Florida small business statistics
Florida produced 647,734 business applications in 2025, up 2.1% from 2024 and 65.2% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline. The page shows a large filing market, the latest employer-likely application signal, county concentration after adjusting for population, private-sector labor growth, SBA lending, unincorporated receipts, bankruptcy filings, and federal contract demand.
Public source files covering Florida business formation, labor, lending, proprietor income, bankruptcy, and federal contracting.
What the data shows
The topline combines new filing volume, employer-likely application quality, county concentration, labor-market structure, lending, and business stress signals.
Florida logged 647,734 business applications in 2025, up 2.1% from 2024 and 65.2% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
Through May 2026, total applications were up 14.4% from the same months in 2025; high-propensity applications fell 0.1%.
Miami-Dade filed 135,758 applications in 2025, the largest county total in Florida. Miami-Dade led the high-volume counties after adjusting for population.
Professional services added the most private-sector establishments since 2019. Health care and social assistance added the most private-sector jobs.
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Florida businesses reached $4.0B in FY2025 across 7,015 loans, led by health care, construction, accommodation and food services, professional services, and other services.
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Florida counties rose from 2,440 to 2,623 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026.
New business formation
Florida business applications reached 647,734 in 2025, up 2.1% from 2024. Through May 2026, applications were running 14.4% ahead of the same months in 2025.
The long comparison starts before the pandemic reset.
The 2019 comparison uses the last full pre-pandemic year. Florida’s shutdown period and the business churn that followed reshaped EIN filing patterns; high-propensity applications totaled 92,552 through May 2026, down 0.1% from Jan-May 2025. Projected business formations within eight quarters rose 26.5% over the same period.
Metric note: Census BFS counts applications for employer identification numbers. Applications are early filings; confirmed operating-business counts arrive later.
Where applications are concentrated
Miami-Dade is the largest application market by raw volume. Among the high-volume counties shown below, Miami-Dade stands out most after adjusting for population.
Population-adjusted filing volume changes the county read.
The chart uses 2025 Census BFS applications divided by Census Vintage 2025 resident population estimates. Miami-Dade leads both the raw filing count and the population-adjusted rate among the high-volume counties shown below.
Metric note: Census BFS counts EIN applications. The denominator is 2025 resident population, not existing businesses, so this is a scale adjustment rather than a startup conversion rate.
| County | 2025 applications | Change vs 2024 | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 135,758 | -2.0% | +57.7% |
| Broward | 72,422 | -1.4% | +40.1% |
| Orange | 49,392 | +2.4% | +61.3% |
| Palm Beach | 48,510 | -1.0% | +46.5% |
| Hillsborough | 43,619 | +6.7% | +72.7% |
| Pinellas | 38,333 | +10.8% | +146.6% |
| Duval | 24,588 | +1.3% | +50.3% |
| Lee | 21,601 | +7.5% | +97.1% |
| Polk | 17,346 | +8.6% | +113.3% |
| Osceola | 13,443 | +1.0% | +106.4% |
| Pasco | 13,172 | +7.7% | +104.8% |
| Brevard | 11,649 | +3.3% | +73.6% |
Jobs, establishments, and wages
In 2024, Florida had 876,034 private-sector establishments and 8,729,175 private-sector jobs in the QCEW annual file. Establishments grew 23.1% from 2019 to 2024; jobs grew 11.8%.
Professional services is the establishment-growth story.
Professional services added 41,621 establishments from 2019 to 2024. Health care and social assistance added 163,720 jobs over the same period.
QCEW tracks employer establishments. It is the recurring source here for jobs, wages, payroll, and local industry structure.
| Industry | 2024 establishments | Change vs 2019 | 2024 jobs | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services | 149,324 | +41,621 (+38.6%) | 754,673 | +159,908 (+26.9%) |
| Health care and social assistance | 92,214 | +24,486 (+36.2%) | 1,321,104 | +163,720 (+14.1%) |
| Construction | 84,936 | +10,225 (+13.7%) | 647,881 | +84,355 (+15.0%) |
| Administrative services | 68,642 | +11,079 (+19.2%) | 728,244 | +47,173 (+6.9%) |
| Other services | 60,954 | +4,189 (+7.4%) | 297,469 | +15,494 (+5.5%) |
| Accommodation and food services | 54,331 | +6,896 (+14.5%) | 1,053,017 | +36,437 (+3.6%) |
| Real estate and rental | 50,458 | +9,596 (+23.5%) | 221,283 | +25,403 (+13.0%) |
| Finance and insurance | 45,168 | +9,381 (+26.2%) | 455,374 | +65,295 (+16.7%) |
| Wholesale trade | 42,430 | +2,244 (+5.6%) | 395,837 | +43,274 (+12.3%) |
| Information | 20,233 | +8,489 (+72.3%) | 156,740 | +17,895 (+12.9%) |
SBA lending
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Florida businesses totaled $4.0B in FY2025 across 7,015 loans. The SBA files report 66,366 jobs supported for those approvals.
Health care and social assistance drew the most SBA capital.
Health care and social assistance drew $563.6M in FY2025 SBA approvals. Construction, Accommodation and food services, Professional services, and Other services also ranked among the top capital destinations.
