August 9, 2026 — Northwest Florida (Panhandle & Capital) new business activity

Northwest Florida recorded 615 new business filings in the week of July 19 to 25, 2026, down 2.4% from the week before.

Property holding and asset protection was the largest single group, with 96 filings, or 15.6% of the week. That is 9 more than the 87 filed the week before. Real estate as an operating business added another 39.

Hospitality and tourism was the clearest gain. It rose 11 to 66, up 20.0%. Arts, entertainment and recreation added 8 to reach 33, well above its normal pace, and accommodation and food services rose 2 to 34.

Leon County stayed the busiest county with 118 filings, but that is 20 fewer than the week before. Escambia held flat at 115. Bay added 8 to reach 101 and moved up to third. Okaloosa was nearly unchanged at 101, and Walton fell 15 to 49.

The region is running a little below its own recent pace. The last 13 weeks produced 8,433 filings against 8,565 in the 13 weeks before that. Most of what gets filed here is still an LLC, at 433 filings, or 70.4% of the week. Registrations of a doing business as name rose 9 to 101.

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 Nov, holding near 2,500 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.

Hospitality and Tourism grew the most this week, 11 more (up 20.0%). Professional Services dropped the most, 7 fewer (down 10.1%). 3 other sectors shown here also grew.

Leon led the region this week with 118 new filings. 3 of the other 7 counties shown here were also up from the week before.

• Pensacola's City Council took up Bid No. 26-031 on July 16, 2026 to award the Terminal Apron Expansion at Pensacola International Airport to C.W. Roberts Contracting, Inc. of Pensacola. The base bid is $7,845,951.00, plus a 10% contingency of $784,595.10, for a total of $8,630,546.10. The work widens the south terminal apron out to the west remain over night apron so the terminal can later add five gates.

  An $8.6 million airfield job runs for months and pulls in a long line of subcontractors and suppliers, and the five gates it sets up mean more flights and more travelers to serve later.

  Who this helps

  • paving and concrete contractors
  • excavation and site work crews
  • electricians
  • surveyors
  • civil engineers
  • equipment rental firms
  • trucking and hauling companies
  • ground handling and airport service firms

  City of Pensacola City Council, 2026-07-16

• Panama City's commission agenda for July 28, 2026 carried a Glenwood redevelopment package. It included ground leases on city owned property at 1332 MLK Blvd. and 1346 N. Palo Alto Avenue, and adoption of the SPARK program, short for Small Business Property Activation Redevelopment Kickstart. The same agenda listed a 12 parcel sale plan and first hearings on putting 2015 W 23rd Court under a General Commercial land use and GC-1 zoning.

  3 opportunities in this update

  • The SPARK program and the two Glenwood ground leases are aimed at putting small operators into city owned buildings. A ground lease lowers the cash a new business needs up front, so it is the kind of opening a first location can actually clear.
  • The 12 parcel sale plan puts a block of city land on the market at once. Buyers of small infill lots need surveys, title work, and design before anything gets built, and those orders come early.
  • Moving 2015 W 23rd Court to a General Commercial land use and GC-1 zoning is the step that lets a commercial use open there. A rezoning is usually followed by a site plan, then permits, then a build out.

  Bay County filed 101 new businesses this week, and a city actively leasing and selling property is where some of those owners will look for a first address.

  Who this helps

  • commercial real estate brokers
  • title and closing firms
  • land surveyors
  • architects
  • general contractors
  • shop fitters and interior build out crews
  • sign makers
  • small business accountants

  City of Panama City Commission, 2026-07-28

• Fort Walton Beach moved the start of its $3.1 million Liza Jackson Park renovation to the week of September 14, 2026. The bid went to H&T Contractors LLC of Freeport. The job covers a new 832 square foot restroom building, new parking for vehicles and boat trailers, a redesigned boat launch traffic area, new sidewalks and stormwater improvements, and is expected to run about six months.

  Six months of work on one site means a steady run of subcontract and supply orders, and a rebuilt boat launch and trailer parking area feeds the charter, rental and marine service businesses that work off that ramp.

  Who this helps

  • site work and grading crews
  • concrete and masonry contractors
  • plumbers
  • electricians
  • paving contractors
  • landscapers
  • building supply dealers
  • marine service and boat rental operators

  City of Fort Walton Beach, 2026-08-03

• Escambia County commissioners set two subdivision public hearings for July 23, 2026. One creates a street lighting assessment district for Iron Rock Phase 3. The other is a petition from Dinger Development, LLC to vacate parts of three rights of way inside The Cedars Subdivision.

  Both items are late stage housekeeping on subdivisions that are moving toward houses, so the trades that follow rooftops have a reason to watch these two names. Escambia filed 115 new businesses this week, second only to Leon.

