Florida Leading the Nation in Business Startups Ahead of California, Texas and Georgia
This metric and others that will help us secure Florida’s future can be found on TheFloridaScorecard.org
The Florida Chamber Foundation continues advancing the Florida 2030 Blueprint and its 39 goals, including Florida becoming the #1 state for business startups in the country. As we work to grow Florida to a top 10 global economy, the latest data on new business formations shows that Florida led the nation in 2020, taking the #1 spot.
In 2020, Florida had 495,251 business applications— 58,521 more than second place California, 111,133 more than third place Texas, and nearly double fourth place Georgia. Overall, Florida new business applications rose by 26.8% compared to 2019.
Data Source: United States Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics
Florida seems to have carried the momentum into 2021, as the latest monthly estimates show Florida continues to outpace the nation and is on track to top our record year in 2020. We must continue working, as a united business community, to maintain this Florida 2030 Blueprint goal, keeping Florida as the lead, while moving the needle on the remaining 38 Florida 2030 Blueprint goals.
Small businesses employ more than 40 percent of Florida’s private sector workforce and contribute to nearly half of the state’s GDP. A special thanks to Greg Britton, State Director, and the entire team at Florida SBDC, Florida’s leading provider of small business assistance, for their leadership and commitment to our mission as the 2030 goal leader for the “#1 State for Business Startups” Florida 2030 Blueprint goal. The Florida Chamber Foundation is seeking additional goal leaders to join Florida SBDC in championing the road to 2030. Click here to learn more about goal leadership and contact David Gillespie at dgillespie@flchamber.com to adopt a goal today.