Jacksonville, Florida Economy Guide

Nine Jacksonville economy guides sit under this hub, and the table matches each common question about jobs, trade and investment in Jacksonville with its key fact and the guide that covers it.

The major employers guide, the banking and finance guide and the logistics and distribution guide cover the companies and sectors; the Port of Jacksonville guide, the JAXPORT harbor deepening guide, the Jacksonville International Airport guide and the Cecil Spaceport guide cover the trade gateways; the downtown redevelopment guide follows investment in the urban core; and the tourism economy guide covers visitor spending. Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the City of Jacksonville, JAXPORT, Jacksonville Aviation Authority, FAA and U.S. Census Bureau websites.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is the largest employer in Jacksonville with 14,390 employees in 2024, followed by Baptist Health and Duval County Public Schools with 12,000 each, in the city's fiscal 2024 financial report (City of Jacksonville ACFR).

The list has shifted since 2015, when NAS Jacksonville was credited with 25,240 employees and Mayo Clinic with 4,970 (ACFR). Mayo Clinic has since grown to 8,450 and Baptist Health from 8,270 to 12,000, so Jacksonville hospital employers now sit beside the Navy bases at the top of the list. Amazon was not on the 2015 list and now counts 8,000; United Parcel Service and Citi dropped off. Together the 2024 top employers held 102,699 jobs, 18.21 percent of city employment.

A different city schedule ranks property taxpayers rather than employers. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Vistakon) tops it with a taxable valuation of $498,738,860, ahead of St. Johns Town Center, and Fidelity Information Services ranks seventh among Jacksonville taxpayers (ACFR). The employer counts are for 2024, so hiring since then is not reflected; the major employers guide follows the names in detail.

Education, health care and social assistance employ 20.6 percent of working Jacksonville residents, the largest industry group in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates (ACS DP03).

Professional, scientific, management and administrative services follow at 12.8 percent of Jacksonville workers, retail trade at 12.7 percent, finance, insurance and real estate at 11.2 percent, and transportation, warehousing and utilities at 8.0 percent (ACS DP03). Government workers make up 11.4 percent of employed civilian residents. The ACS unemployment rate for Jacksonville residents is 4.6 percent, an average across 2020 through 2024.

The City of Jacksonville ten-year statistics, which draw on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, show a tighter labor market: unemployment of 3.5 percent in fiscal 2024, up from 2.7 percent in 2022 and 2019 and down from 5.2 percent in 2015 (ACFR economic statistics). Per capita personal income reached $57,212 in fiscal 2024 in the same schedule, against $41,679 in 2015.

Cargo moving through JAXPORT supported 30,764 port-dependent jobs in the Jacksonville area in 2024, and more than 258,800 jobs and $44 billion in annual economic output across Florida, in a study by Martin Associates published by the port (JAXPORT).

Port-dependent jobs pay an average of $76,706 a year (JAXPORT). The same study credits Jacksonville cargo with $3.1 billion in business revenue and $346 million in state and local taxes in 2024. The cruise business accounts for more than 870 jobs and more than $211 million in annual economic impact for Northeast Florida, and nearly 195,000 passengers sailed from the cruise terminal on August Drive in 2023.

The St. Johns River shipping channel reached 47 feet through Blount Island in May 2022, seven months ahead of schedule, after a $420 million deepening from 40 feet (JAXPORT). Three of four contracts, covering the first 11 miles of the 13-mile federal project, are complete; contract D is authorized and under review. The Port of Jacksonville guide covers the terminals and the JAXPORT harbor deepening guide covers the channel project.

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority runs four airports: Jacksonville International (JAX), JAXEX at Craig Airport, Herlong Recreational Airport and Cecil Airport (Jacksonville Aviation Authority).

More than 7.6 million passengers flew through Jacksonville International in 2024, the busiest year in the airport's history and 2.8 percent above 2023 (JAA).

Cecil Airport doubles as Cecil Air and Space Port, an FAA-licensed horizontal launch site operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority at 13365 Simpson Way. Its license, LSO 09-012, was renewed on January 10, 2025 and runs to January 10, 2030 (FAA). The Jacksonville International Airport guide and the Cecil Spaceport guide go deeper.

Downtown Jacksonville reached a new peak of over 1,000 residential units in active construction in fiscal 2024, when the city provided oversight for 71 active downtown construction contracts representing over $3 billion in private capital investment (City of Jacksonville ACFR).

The largest project is the agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars to renovate Everbank Stadium into the Stadium of the Future at a shared cost of $1.4 billion, with the city paying $775 million over four years starting in 2025, completion set for 2028 and a 30-year lease (ACFR). In the same year the city approved four incentive packages for a new mixed-use district spanning 5 city blocks on vacant downtown parcels, with over 1,000 multi-family units and minimum private capital investment exceeding $373 million, and a $59 million incentive package for a Related Companies high-rise with over 390 residential units. The first LaVilla townhome units closed, the first new opportunity for home ownership in a decade, and $974,000 in incentive awards went to 10 new food and beverage establishments.

The Downtown Investment Authority, a City of Jacksonville agency, seeks to attract investment, facilitate job creation and increase residential density through capital investment, planning, marketing and public-private partnerships, including incentives (DIA). The downtown redevelopment guide tracks these projects one by one.

The City of Jacksonville Office of Economic Development runs a Starting a New Business page that walks through ownership structures and points to the Duval County Local Business Tax, State of Florida taxes and federal taxes (City of Jacksonville).

The Office of Economic Development states its mission as developing policies that strengthen the Jacksonville economy, broaden the tax base and create opportunities for the workforce and local small business enterprises (Office of Economic Development). Its pages also cover business financing programs and the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund. Downtown projects go through the Downtown Investment Authority instead, which handles downtown incentives and city-owned property dispositions (DIA). Questions about any Jacksonville city office start with MyJax at (904) 630-CITY (2489) (City of Jacksonville).