The county encompassing Lakewood Ranch added 8,333 new businesses from January through September 2026, a 5% jump over the same period last year.

Manatee County's growth tracks a statewide surge. Florida registered 474,039 new businesses during those nine months, the most on record for that period and a 5.8% increase over 2025, according to a report from FiledToday.com, a Punta Gorda firm that tracks filings with the Florida Division of Corporations. The Business Observer reported on the findings Nov. 5.

The 2026 total topped the previous nine-month high of 463,978, set during the 2021 pandemic-era boom, by 2.2%. Forty-three of Florida's 67 counties hit record highs for the period.

Manatee County rose from 7,939 filings during the same stretch in 2025. Neighboring Sarasota County posted 9,116 new filings, a 6% increase over last year's 8,597.

Across Florida, the boom was strongest in the spring. March filings ran 16.4% ahead of a year earlier. By late summer the statewide pace had cooled: July dipped 0.1% below 2025, August rose 2.8% and September fell 5.3%.

Real estate leads the pack among Manatee County businesses whose names indicate an industry, according to FiledToday.com's county page. Professional services, construction and trades, and cleaning and janitorial round out the top four. The cleaning and janitorial category runs at 1.5 times its statewide share, the report said.

In a more recent window, from Sept. 8 through Oct. 30, Bradenton accounted for half of the county's new filings. The county averaged 34 new filings per business day during that stretch and ranked No. 16 among Florida's 67 counties by volume.

The numbers don't all stick. Of the Florida-based companies formed in 2023, 47% remain active, according to the report. Among those formed in 2025, about 65% are still active. Roughly one in three is already gone.

Statewide, business names are tracking national trends. Filings with "AI" in the name jumped from 558 in the first nine months of 2025 to 874 during the same period in 2026. Companies with "peptide" in the name climbed from 41 to 178 over the same span.