August 4, 2026 — Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast) new business activity

Tampa Bay's seven counties recorded 3,375 new business filings for the week of July 14 to 20, 756 fewer than the week before.

Property holding and asset protection was the biggest single group at 534 filings, 15.8% of the week. Professional services came in one behind at 533. Administrative and support services and personal and other services tied at 240 each, and retail had 237. The largest group is under a sixth of the week, so no one line of work sets the pace in this region.

Pinellas County led with 1,507 filings. Hillsborough followed with 959. Pasco recorded 286, Sarasota 279, Manatee 225, Hernando 91 and Citrus 28. Almost all of the week's activity sits in the two big urban counties. St. Petersburg had 983 filings and Tampa had 642, the highest of any cities here.

Every county filed less than the week before. Manatee fell the hardest at 26.9%. Construction and trades took the biggest cut of any kind of business, down 106 to 213. Hospitality and tourism fell 45 to 174. Finance and insurance was the one group that grew, adding 8 to reach 90. Clearwater was the only city on the list to gain, up 1 to 112.

Filings to trade under a second name rose 98 to 467. That is the paperwork an owner files to run under a different name, so it usually means an existing business adding a brand, a line or a location rather than a brand new company. New limited liability companies went the other way, down 707 to 2,532.

Very little decline 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 Nov, holding near 12,500 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.

Finance & Insurance grew the most this week, 8 more (up 9.8%). Professional Services dropped the most, 125 fewer (down 19.0%).

Pinellas led the region this week with 1,507 new filings.

• Port Tampa Bay says site work has started on a new cruise terminal. Kimmins Contracting Corporation is filling the old Metroport area and moving stormwater lines to create more than five acres of new land for the terminal site. The port expects this stage to run through late 2026 and the terminal to be finished in 2029, and says the new berth would let it take more than 200 extra ship calls a year. Five acres of new land and a build running to 2029 means years of work for site contractors, concrete and paving crews, utility subcontractors, surveyors and engineers. Once ships start calling, the added traffic feeds shuttle and bus operators, baggage handlers, commercial cleaners, food suppliers and security firms. Transportation and logistics filings ran 162 this week, so that pool of local operators is already forming. Port Tampa Bay, 2026-08-03
• Port Tampa Bay says RaceTrac broke ground on a travel center at the port on June 3, 2026. The port says a typical RaceTrac location creates around 30 new jobs. A travel center hires site work, concrete, electrical, plumbing and sign crews to build it, then about 30 people to run it. Fuel and truck traffic around the port also feeds repair shops, mobile washing and detailing services and small food suppliers. Retail filings came to 237 this week. Port Tampa Bay, 2026-06-08
• Tampa International Airport says concrete and steel work is building up on its new Airside D. The job takes almost 85,000 cubic yards of concrete for the aircraft apron alone, and more than 7,300 steel pieces make up the building. Hensel Phelps leads the design build team with HNTB Corporation and Gensler. A second crane went up in the middle of July, and the airside is set to open in 2029. A pour of almost 85,000 cubic yards keeps concrete suppliers, pump truck operators, rebar setters and testing labs working for months. More than 7,300 steel pieces means work for erectors, welders and crane services. The trades that finish a terminal follow behind: electrical, mechanical, glass, flooring and paint. Construction and trades filings fell to 213 this week, so firms already in business face fewer new competitors bidding this kind of job. Tampa International Airport, 2026-08-04
• The City of Tampa announced 17 new affordable apartments in East Tampa, called Mercy Oaks II, created by converting an existing strip commercial center. The city put in $1.25 million in state housing funds toward buying the land, with more money from Catholic Charities. Turning a strip center into 17 apartments is work for general contractors, framers, plumbers, electricians, roofers and flooring installers, plus the architects and engineers who draw the conversion. Once people move in, it feeds property managers, landscapers, pest control and cleaning services. Property holding and asset protection was the biggest filing group this week at 534. City of Tampa, 2026-07-15
• The St. Petersburg City Council approved ballot wording for a $600 million general obligation bond for storm resilience. The money would pay for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water work, including flood protection, pump stations, drainage, wastewater collection and treatment, and drinking water supply and distribution. The city expects to sell bonds in several rounds from 2027 to 2030. A $600 million program of pipe, pump station and treatment plant work points straight at underground utility contractors, excavation and paving crews, pump and valve suppliers, and the engineering and surveying firms that design and inspect it. Bonds sold from 2027 to 2030 give a smaller firm time to get bonded and registered as a city vendor. Pinellas County recorded 1,507 filings this week, the most of any county here. City of St. Petersburg, 2026-07-24
• The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners told staff to draft a temporary hold on new applications for data centers and large power users. At the same meeting the board put up to $75 million in bonds for buying environmental land on the November 3, 2026 ballot, at a rate of 0.16 mills. A pause on data center applications changes what an owner can do with a large site in the county, so it matters to land brokers, site selectors and the engineering firms that scope those projects. The $75 million land measure, if voters approve it, means survey, appraisal, title, clearing and habitat management work. Manatee County filings fell 26.9% this week, the steepest drop of any county here. Manatee County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-07-29
• A Hillsborough County zoning hearing agenda lists a request from Royal Palm Multifamily, LLC to rezone about 53.66 acres to a planned development. The land sits at the northwest corner of Causeway Boulevard and Visconti Boulevard and the northwest corner of Causeway Boulevard and Ventura Avenue, inside the urban service area. 53.66 acres moving to a planned development starts with civil engineers, surveyors and land use attorneys, then site clearing, grading, underground utilities and road building. Homebuilders and their trades come next, along with the landscapers, cleaners and property managers the finished units need. Real estate filings ran 178 this week. Hillsborough County Zoning Hearing Master, 2026-05-26
• A Pasco County Planning Commission agenda lists a rezoning for Chanzep LLC on about 20.42 acres in southeast Pasco County to allow 96 platted townhome units and the infrastructure that serves them, recommended for approval with conditions. The same agenda carries a commercial zoning change for Gulf Coast CCM Inc on about 15.59 acres at the northwest corner of State Road 54 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard. 96 townhomes is a fixed amount of work for framers, roofers, concrete crews, plumbers, electricians and painters. The 15.59 acre commercial change points to storefronts and offices that will need buildout, signs and janitorial contracts. Wesley Chapel recorded 66 filings this week and Pasco County 286, so new firms are already forming near that corner. Pasco County Planning Commission, 2026-07-09
• A Hernando County planning and zoning agenda lists conditional plats for three subdivisions: Shady Oaks North, Waterfall Park and Rivard. The same agenda carries a master plan revision for Mavis Tire Supply, LLC filed on behalf of Glen Lakes Station II, LLC. Three subdivision plats moving at one meeting means land clearing, road and utility work, then house building and the trades behind it. A tire store plan change is site work, a building shell and signs. Hernando County recorded 91 filings this week, so a local firm chasing this work faces few new competitors. Hernando County Planning & Zoning Commission, 2026-07-13
• The Venice City Council approved on first reading Ordinance No. 2026-16. It changes the decision criteria in Chapter 87 of the city's land development code for several kinds of quasi judicial applications, including preliminary plats. Decision criteria set how a plat or a variance gets judged, so this shapes the cost and the timing of getting a project approved in Venice. It matters most to land use attorneys, civil engineers, surveyors and small builders working in south Sarasota County. Sarasota County filings came to 279 this week. City of Venice City Council, 2026-05-26

