Business applications across the four-county Tampa Bay area.
Census annual dataTampa Bay Reference
Tampa Bay Business Formation Statistics
A sourced look at annual business applications in Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties, using the latest complete county data available through 2025.
Updated August 25, 2026 · Source: U.S. Census Bureau
More applications than the 91,291 recorded across the same counties in 2024.
Census annual dataGrowth from 62,952 applications in the four-county area to 98,883 in 2025.
Census annual dataAt a glance
Business formation activity reached a six-year high in 2025.
The four counties recorded their largest annual application total in the 2020 to 2025 series. Hillsborough and Pinellas accounted for more than four out of every five applications in 2025.
Hillsborough County
43,6192025 applications44.1% of area total +6.7% from 2024
Census annual dataPinellas County
38,3332025 applications38.8% of area total +10.8% from 2024
Census annual dataPasco County
13,1722025 applications13.3% of area total +7.7% from 2024
Census annual dataHernando County
3,7592025 applications3.8% of area total +4.3% from 2024
Census annual dataAnnual trend
Tampa Bay business applications by year
These figures combine Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. They show applications filed, not the number of businesses that ultimately opened.
| Year | Business applications |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 62,952 |
| 2021 | 80,317 |
| 2022 | 80,752 |
| 2023 | 91,670 |
| 2024 | 91,291 |
| 2025 | 98,883 |
What this measures
Applications are an early signal of business activity.
The Census Bureau counts applications for an employer identification number, a common early step in forming a business. An application is not the same thing as an opened business, an employer business, or a guarantee of future revenue. It is a useful measure of how much new-business activity is entering the pipeline.
The county totals on this page are added from the Census Bureau’s annual county-level series for the Tampa Bay area. Percent changes are calculated from the published annual totals and rounded to one decimal place.
For a business serving Tampa Bay, the practical takeaway is simple: a large and growing group of founders is making early decisions about how to explain an offer, earn trust, and create a clear way for customers to take the next step. Explore Tampa web design services for support with that customer-facing work.
Methodology and sources
Built from public Census data.
This page uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics county-level annual data, accessed on August 25, 2026. The 2025 figures are the latest complete annual values available in that release. Tampa Bay totals combine Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
Cite this page
Arthur’s Creatives. “Tampa Bay Business Formation Statistics.” Updated August 25, 2026. Annual county business application data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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