Florida adds 159,000 business locations as professional services expand, raising questions for St. Johns housing market

Florida added more than 159,000 private-sector business locations between 2020 and early 2026, with strong growth in professional services that could have implications for St. Johns County's housing market.

A Pioneer Institute analysis of federal data, published Oct. 21 and subsequently covered by Florida Realtors, found the state's private-sector business establishment count reached 888,276 in the first quarter of 2026. That is an increase of 159,071 locations, or 21.8%, from the first quarter of 2020.

The growth extends well beyond tourism and construction. Professional, scientific and technical services — a category covering law firms, accounting practices, engineering companies, consulting firms and research operations — reached 153,544 establishments in the third quarter of 2025.

That represents a 14.9% increase since 2022 and a 5% gain over the prior year, a pace that outstripped California, New York and Texas over the same one-year period, according to the analysis.

The figures count business establishments, not necessarily individual companies. A business operating multiple locations may be counted more than once.

What it means locally

In St. Johns County, the statewide shift could have implications for the housing market, particularly if professional-services employment also expands in Northeast Florida.

Professional-services workers are an important potential buyer demographic in the county, where schools and master-planned communities such as Nocatee and SilverLeaf attract families, First Coast Observer reported.

Single-family homes in the $400,000-to-$700,000 range, within commuting distance of Jacksonville's Southside or downtown employment centers, have seen sustained demand in recent years, according to that report.

The county's median home price was approximately $535,000, with inventory at roughly 3.6 months of supply, according to an April 2026 market analysis by the Kim Devlin Team, a St. Augustine-based real estate group.

Those brokerage-reported estimates suggest a market more balanced than the extreme seller advantage of 2021 and 2022. Conditions vary considerably by neighborhood and price range.

The Pioneer Institute's statewide figures do not establish how much professional-services employment has grown specifically in St. Johns County or whether that growth has affected local home prices.

Businesses are also relocating

Florida gained businesses from other states, too. Between 2020 and 2023, 1,721 more firms moved into Florida than left, according to the Pioneer Institute's review of U.S. Census Bureau data.

That adds another layer to the growth beyond new business formations and expansions of existing operations.

Regional economic-development organizations, including JAXUSA Partnership and the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, have emphasized quality of life, workforce training and infrastructure as tools to attract employers, First Coast Observer reported.

The statewide data suggest those efforts are taking place amid broader business growth, although capturing that growth locally is not automatic.

Growth is slowing

The boom has cooled.

Annual net business establishment formation fell from 46,129 in 2021 to 27,210 in 2022 and 9,755 in 2023, according to the Pioneer Institute report.

Quarterly net formation was flat or negative in three of the five quarters through the first quarter of 2025, including a negative 0.2% rate in the most recent quarter examined for that measure.

Still, Florida's total business establishment count grew 3% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, the ninth-fastest rate nationally.

The distinction matters: Florida continued adding business locations overall even as the pace of net new establishment formation slowed.

Remote work is the wild card

How remote and hybrid work policies evolve could influence where future housing demand develops.

If professional-services firms maintain flexible arrangements, employees may prioritize housing quality and school access over proximity to an office, broadening the geography of demand, First Coast Observer reported.

Firms that require more in-office time could instead concentrate demand closer to Jacksonville's employment centers.

For St. Johns County, the question is whether statewide business expansion translates into additional local jobs, relocations and homebuyers.

The Pioneer Institute data cover statewide trends and do not break out St. Johns County specifically. County-level professional-services employment figures were not included in the analysis, so the local housing effects remain uncertain.