If you aren’t doing business in Florida, you’re missing out. Sure, it sounds like the same pitch you’d hear from every other state in the union. But most don’t come close to backing it up.
The state has a favorable business climate, with low taxes and modest regulation. Florida led the nation in corporate relocations in 2023 and boasts the nation’s top education system, which cultivates a pipeline of talented workers for the wide range of industries comprising a dynamic economy.
From the Panhandle to the southern tip of the state, it’s easy to think of Florida as eight separate states operating under a single flag. Each of these regions is building its own story (see Regions p.24) through the careful cultivation of industry sectors and clusters.
The state is in the midst of an effort to shape its economy by stimulating higher-wage sectors, including aerospace, financial services, e-commerce, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and transformational transportation solutions. The goal is to add 200,000 higher-income jobs and $100 billion to the GDP by 2030, according to The Florida Council of 100’s Beyond Sunshine private sector initiative.
This is a place where entrepreneurship thrives — thanks in part to dynamic ideas flowing from university research centers — with more than 250,000 new businesses forming in 2024. Smaller businesses are critical to the state’s economy, says Tammie Sweet, executive director of GrowFL, which supports the growth of second-stage companies.
Those companies make up about 10 percent of the total business population, while creating nearly a third of all jobs.
“It's a small but mighty group of individuals who are creating a disproportionate number of jobs,” Sweet says. “And it's not just that they're creating those jobs today. The potential for growth is significant.”
And while Florida incentives set a high bar for jobs and capital, it does offer a business-friendly environment through broader programs affecting multiple companies and industries with the same broad brush.
The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, for example, spends millions of dollars annually on roads, rail spurs, utilities and water systems to make large developments more attractive to prospective companies. Grants are also used to develop new college training programs, centers of excellence and certificates to meet the talent needs of employers.
The Live Local Act aims to alleviate housing problems by spurring the growth of mixed-income developments across the state. Among other things, the act allows building developers to get quicker approvals from local governing bodies and makes it easier to build taller and more densely — provided the project includes affordable housing for workers.
The Live Healthy Act seeks to increase residents’ access to medical care by increasing residency slots in the state, offering new training programs, targeting rural areas and by making it quicker for out-of-state practitioners to get their Florida licenses when they move to the state.
Florida is a state on the rise, with a booming economic ecosystem fueled by regional economic partnerships, educational research initiatives, strong private sector investment and the draw of its beaches and sunshine.
To gain a better understanding of what’s happening in the state, consider what’s happening with key industries and regions.
The Space Coast is everywhere
When thinking about government and commercial space launches, it’s difficult not to envision rockets arcing through the sky above Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and the region known as the Space Coast.
Indeed, the Space Coast is ground zero for Florida’s burgeoning space and aviation sectors, led by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Those companies have positioned themselves through their billionaire ownership and by securing lucrative government contracts. But they are not the only games in town, says Casey Barnes, client services leader for aerospace and defense markets at BRPH.
“Our job is to work with them to build launch pads, to build payload processing facilities and to build rocket engine testing sites,” says Barnes.
The industry is a magnet for other companies looking to claim a piece of this dynamic and exciting world. Increasingly, the parts used to build rockets, engines and payloads are being manufactured in the state.
Strictly speaking, the Space Coast covers about 70 miles of eastern coastline. The area is made up of several communities, including Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Port Canaveral, Titusville and Palm Bay.
But there’s nothing that says a company needs to be based on the Space Coast. The industry has grown so much that the space ecosystem is essentially statewide. There are companies in Orlando, Jacksonville and faraway Pensacola that help send rockets into space.
Consider Martin County, where there are several aerospace firms based roughly two hours south of the space center. There’s a firm making afterburner parts, another working on jet engines and a third printing metal parts used on space-bound craft, says Ted Astolfi, chief executive officer of the Economic Council of Martin County.
There are obvious advantages to being on the industry’s doorstep. But there are also perks that come with locating a bit farther out. For starters, it’s easier to find a more affordable location. And if the market experiences turbulence, competing for employees isn’t as challenging.
“Not everybody likes to be clustered with other like businesses,” Astolfi states.
Any company looking for an edge in defense-related sectors can also take advantage of a rich pool of military veterans who have retired to Florida. It’s an available workforce with a keen understanding of how to deal with defense contracts, says Kellie Jo Kilberg, chairman of the Florida Defense Alliance.
“That military language is a language all on its own with the acronyms they have,” Kilberg says. “Being able to hire people who have already been through the system and know the culture is really important.”
Built on international trade
Florida is a natural gateway for Latin American companies looking to enter the U.S. market. Along with being well positioned geographically, the state has a strong track record of working with international firms.
That’s a significant factor for companies looking to reduce risk, says Gray Swoope, president of VisionFirst Advisors, an economic development consulting firm.
“The first thing to do when mitigating risk is look for a location that has experience with foreign direct investment,” Swoope says. “Florida has an economy that's built on international and global trade. And you also have very sophisticated economic development professionals in the state that know how to work with international companies.”
The state’s utilities have extensive experience with foreign investors and there is a deep bilingual labor pool.
