June 16, 2026 — Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast) new business activity

Tampa Bay's seven counties recorded 3,332 new business filings the week of May 26 to June 1, the busiest single week in the past 13.

Pinellas County led by a wide margin. It recorded 1,532 filings, up 586 from 946 the week before. Hillsborough followed with 926, up 302 from 624. Those two counties hold most of the region's new businesses. St. Petersburg topped all cities with 1,004 filings, and Tampa added 612.

The mix stayed broad across many kinds of business. Property holding and asset protection led the friendly groups with 419 filings. Professional services came next at 377. Management of companies rose to 186, up 106 from 80. Most groups gained ground from the week before.

Retail was the one group that did not grow, slipping by 1 to 130. One filing agent stood behind 654 of this week's filings, nearly 1 in 5 of the total. Keep that in mind. Some of the jump likely reflects bulk paperwork run through a single agent, not only fresh storefronts opening their doors.

The single week was the strongest in 13 weeks, but the longer trend is close to flat. The rolling 13 week total sits at 38,351, barely changed from 38,140 a window earlier. Even so, this week ran 19.6% ahead of the same week last year, when the region had 2,785 filings. About 9 in 10 new filings were limited liability companies.

Steady growth over the past 13 weeks even though a spike this past week held the average up.

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.

Management of Companies grew the most this week, 106 more (up 132.5%). Retail dropped the most, 1 fewer (down 0.8%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Pinellas led the region this week with 1,532 new filings. Gains were broad, with 6 other counties also up from the week before.

• A grocery chain plans a new store on South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, a busy retail corridor. The area has been pulling in retirees, remote workers, and higher-income households, which has spurred new homes and commercial space. More retail and household growth in Sarasota points to steady demand for local suppliers and service firms. Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, 2026-05-22
• State law allows faster permits for repairs after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, adding permit volume in Hillsborough County. In some service areas, water and wastewater impact fees are set to rise from $4,814 to $6,434 by 2029. Contractors have more work now, which fits this week's above-normal construction filings, but rising fees could lift building costs later. Permit Place, 2026-03-12
• After the June 2024 veto of Senate Bill 280, Florida cities and counties still set most short term rental rules in 2026, including registration, inspection, and minimum-stay requirements in coastal towns. Beach-area rental owners keep dealing with local rules, which keeps a steady trickle of small rental holding companies forming. Avantio, 2026-02-27

If you sell to new businesses, this was a strong week for fresh leads, but read it with care. Most of the new filings are LLCs, and the biggest groups were property holding, professional services, and the administrative and management categories. Activity is packed into Pinellas and Hillsborough, with St. Petersburg and Tampa as the main hubs. One agent handled a large share, so part of the volume is bulk paperwork, not walk-in storefronts. Aim at the sectors that grew on their own, like health care, up 64 to 167, and construction, up 60 to 221, and focus on the two lead counties.

These counts are new business filings recorded with the state for the seven counties in the Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast) region. We count every active new formation in the week and group it by county, city, kind of business, and entity type. 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. Friendly industry groups are based on each filing's reported business type. About a quarter of this week's filings carry the added property-aware detail, and the rest fall back to their standard business type.

Frequently asked questions

Why did filings jump so much from the week before?

The prior week, May 19 to 25, was unusually low at 2,186, and this week rebounded to the strongest level in 13 weeks. Part of the rise comes from one filing agent who handled 654 filings on its own.

Are these numbers final or will they change?

They are final. We wait about two weeks after the week closes for the state to finish recording every filing, so the count is complete.

Where is the activity concentrated?

Mostly in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, which together held the bulk of the week's filings. St. Petersburg led all cities with 1,004 filings, and Tampa followed with 612.