June 30, 2026 — Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast) new business activity

Tampa Bay recorded 2,718 new business filings the week of June 9 to 15, up 5.9% from the prior week and 16.6% above the same week last year, though still running below the region's 13 week pace.

Several kinds of business filed sharply more this week. Professional services posted 412 filings, up 61 from the prior week's 351. Construction rose 40 to 201. Retail jumped 47 to 164 from 117. Health care climbed 41 to 155 from 114. Hospitality and tourism rose 47 to 183, up 34.6% from 136. Providers that sell to new businesses face an unusually broad field of fresh prospects this week.

Hillsborough posted the biggest county gain, up 91 to 784. Hernando grew 27 to 94, a 40.3% increase, with Spring Hill alone up 19 to 57. Sarasota County added 24 to reach 215 and Manatee rose 16 to 181, with Bradenton up 22 to 116. Pinellas, the region's top county by volume, edged down 18 to 1,226.

Property holding and asset protection entities reached 456 filings, the single largest category at 16.8% of all formations. That is 86 more than the prior week's 370. The word 'property' appeared 45 times in new business names and 'capital' appeared 43 times, both showing up more often than they usually do. Real estate attorneys, property managers, accountants, and insurance brokers each face a larger pool of new clients this week than they did seven days ago.

This week's total is 386 above the same week a year ago (2,332 filings in June 2025), a 16.6% year over year gain. The region is forming businesses faster than it was twelve months back. At the same time, this week's count still sits below the 13 week running average of 2,890, and the trailing 13 week total of 37,572 runs below the prior comparable window's 37,984. The longer trend is softening even as the year over year comparison stays solidly positive.

Very little growth over the past 13 weeks.

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.

Property Holding & Asset Protection grew the most this week, 86 more (up 23.2%). Management of Companies dropped the most, 76 fewer (down 69.7%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Pinellas led the region this week with 1,226 new filings. Gains were broad, with 6 other counties also up from the week before.

• Port Tampa Bay was awarded a $24 million U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration grant for the Berth 300 Extension Project at Port Redwing in Gibsonton. The $40 million project, with a $16 million local match, will extend the berth by about 800 feet to create a 1,300 foot berth. Combined with the adjacent berths, Port Redwing will offer about 2,800 contiguous linear feet of dock space, enough for up to four 650 foot bulk carriers to dock at once. The $40 million berth project is near term work for marine construction firms, seawall and dredging contractors, and the engineering and surveying firms that support port builds. Once the added capacity opens, the larger cargo flow gives freight forwarders, trucking and drayage companies, warehouse operators, and bulk material handlers in Hillsborough County more business to win. Port Tampa Bay, 2026-04-28
• Cemex US and Port Tampa Bay opened a newly expanded aggregate terminal backed by a $29 million Cemex investment and a $7 million Florida Department of Transportation grant, a $36 million project. The terminal can move 5,000 tons of material an hour from ship to storage and is expected to handle about 1.5 million tons of aggregates a year, bringing an aggregate terminal, a cement terminal, and a ready mix concrete plant together at one site. Reliable local aggregate supply lowers a key input cost for builders, road and site contractors, concrete and ready mix companies, and public works projects across Tampa Bay. Building material distributors, trucking firms, and the trades that pour and place concrete all stand to gain steadier work from the added throughput. Port Tampa Bay, 2026-05-28
• Moffitt Cancer Center opened the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Center at its Speros FL campus in Land O Lakes in Pasco County, the Tampa Bay area's first proton therapy center. The proton center sits inside Moffitt's new 120,000 square foot outpatient center, the first phase of a 775 acre research and care campus backed by about $1.1 billion in capital investment and projected to create more than 11,000 jobs over the next decade. A campus this size is a long runway of work for construction firms, medical equipment and device suppliers, healthcare staffing agencies, and lab and research support services, plus the cleaning, security, and facilities vendors a major medical complex needs. As clinical and research teams hire, professional services firms that serve a growing Pasco County workforce gain new clients too. Moffitt Cancer Center, 2026-05-26
• Pinellas County opened a formal 90 day solicitation inviting developers to submit redevelopment proposals for 24.66 acres of county owned land in downtown Clearwater. The county is seeking plans for a walkable mixed use district that could include residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and civic uses. Proposals are due September 18, 2026. The parcels became available because the county is moving its own operations to a new Administration and Judicial Complex, with occupancy expected around the middle of 2029. A 24.66 acre mixed use redevelopment in downtown Clearwater creates concrete near term work for construction firms, architects, civil engineers, and land surveyors as proposals move toward approval. Once built, the retail, hospitality, and residential tenants on the site will need commercial cleaners, landscapers, property managers, security firms, and the accountants, insurers, and technology providers those tenants rely on. Pinellas County Official News, 2026-06-16
• Tampa International Airport announced free community information sessions for local entrepreneurs and business owners who want to learn about upcoming concession openings tied to the airport's Concessions Redevelopment Program, including the planned Airside D expansion. The sessions walk attendees through how the program works and what opportunities exist for retailers, restaurants, and service businesses. The first session was June 18 at a Tampa library, and a second is set for July 9 at a library in Ybor City. The airport's redevelopment creates direct opportunities for local retailers, restaurant operators, and personal service providers to compete for concession space inside one of the region's highest traffic facilities. The public information sessions are an accessible entry point for newly formed businesses, including the 164 retail and 183 hospitality and tourism firms that filed this week, to understand what is available and how to pursue it. Tampa International Airport Newsroom, 2026-06-12
• The Manatee County Port Authority and SeaPort Manatee posted a public notice for a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program project. The plan is to buy and install four permanent backup generators and replace one portable generator across critical port facilities. Those sites include the intermodal building, two warehouses, and the scale house, plus all the electrical and ancillary work to support them. A port resiliency build like this is direct work for electrical contractors, generator and switchgear suppliers, and the general contractors and engineers who install backup power. A hardened port also keeps cargo moving and refrigerated goods safe after a storm, which protects the logistics, trucking, and cold storage firms in Manatee County that depend on it. SeaPort Manatee, 2026-06-18

