July 9, 2026 — Northeast Florida (First Coast) new business activity

Northeast Florida logged 671 new business filings the week of June 18 to 24, a 20.9% drop from the week before.

Duval County made up most of the region's pullback this week. Jacksonville itself fell from 526 filings to 401, and Duval County overall dropped from 554 to 425. St. Johns County also ran well under its usual weekly pace, with 81 filings against a typical run near 110. Flagler County fell too, from 73 down to 49. Clay County was one of only two counties in the region to add filings, up from 67 to 70, and Baker County ticked up from 7 to 8.

Two industries actually grew this week even as most others cooled. Finance & Insurance rose from 47 filings to 50, and Hospitality & Tourism edged up from 42 to 43. Professional Services and Property Holding & Asset Protection tied for the region's biggest categories at 92 filings each, though both were down from their prior week counts of 106 and 126. Personal & Other Services fell hardest in raw terms, from 108 down to 66. Within property holding, the short term rental slice fell from 9 filings to 4.

Most of the pullback came from limited liability companies, the most common way to register a new business here. LLC filings fell from 645 to 518. Business license filings also fell, from 112 to 78. Domestic corporations were the exception, rising slightly from 48 to 50.

Very little decline over the past 13 weeks with a dip this past week pulling the average down.

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.

Finance & Insurance grew the most this week, 3 more (up 6.4%). Personal & Other Services dropped the most, 42 fewer (down 38.9%).

Duval led the region this week with 425 new filings. 2 other counties also grew from the week before.

• Palm Coast city hall posted a new webpage this month explaining the Raydient Master Planned Development, a proposal covering about 20,144 acres on the west side of US 1. The plan lays out new residential villages, a jobs center, retail and commercial areas, and green space over a 30 year buildout that runs through 2056. Planners hold the first public hearing on it July 15, 2026. A project spanning more than 20,000 acres will need land planners, civil engineers, surveyors, and homebuilders for years as villages and commercial areas get built. Once the retail areas and jobs center open, it also means steady work for commercial construction crews, property managers, and the accounting and insurance firms that new tenants moving into the employment center will need. City of Palm Coast (Palm Coast Connect newsroom), 2026-07-06
• Nassau County launched a new small business pilot this spring called RISE, short for Resources for Small Business Expansion. It offers qualifying local businesses up to $20,000 in credits against the county fees tied to expanding, covering things like mobility, impact, inspection, and permit charges, after the owner works through a formal business plan with a Small Business Development Center advisor. This lowers the upfront cost for small retailers, contractors, and other local operators who want to expand a location or add space in Nassau County. It gives Small Business Development Center advisors, permit expediters, and local contractors a concrete reason to reach out to any small business there thinking about growing. Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, 2026-05-11
• Downtown Vision's latest State of Downtown report tallied a $7 billion pipeline of development in downtown Jacksonville: $809 million finished in 2025, another $3 billion under construction, and $2.8 billion more approved or under review. The report also put downtown's resident count at 9,228 people. A pipeline this size keeps construction firms, architects, and site contractors busy on downtown projects for years. Each finished building brings in real estate brokers, retail tenants, and hospitality businesses to serve the 9,228 residents already living downtown, plus a steady pool of new commercial tenants who will need accounting, insurance, IT, and legal services as they open. Downtown Vision, Inc. (2025 State of Downtown Report), 2026-04-29
• IKO cut the ribbon on its first Florida plant June 17, a $240 million, 300,000 square foot shingle manufacturing campus in Clay Hill. The plant brings more than 100 jobs making asphalt shingles now, with insulation board and rolled roofing lines planned for later phases on the same property. The plant's opening and its more than 100 new jobs mean steady work for local suppliers, freight haulers moving raw materials and finished shingles, and maintenance and equipment contractors. As IKO builds its next two production lines on the same campus, that means ongoing construction and site work for years. Clay County was one of the only counties in the region to add new business filings this week, up from 67 to 70, which lines up with a major new employer opening its doors there. IKO (GlobeNewswire company press release), 2026-06-17
• Green Cove Springs city council voted July 7 to move two parcels, one tied to St. John's Marine Service LLC on Energy Cove Court and another on South US Highway 17, from Mixed Use Highway zoning to General Commercial. Council members also pushed a roughly 111 acre development deal on Leonard C. Taylor Parkway to its next reading. The rezoning opens land for a marine services business and other commercial users, and keeps a roughly 111 acre development moving toward approval. That means work now for surveyors, land use attorneys, and site contractors, and later for commercial builders and the retail and personal service businesses that follow new commercial space. Green Cove Springs added a filing this week, up from 16 to 17, in step with the city moving new commercial land through approval. City of Green Cove Springs (City Council meeting summary), 2026-07-07
• St. Johns County switched on its State Road 207 Water Reclamation Facility on May 11, the county's largest capital project ever at $191.8 million. The build added a pump station on Watson Road, a booster station at Tillman Ridge, and about 15 miles of large pipeline, and it can treat 3.25 million gallons of water a day, with room to grow to 6.5 million. This adds the wastewater and reclaimed water capacity that homebuilders and commercial developers need before they can move new subdivisions and commercial projects forward in that part of the county. It means work now for utility contractors and engineers, and it clears a path for future construction, real estate, and the retail and personal service businesses that new subdivisions bring. St. Johns County (news release via PR Newswire), 2026-06-29

This week's pullback was led by Duval County, so anyone selling to new businesses in Jacksonville has a smaller fresh list to work than two weeks ago. Real opportunities are still forming close by. Clay County kept growing while its neighbors slowed, and that lines up with IKO opening its first Florida shingle plant in Clay Hill and Green Cove Springs opening more commercial land through rezoning. Suppliers, freight haulers, site contractors, and the accountants and insurance agents who serve new employers have real reasons to reach out to businesses in Clay County right now. Longer term, Flagler County's large Raydient development plan, Nassau County's new small business expansion credits, downtown Jacksonville's development pipeline, and St. Johns County's new water and sewer capacity all point to where construction, real estate, and professional services will find work in the months ahead, even in a week when the region's overall filing count cooled.

These counts come from new business filings recorded with the State of Florida for Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties. We wait about two weeks after each week ends before we report it, so the state has time to finish recording all filings from that week and the count is complete and accurate. Changes shown here compare this week to the seven days before it and to the same week last year.

Frequently asked questions

Why did filings drop this week?

The drop was led by Duval County, where filings fell from 554 to 425, and by fewer new limited liability companies overall, down from 645 to 518. St. Johns and Flagler counties also fell.

Did any part of the region grow?

Yes. Clay County added filings, up from 67 to 70, and Baker County rose from 7 to 8. Finance & Insurance and Hospitality & Tourism were the only two industries that grew this week.

How often is this report updated?

Every week, covering the seven days that ended about two weeks earlier so the state has time to finish recording all the filings.