Fort Lauderdale Marine and Yachting Industry: Jobs, Wages and Waterfront Facilities

Broward County's three core recreational boating industries, boat dealers, marinas and boat building, employed 3,291 people in March 2026, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW data (BLS QCEW).

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages counts workers covered by Unemployment Insurance and by Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees, county by county (BLS county table), so the figures describe Broward County as a whole, not the Fort Lauderdale city limits alone. The first quarter 2026 release came out on August 28, 2026 and reports employment for March 2026 (BLS news release). BLS labels the first quarter 2026 data preliminary (BLS county table).

Boat dealers are the largest piece. Broward County had 253 boat dealer establishments with 1,747 jobs in March 2026 (BLS QCEW). Marinas followed with 94 establishments and 1,144 jobs, and boat building had 80 establishments and 400 jobs. Two smaller water trades add to the picture: other support activities for water transportation had 50 establishments and 247 jobs, and scenic and sightseeing water transportation in Broward County had 76 establishments and 257 jobs.

Broward County boat dealers paid an average weekly wage of $1,668 in the first quarter of 2026, above the $1,544 average for all private jobs in Broward County (BLS QCEW).

The other water trades in Broward County sit on both sides of that county average. Other support activities for water transportation paid the most, $1,744 a week, while boat building paid $1,370 and marinas $1,359 (BLS QCEW). Scenic and sightseeing water transportation paid $962 a week, the lowest in the group. For comparison, the BLS put the national average weekly wage for the first quarter of 2026 at $1,654 (BLS).

BLS presents the Broward County wage data as average weekly wages for the first quarter of 2026, while the job counts are for March 2026 (BLS news release). A weekly average for one quarter is not an annual salary.

Boat dealer employment in Broward County is about nine times as concentrated as in the nation, with a March 2026 location quotient of 9.01, and marinas are about six times as concentrated, at 6.07 (BLS QCEW).

A location quotient compares an industry's share of local jobs with its share nationally; 1.0 means the same share as the United States. Boat building in Broward County scored 1.73 for March 2026, and other support activities for water transportation scored 5.91 (BLS QCEW). The high readings for dealers and marinas match what the City of Fort Lauderdale says about itself: 165 miles of navigable waterways and an Intracoastal Waterway lined with marinas (City of Fort Lauderdale marinas).

The trend is the part a resident or job seeker should not miss. In the preliminary QCEW data, every one of these Broward County marine industries had fewer jobs in March 2026 than in March 2025: boat building lost 95 jobs (19.2 percent), marinas 115 (9.1 percent) and boat dealers 154 (8.1 percent), a steeper drop than the 1.4 percent decline for all private employment in the county (BLS QCEW). The annual 2026 figures, and revisions to these quarterly numbers, will show whether the decline held through the year.

The 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show runs October 28 to November 1, 2026, at waterfront sites from Bahia Mar to Pier Sixty-Six, its organizer says (FLIBS).

The organizer lists the 2026 Fort Lauderdale show locations as the Broward County Convention Center, Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina and Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South (FLIBS). Hours are noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1. The Marine Industries Association of South Florida owns the event and Informa Markets produces it; the organizer bills it as the biggest boat show held in the water anywhere.

The show reaches well beyond the docks. The City of Fort Lauderdale lists the same October 28 to November 1 dates on the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center schedule and notes that the center may have modified hours or closures during listed event dates (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The City of Fort Lauderdale runs public docking at Cooley's Landing and on the New River downtown, plus four free boat sewage pump out stations (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Fort Lauderdale's marine facilities office, at 450 SW 7th Ave and open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., answers at (954) 828-4626 or (954) 828-5423 and monitors VHF channel 9 (City of Fort Lauderdale). Docking is first come, first served under a posted dockage rate card. Two pump out stations are self service around the clock: Cox's Landing Boat Ramp at 1784 SE 15th Street and Smoker Park at 501 S. New River Drive. Two are staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Marshall Point at 401 SW 4th Avenue and Cooley's Landing Marina at 450 SW 7th Avenue.

The city says its marine facilities carry the Clean Marina designation of the Florida Clean Marina Program, and, as of October 15, 2026, its page still said a mobile sewage pump out service is coming in spring 2026 (City of Fort Lauderdale). The same page links to the city's Marine Advisory Board. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Fort Lauderdale and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics websites.

Port Everglades is Broward County's commercial seaport, separate from the recreational boating trade, and the county says it supports 13,139 direct local jobs, most of them in cargo (Port Everglades).

Port Everglades reports that its fiscal year 2025 economic impact study, produced by the maritime research firm Martin Associates, found more than $48.3 billion in annual business activity and 295,763 jobs statewide, although the jobs table on the same page totals 295,166 (Port Everglades). Of the 13,139 direct local jobs, the study assigns 7,426 to cargo, including petroleum, and 5,893 to cruise. The study covers firms serving the port's cargo and cruise terminals, a different measure from the QCEW payroll counts in the table above.

The QCEW data shows the port side of the Broward County water economy too. Support activities for water transportation as a whole (NAICS 4883) had 101 establishments and 1,468 jobs in March 2026, up 111 jobs or 8.2 percent from a year earlier, the only one of the water industry groups on this page to grow (BLS QCEW). That contrast, water transportation support adding jobs while boat dealers, marinas and boatbuilders shed them, is the clearest current signal in the Fort Lauderdale marine numbers.