  Who this helps

  • home builders
  • electricians
  • utility contractors
  • land surveyors
  • civil engineers
  • landscapers
  • fencing contractors
  • property managers

  Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-07-23

• Destin noticed an August 17, 2026 public hearing on case PZ-2026-66, a major deviation for the Indian Bayou West Subdivision that would remove the planned Old Creek Trail connector road. The same notice lists Ordinance No. 26-08-LC on capital improvements and transportation corridor management, and Ordinance 26-09-LC renumbering impact fees as impact and mobility fees.

  A change to how a city charges impact and mobility fees changes what a project costs before a shovel moves, so anyone planning to build in Destin needs to read these two ordinances. Okaloosa filed 101 new businesses this week.

  Who this helps

  • land use consultants
  • civil engineers
  • real estate attorneys
  • home builders
  • commercial developers
  • traffic engineers

  City of Destin, 2026-08-04

• Santa Rosa County reopened the intersection of West Spencer Field Road and Giddens Lane at noon on July 31, 2026 as a one lane roundabout. The intersection had been closed since mid January for utility relocation, roadway reconstruction, drainage work, and roundabout construction with curbing and sidewalks.

  A road that has been shut since January is open again, so the businesses along it get their through traffic back and delivery routes get shorter. Milton, just up the road, logged 28 new filings this week.

  Who this helps

  • delivery and courier services
  • trucking companies
  • roadside retailers
  • restaurants and cafes
  • auto repair shops

  Santa Rosa County, 2026-07-30

• Walton County said contractor CW Roberts would run night work on the CR 393 South northbound turn lane project from August 9 through August 13, 2026, between 8 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., with lane closures and delays expected.

  Night paving means the turn lane is close to finished, and a finished turn lane makes the parcels at that intersection easier to develop and easier for customers to reach.

  Who this helps

  • asphalt and paving crews
  • traffic control and barricade suppliers
  • striping contractors
  • commercial real estate brokers
  • convenience and roadside retailers

  Walton County Board of County Commissioners, 2026-08-06

• Tallahassee started resurfacing Sixth Avenue from Thomasville Road to Magnolia Drive on July 27, 2026, working 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays with one lane closed at a time. The city tied the job to nearby Seventh Avenue work it describes as a more than $3.3 million investment in utility upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

  A more than $3.3 million utility and street investment on two adjoining avenues is months of paid work for the crews and suppliers doing it, and the businesses on those blocks get a rebuilt street to trade on afterwards.

  Who this helps

  • paving contractors
  • underground utility crews
  • concrete and sidewalk contractors
  • striping contractors
  • traffic control suppliers

  City of Tallahassee, 2026-07-21

This was a slightly slower week in a region that is running a little below its own recent pace, and the shape of it matters more than the 2.4% dip. Property holding at 96 and hospitality and tourism at 66 were the two biggest groups, so the best prospects this week are new owners of buildings and new businesses that serve visitors. That points at title and closing firms, property managers, insurance agents, cleaners, food suppliers, and staffing agencies. On the building side, construction and trades filings fell 5 to 50. The money is still moving. Pensacola's $8,630,546.10 airport apron award and Fort Walton Beach's $3.1 million park rebuild put real work in front of firms already operating here. Panama City is also moving to lease and sell city property. Reach the new hospitality and property owners in their first weeks, and chase the public jobs where they are being awarded.

We count new business filings recorded with the State of Florida for the 16 counties of Northwest Florida, using the week the filing was recorded. 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 and accurate. Industry groups come from what each business tells the state it does. Everything outside the filing counts comes from the government and official pages listed below, and each one is linked so you can read it yourself.

Frequently asked questions

How many new businesses were filed in Northwest Florida this week?

615 new business filings were recorded across the region's 16 counties for the week of July 19 to 25, 2026. That is 15 fewer than the 630 filed the week before, a drop of 2.4%.

Which county had the most new business filings?

Leon County led with 118 filings, followed by Escambia with 115, then Bay and Okaloosa tied at 101 each. Walton had 49 and Santa Rosa had 48.

What kind of business is forming the most here right now?

Property holding and asset protection entities were the largest group at 96 filings, 15.6% of the week. Hospitality and tourism came next at 66, and that group grew the fastest of the big ones, up 20.0% on the week.

Is business formation in Northwest Florida growing or slowing?

It is running a little below its recent pace. The week came in 5.8% under the same week last year, when 653 filings were recorded, and the last 13 weeks produced 8,433 filings against 8,565 in the 13 weeks before that.

Why did Jefferson County jump so much?

Jefferson recorded 20 filings against 5 the week before, about three times its usual pace, and Monticello accounted for 20 filings in the same week. In a county this small, one batch of related filings can move the count, so it is worth watching a second week before calling it a trend.