If you sell to new businesses in Tampa Bay this week, the public record points to several active lanes, and construction and the trades have the most to bid on. Port Tampa Bay is extending a berth at Port Redwing and recently opened a new aggregate terminal, and Pinellas County is seeking proposals to redevelop county land in downtown Clearwater. That is steady work for builders, civil engineers, surveyors, concrete and material suppliers, and the trucking and logistics firms that move freight. In Pasco County, Moffitt's new proton therapy center and its growing Speros campus open a long runway for medical suppliers, healthcare staffing, and lab and research services. SeaPort Manatee's plan to add backup generators is direct work for electrical contractors and equipment suppliers. Retail and restaurant operators have a clear opening in the Tampa airport's new concessions program. New filings spread across several counties this week, so providers who usually focus on one metro have reason to look at the wider Tampa Bay map right now.

Counts come from Florida's official business registration records, sourced at the state level. We wait about two weeks after the covered week ends for the state to finish recording all filings, so the counts are complete and accurate. Filings are grouped by the county and city the business lists as its principal address. Industry categories follow a standard federal classification system, with a plain English grouping layered on top for readability. Shares and period over period deltas are computed directly from those counts.

Frequently asked questions

Why is this week's count below the 13 week average when it went up from last week?

Both facts are true at the same time. The week gained 151 filings over the prior week, which is a real increase. But the 13 week running average of 2,890 reflects a longer stretch that included several weeks above 3,000. One up week does not erase the softness of recent counts.

What does the 16.6% year over year gain mean in practice?

The same week in June 2025 saw 2,332 filings. This week logged 2,718, which is 386 more. More businesses are starting in Tampa Bay now than at the same point last year. The region's formation base is larger than it was twelve months ago.

Why is property holding the largest single category?

Investors and landlords often set up a separate legal entity to hold a property or protect personal assets. Those entities file as new businesses and show up in the count. This week, 456 of those entities were formed, more than any other category.

How current and final are these numbers?

We cover the week of June 9 to 15, 2026. We wait about two weeks after the week ends before publishing so the state has time to record all filings. The count of 2,718 is final and complete.