And with multiple international airports, the state is well positioned to meet the needs of businesses that need quick access to cities in South and Central America and Europe. The steady growth of international investment has helped those airports push for expanded flight schedules.
“With so many businesses in this region needing more nonstop international connections, we’ve been able to show data to airlines that illustrate the rising demand, prompting them to add more flights or frequencies between Tampa and Latin American and European cities,” says Joe Lopano, chief executive officer of Tampa International Airport. “Those flights, in turn, bring hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact annually to the Tampa Bay area and help our region thrive as a top business and leisure destination.”
Advanced Manufacturing
Whether it’s medical devices, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals or aviation components, the state is developing a strong manufacturing industry that’s helping to meet the needs of other high-tech sectors. One need only look to the state’s growing commercial space industry to see that in play.
“Every rocket that that goes up, there's manufacturing that goes along with it,” says Barnes, with BRPH.
Among Florida’s manufacturers are those employing the latest technologies, including waste-free 3D printing (or additive manufacturing.) That includes companies like Hollywood based Sintavia, which makes aerospace components.
The firm is just one of several advanced manufacturers setting up shop in the region, says Bob Swindell, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. Another, ATI, is building an additive manufacturing operation in Margate after winning a contract to support the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
“We're seeing everything from nozzles for jet engines and rocket engines as well as propulsion systems for defense,” Swindell says. “By using additive manufacturing, they can make these much more sophisticated parts.”
Fintech and Wall Street South
The financial services and financial technology sectors have a long history in the Sunshine State.
Citibank, for example, has its largest operation outside of New York City located in Tampa, where it has a campus large enough to claim its own zip code. The facility, which has more than 10,000 employees, has gone through a series of expansions over four decades and now houses a wide range of higher-level services, including the company’s global anti-money laundering operation.
Palm Beach launched its own effort more than a decade ago with its Wall Street South initiative. What started with a handful of firms has ballooned to more than 250 fintech companies.
“Wall Street South represents the greatest migration of wealth taking place in the state of Florida, the greatest migration of financial service firms and the greatest migration of people,” says Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
A constant demand for workers has prompted local efforts to work with local universities to develop new education and training programs. The goal is to develop a deeper pool of talent for companies moving from places like New York, Boston and Chicago. That effort is receiving a boost through Vanderbilt University’s plan to build a new business school in West Palm Beach, where it will focus on fintech, cyber security, data analytics and artificial intelligence.
“They’re doing it with the mindset that they understand there is a gap and that local fintech companies are telling them we need more,” Smallridge says.
The state also supports the fintech industry through its Florida Job Growth Fund. Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College were granted $3.6 million to create the Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative to create a pair of certificate programs and other training opportunities focused on accounting, business administration, financial services and information technology.
Health Care Opportunities
Everyone needs hospitals and doctors. Florida is no different. But the state’s demographics — with an exploding population that’s also aging — means there are tremendous opportunities in health care. That’s particularly true for innovators in fields — dementia, for example — focused on helping people enjoy longer, healthier lives.
Across the state, top hospitals are working with universities and private businesses to research, develop and market new treatments and devices. Among them is Tampa General Hospital and its TGH Ventures initiative.
“We have been able to identify, partner with and invest in companies that are developing innovative solutions for these needs,” says Rachel Feinman, vice president of innovation at Tampa General Hospital and managing director at TGH Ventures.
In St. Lucie County, the thirst for research and new ideas played a role in Cleveland Clinic’s decision to invest nearly $500 million acquiring the local hospital system. The deal included the rights to lease the shuttered research operation once used by Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida.
Similarly, Florida International University has absorbed the Torrey Pines facility — once used for molecular studies — for its own Center for Translational Science, focusing on conditions including aging, brain injuries, infection and immunity.
“We've seen a reemergence of health. Not only our health care system, but also biotechnology and life sciences,” says Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County. “We have several hundred people working in that discipline where it didn't exist before.”
And as more money moves into the state, there has been a rise in specialty doctors, setting up exclusive membership services catering to the wealthy in Palm Beach, says Kelly Smallridge, from Palm Beach County.
“When you talk to them, they say this is where the wealth is,” Smallridge says. “There are probably a dozen concierge doctors that you never saw before in this market.”
Venture capital: ‘No stopping in sight’
Across the nation, venture capital activity has been slumping since early-to- mid-2021. But with overall market conditions changing, the sector is showing signs of life — something that bodes well for Florida, as one of the fastest growing states in the nation and one that continues to draw the interest of relocating investors and investment firms.
“We're finally seeing movement where we're seeing people put money to work,” says Saxon Baum, a partner with venture capital firm Florida Funders. “We're seeing liquidity happen, and then once we get any sort of rate decrease, leverage is going to come back into the system.”
Among the state’s most promising sectors are health care and fintech, particularly when paired with artificial intelligence.
“We are in the middle of the AI revolution,” Baum says. “When looking at venture right now, AI is by far the hottest sector. AI touches everything.”
Comparing the state — from a technology standpoint — to a baseball game, Baum suggested there is still enormous room for growth: “It’s like we're in the third inning. This state is going to become bigger and better. There's no stopping in sight.”
Florida's top assets