August 3, 2026 — Southeast Florida (Gold Coast, Treasure Coast & Keys) new business activity

Southeast Florida recorded 5,744 new business filings the week of July 13 to 19, down 6.5% from the week before and down 5.1% from the same week last year.

Three counties hold almost all the activity here. Miami-Dade filed 2,816, Broward 1,457 and Palm Beach 1,147. That is 5,420 between them. The other five counties added 324 all together. Miami-Dade also gave up 203 filings from the prior week, about half the region's entire drop of 401.

Health care posted the week's biggest gain, rising 67 to 433. Retail was the only other large group to grow, adding 13 to reach 414. Manufacturing rose 7 to 65 and agriculture and natural resources rose 7 to 47. Almost everything else slipped.

The biggest losses were in personal and other services, down 99 to 380. Real estate fell 61 to 263. Finance and insurance dropped 37 to 124 and wholesale and distribution fell 31 to 119. Property holding stayed the largest single group at 1,028, and it gave up only 37, a gentler slide than the region as a whole.

Martin County was the only one of the eight to rise, up 7 to 70. At the city level Miami did most of the falling, down 160 to 1,652, while Boca Raton, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Miami Beach all edged up. Registrations under a trade name rose 53 to 638 even as new limited liability companies fell 289 to 4,151. Fewer companies formed, and more solo operators put a name on the record.

A steady slowdown 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.

• 2025-26
• 2024-25
• 2023-24
• 2022-23
• 2021-22

New business formation usually runs highest around Mar and is quietest around Dec, holding near 27,500 a month across the years.

Each line is one year, ending at the current month on the right, so you can read the past year left to right. New Year's Day is left out because the state office is closed, so almost no businesses register that day.

Healthcare grew the most this week, 67 more (up 18.3%). Personal & Other Services dropped the most, 99 fewer (down 20.7%).

Miami-Dade led the region this week with 2,816 new filings. 1 of the other 7 counties shown here was also up from the week before.

• Baptist Health South Florida and Lifepoint Rehabilitation opened a new inpatient rehabilitation hospital in South Miami. The building runs 100,000 square feet and holds 62 beds. A 100,000 square foot hospital with 62 beds needs cleaning crews trained for clinical space, medical waste hauling, linen and laundry runs, and food service deliveries every day it is open. It also needs staffing agencies for nurses and therapists, plus billing, credentialing and equipment repair firms. Health care filings in the region rose 67 to 433 this week, which lines up with more local operators positioning for this kind of work. Baptist Health South Florida, 2026-07-30
• Port Everglades picked up a direct container service to Asia. The MSC Empire Service brings ships with capacity up to about 8,800 containers from Shanghai and Ningbo in China, Busan in South Korea and Rodman in Panama, with Port Everglades as the last United States stop. The port moved a record 1.167 million containers last fiscal year and now runs 26 cargo container services. Ships that size mean thousands more boxes crossing the dock. That is steady work for drayage and trucking firms, freight brokers, customs brokers, warehouse and cross dock operators, and container repair and chassis shops. Transportation and logistics filings came to 283 in the region this week, and logistics was one of the fastest rising words in new business names. Port Everglades, 2026-07-24
• The Hollywood City Commission took up an ordinance rezoning 0.94 acres at 2910 Polk Street out of the Transitional Core district and into the Retail Core district. Moving 0.94 acres into a retail district turns it into space a shop can occupy. That is buildout work for general contractors, electricians, plumbers and flooring crews, then sign makers, point of sale installers, security system firms and commercial cleaners once tenants arrive. Retail filings rose 13 to 414 across the region this week, so the pool of operators hunting for that kind of space is growing. City of Hollywood City Commission, 2026-07-07
• Martin County commissioners took up final site plan approval for The Storage Place Hobe Sound, a three story storage building of 64,260 square feet on a 1.5 acre site inside the Heritage Ridge planned unit development. A 64,260 square foot building on a 1.5 acre site means site clearing, concrete, steel, roofing, electrical and paving contracts, plus the surveyors and engineers who sign off. After it opens it needs landscaping, pest control, security monitoring and property management. Martin County was the only county in the region where filings rose this week, up 7 to 70. Martin County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-05-19
• The Coral Gables City Commission took up approval of a planned area development for a mixed use project called Crystal Residences at 110 Phoenetia Avenue. The plan includes a private school. A mixed use building with a school inside it needs architects and engineers first, then framing, glazing, mechanical and finish trades. A school also brings its own steady suppliers once it opens: classroom furniture, food service, janitorial and grounds care. Construction and trades filings came to 347 across the region this week. City of Coral Gables City Commission, 2026-07-07
• Delray Beach commissioners took up Ordinance 11-26, changing pet grooming from a conditional use to a permitted use in the city's General Commercial, Neighborhood Commercial and Central Business districts. Dropping the conditional use step removes a public hearing from the path of anyone opening a grooming shop in those districts, so a lease can turn into an open door faster. That is a direct opening for groomers, and work for the contractors who plumb and fit out the space and the suppliers who stock it. Personal and other services, the group that covers pet care, fell 99 to 380 this week, so the rule change lands where activity has been slowest. City of Delray Beach City Commission, 2026-07-14

This was a slower week nearly everywhere, so the pool of brand new businesses to call on is smaller than it was in early summer. The mix matters more than the total. Health care posted the biggest gain of any group, and the new rehabilitation hospital in South Miami is the physical proof that the demand behind those filings is real. If you clean, staff, supply, insure or fit out medical space, that is where the work is right now. Retail grew too, and Hollywood just moved land into a retail district, so buildout trades and fixture and sign suppliers have a specific place to aim. Registrations under a trade name rose while new companies fell, so expect more one person operations. Those buyers want simple pricing, fast answers and low upfront cost.

These counts come from Florida's official business registration records for the eight counties in Southeast Florida: Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie. 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. Each business is counted once and placed in the county shown on its filing. The sector groups are built from what each business reports it does. Comparisons to the week before and to the same week last year use the same method, so they line up.

Frequently asked questions

Does a drop in filings mean businesses are closing?

No. These are new business registrations only. A lower number means fewer businesses started that week. It says nothing about businesses that were already open.

Why does Miami-Dade dominate the totals?

It is by far the largest county in the region. It filed 2,816 of the region's new businesses this week, close to half. Broward and Palm Beach together added another 2,604, and the five smaller counties added 324.

What is a trade name registration?

It is the filing someone makes to do business under a name that is not their own legal name. It is simpler and cheaper than forming a company. Those rose 53 to 638 this week while new limited liability companies fell 289 to 4,151.