SBA fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The source package was current as of April 28, 2026.
| Sector | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 825 | $563.6M | 9,502 |
| Construction | 941 | $512.4M | 7,925 |
| Accommodation and food services | 665 | $509.6M | 11,582 |
| Professional services | 839 | $394.0M | 6,636 |
| Other services | 680 | $351.8M | 5,826 |
| Retail trade | 637 | $348.7M | 4,532 |
| Wholesale trade | 460 | $329.3M | 2,953 |
| Manufacturing | 359 | $244.7M | 3,238 |
| Administrative services | 448 | $171.1M | 5,102 |
| Arts and entertainment | 254 | $139.1M | 1,956 |
| County | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 1,364 | $609.2M | 10,653 |
| Broward | 827 | $400.6M | 7,198 |
| Palm Beach | 569 | $337.0M | 5,191 |
| Hillsborough | 504 | $309.1M | 5,139 |
| Orange | 508 | $279.4M | 5,247 |
| Duval | 269 | $177.2M | 2,738 |
| Pinellas | 301 | $169.9M | 2,891 |
| Lee | 230 | $163.5M | 2,802 |
| Sarasota | 185 | $137.4M | 2,005 |
| Seminole | 161 | $104.0M | 1,585 |
The unincorporated business economy
IRS SOI data show 2,764,108 Florida Schedules C and partnership returns/forms in Tax Year 2023. Those businesses reported $432.3B in gross receipts and $17.2B in the combined income/profit measure.
Sole proprietors account for most returns.
Florida had 2,410,089 nonfarm sole-proprietor Schedules C in Tax Year 2023, with $102.2B in gross receipts and $16.8B in net profit.
Partnerships reported more gross receipts.
Florida partnerships filed 354,019 Forms 1065 in Tax Year 2023 and reported $330.1B in gross receipts.
| County | Returns/forms | Gross receipts | Combined income/profit metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 576,187 | $102.5B | -$4.7B |
| Broward | 318,667 | $52.5B | -$740.4M |
| Palm Beach | 223,128 | $58.4B | $1.8B |
| Orange | 203,293 | $33.8B | $3.4B |
| Hillsborough | 176,445 | $32.9B | $1.5B |
| Duval | 98,854 | $15.5B | $1.6B |
| Pinellas | 96,723 | $15.9B | $477.6M |
| Lee | 87,579 | $11.0B | $1.5B |
| Polk | 71,878 | $6.1B | $462.0M |
| Osceola | 63,468 | $3.7B | $343.0M |
Business stress signals
U.S. Courts F-5A shows 2,623 business bankruptcy cases tied to Florida counties in the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, up from 2,440 in the prior 12-month period. Chapter 11 cases totaled 1,024.
County bankruptcy rows can move sharply.
Miami-Dade had the largest business-bankruptcy count in the latest F-5A table. County bankruptcy rows can move when related business cases are filed in the same venue, so this table works best as a lead for follow-up reporting.
Definition: U.S. Courts classifies debt as business when the debtor is a corporation or partnership, or when business-related debt predominates.
| County | Business cases, 12 months ending Mar. 31, 2026 | Change vs prior 12 months | Chapter 11 cases | All bankruptcy cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 429 | +39 | 154 | 7,739 |
| Broward | 307 | -98 | 115 | 4,516 |
| Palm Beach | 264 | +102 | 157 | 2,443 |
| Orange | 252 | +37 | 116 | 3,132 |
| Hillsborough | 182 | +38 | 70 | 3,357 |
| Duval | 122 | +42 | 54 | 2,421 |
| Pinellas | 111 | -25 | 57 | 1,669 |
| Lee | 84 | +9 | 18 | 1,812 |
| Collier | 65 | +17 | 16 | 518 |
| Volusia | 59 | +5 | 16 | 1,441 |
National credit backdrop
The 2026 Fed Small Business Credit Survey appendix reported that 94% of U.S. employer firms faced a financial challenge in 2025, 38% applied for financing, and 52% of applicants were fully approved.
Federal contract demand
USAspending reports $32.8B in FY2025 federal procurement obligations to recipients located in Florida. The filter covers procurement awards to FL recipients across award type codes A, B, C, and D.
| NAICS | Federal procurement category | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 336414 | Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing | $5.5B |
| 336413 | Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing | $3.1B |
| 332993 | Ammunition (except Small Arms) Manufacturing | $2.3B |
| 562119 | Other Waste Collection | $1.8B |
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $1.7B |
| 541330 | Engineering Services | $1.1B |
| 483111 | Deep Sea Freight Transportation | $936.0M |
| 334511 | Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing | $868.5M |
| 621111 | Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) | $814.8M |
| 336415 | Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing | $794.4M |
Sources and methodology
The charts and figures on this page come from public source files or APIs. Annual sources use the most recent complete year available; partial-year figures are labeled in the text.
- Census BFS monthly CSV
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:00 GMT - Census BFS county workbook
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:22 GMT - Census county population estimates
Vintage 2025 county resident population estimates - BLS QCEW annual area files
2019 and 2024 annual API files - SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA package
Updated April 28, 2026, 14:42 GMT - IRS SOI Tax Year 2023 unincorporated tables
Tax Year 2023 county combined, sole proprietor state, and partnership state tables - U.S. Courts F-5A bankruptcy XLSX
12 months ending March 31, 2026 - Fed SBCS Main Street Metrics appendix
Last updated March 23, 2026 - USAspending API
FY2025 procurement obligations
Alex Morgan edits public business datasets for SMB Statistics, including Census, BLS, SBA, IRS, U.S. Courts, Fed SBCS, and USAspending files.