This was a slower week for new filings, and the work sitting in the public record did not slow with it. The clearest opening is with anyone who sells to builders and property owners. Construction and trades filings fell to 213, while the record shows a $600 million St. Petersburg resilience bond, almost 85,000 cubic yards of concrete going into Airside D, and 53.66 acres in Hillsborough moving to a planned development. That lines up with a smaller crop of new competitors going after a large amount of approved work. Property holding and asset protection was the biggest group at 534 filings, so title, insurance, bookkeeping and property management have the widest pool of new owners to reach this week. Filings to trade under a second name rose 98 to 467, and those owners already have revenue, so they buy signs, wraps and printing quickly.

We count new business filings recorded with the State of Florida for the seven counties in the Tampa Bay region: Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota. The week covered runs July 14 through July 20. We wait about two weeks after a week ends for the state to finish recording every filing, so these counts are complete. Businesses are grouped by the kind of work they do, and the location is the county and city on the filing. The local developments come from government and business records, and each one is linked so you can read it yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the count drop from last week?

Weekly filing counts in this region swing a lot. This week ran 18.3% below the 4,131 filed the week before, and it still came in 3.5% above the same week last year. The 13 week average is about 3,474 a week, so this week landed a little under the region's normal pace. One week does not set a trend.

Which counties had the most new businesses?

Pinellas led with 1,507 filings and Hillsborough had 959. Pasco recorded 286, Sarasota 279, Manatee 225, Hernando 91 and Citrus 28.

What kinds of business are forming here?

Property holding and asset protection led with 534 filings and professional services was right behind at 533. Administrative and support services and personal and other services each had 240, and retail had 237.

Are these numbers final?

Yes. We wait about two weeks after a week ends so the state can finish recording every filing, then we report the settled count.