sector | Last week | This week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Holding & Asset Protection | 123 | 82 | -41 (-33.3%) |
| Construction & Trades | 71 | 79 | +8 (+11.3%) |
| Professional Services | 67 | 66 | -1 (-1.5%) |
| Administrative & Support Services | 86 | 58 | -28 (-32.6%) |
| Retail | 45 | 55 | +10 (+22.2%) |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 51 | 45 | -6 (-11.8%) |
| Transportation & Logistics | 51 | 39 | -12 (-23.5%) |
| Healthcare | 47 | 37 | -10 (-21.3%) |
| Personal & Other Services | 42 | 33 | -9 (-21.4%) |
| Real Estate | 45 | 33 | -12 (-26.7%) |
Where
Busiest places this week
Lee led the region this week with 367 new filings.
| Top counties | Last week | This week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | 460 | 367 | -93 (-20.2%) |
| Collier | 239 | 189 | -50 (-20.9%) |
| Charlotte | 66 | 58 | -8 (-12.1%) |
| Hendry | 27 | 17 | -10 (-37%) |
| Highlands | 39 | 16 | -23 (-59%) |
| DeSoto | 7 | 4 | -3 (-42.9%) |
| Hardee | 12 | 4 | -8 (-66.7%) |
| Glades | 4 | 3 | -1 (-25%) |
| Top cities | Last week | This week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naples | 231 | 182 | -49 (-21.2%) |
| Cape Coral | 133 | 128 | -5 (-3.8%) |
| Fort Myers | 146 | 114 | -32 (-21.9%) |
| Lehigh Acres | 99 | 68 | -31 (-31.3%) |
| Port Charlotte | 37 | 37 | 0 (0%) |
| Punta Gorda | 29 | 21 | -8 (-27.6%) |
| North Fort Myers | 21 | 20 | -1 (-4.8%) |
| Bonita Springs | 34 | 19 | -15 (-44.1%) |
Notables
Standouts this week
Vacation-rental holding filings fell to 2
Within the property holding group, only 2 filings looked like short term or vacation-rental holdings this week, down from 9 the week before. It is a small number either way, but it fell from the week before.
Activity stayed in two counties
Lee and Collier together held most of the region's filings, with 367 and 189. The other six counties each had 58 or fewer. Activity is tightly clustered around the coast.
Around the region
Local context
- Naples Airport started a $25.4 million project to rebuild its airfield lighting and replace an electrical vault. The work puts in 1,080 raised LED edge lights set 20 inches off the ground so they hold up against storm-surge flooding. The work is expected to take about 20 months. A multi-year construction job near Naples means steady work for local trades and suppliers, which fits the construction filings holding up this week. WGCU Public Media, 2026-05-12
- A large construction company broke ground on a new 53,000 square foot regional office at 14161 Jetport Loop in Lee County. It is moving its local headquarters from Collier County to Fort Myers. About 300 jobs are expected to come along, most shifting out of Collier. The building is expected to be finished next year. Roughly 300 jobs moving into Lee County brings more spending and demand for local services. It leans on the same construction sector that grew this week. Business Observer, 2026-04-10
- Florida's short term rental rules for 2026 stay a local patchwork after a 2024 bill to centralize them was vetoed. State law blocks outright bans. It lets cities and counties set their own registration, zoning, and operating rules. Naples is among the places with tight limits in residential areas. Tighter local rules in places like Naples make it harder to launch vacation-rental holding companies, one plausible reason those filings dropped to 2 this week. Property Leads Florida, 2026-04-30
So what
What it means
If you sell to new businesses here, the leads this week are concentrated. Lee and Collier counties hold most of this week's formations. Two sectors still grew from last week. Construction and trades reached 79 and retail reached 55. Most service categories pulled back from the prior week. Expect fewer fresh prospects in admin support, transportation, and real estate right now. Property holding is still the single biggest group at 82, even after a drop. Asset protection and holding-company needs remain a steady base to work.
Methodology
How we counted
Why we report a few weeks later
Florida's official business records are often still being updated for up to two weeks after a business first registers.
To give those records time to fully settle, we report on a week of filings about three weeks after it happens. Reporting a little later lets us show complete, accurate numbers instead of a partial early count.
We count new business formations recorded by the state of Florida for the eight counties in Southwest Florida: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Lee. We wait about two weeks after the week ends for the state to finish recording all filings, so the counts here are complete and accurate. Figures cover the week of May 22 to 28, 2026, with comparisons to the prior week. Sector labels are grouped into plain-language categories. About a fifth of this week's filings carry an extra property-use tag, so the property numbers are directional.
External sources
- WGCU Public Media (2026-05-12) Naples Airport began a $25.4 million airfield lighting and electrical vault project with 1,080 raised, flood-resistant LED edge lights, expected to take about 20 months.
- Business Observer (2026-05-13) The Naples Airport Authority board approved $25.4 million for the airfield lighting and electrical vault project, funded by insurance proceeds, state and federal grants, and the airport's own capital budget, with no local tax dollars.
- Business Observer (2026-04-10) A large construction firm broke ground on a 53,000 square foot regional office in Lee County and is moving its headquarters from Collier to Fort Myers, with about 300 jobs expected to relocate.
- Property Leads Florida (2026-04-30) Florida's 2026 short term rental rules remain a local patchwork after a 2024 centralization bill was vetoed, with outright bans blocked but local registration and zoning rules allowed, and Naples among the more restrictive areas.
Frequently asked questions
- Did new business filings go up or down this week?
- They came in at 658, down from the week before in most counties and sectors.
- Where were the most new businesses started?
- Lee County led with 367 and Collier had 189. Among cities, Naples led with 182, then Cape Coral at 128 and Fort Myers at 114.
- Which kinds of businesses grew?
- Construction and trades rose to 79 and retail rose to 55. Professional services held about even at 66, and most other categories were lower than the prior week.
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