Construction companies in Jacksonville, FL: market data and how to check a contractor

This page is for people looking for Jacksonville construction companies: homeowners and developers choosing a builder, general contractors looking for subcontractors in Northeast Florida, and B2B sellers whose customers are contractors in Duval and the surrounding counties.

How many construction companies are in the Jacksonville area

The US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP) counts construction establishments (NAICS 23) in the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area (CBSA 27260): Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker counties. The latest data is for 2023.

County by county

Duval has 62.6% of the establishments but 77.1% of the jobs, so the larger firms are concentrated in the city. St. Johns County, south toward St. Augustine, is the second hub, with more establishments than Clay County.

By size

In bands: 4,615 establishments have 1 to 19 employees (91.1%), 392 have 20 to 99 (7.7%) and 59 have 100 or more (1.2%). More than two-thirds have fewer than five employees.

By trade

Finishing contractors are the most numerous trade but average under four employees each. Building equipment contractors are fewer and much larger, averaging 15.

The limits of County Business Patterns

CBP counts establishments, meaning single locations, with paid employees. A contractor with offices in Jacksonville and St. Augustine counts twice, and sole proprietors with no payroll aren't counted, so the real number of small trades businesses is higher. Sector 23 excludes architects, engineers and building suppliers. Employment is measured in the pay period including March 12, and the Census Bureau withholds any figure that would reveal one employer's data; none of the Jacksonville figures here are withheld.

Florida contractor licensing, in one table

Florida licenses contractors at the state level through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), under chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes. The definitions matter when you hire:

Specialty trades such as roofing, plumbing, mechanical and pool contractors have their own categories, and some trades are licensed locally rather than by the state.

Five checks before you hire in Jacksonville

1. State license. Search the DBPR license search by name, license number, city or county, or license type. Note whether the license is certified (statewide) or registered (local only).
2. Local card. For trades licensed locally, search the Duval County CTQB database, which covers registered contractors, specialty contractors and journeymen.
3. Workers' compensation. The Florida Division of Workers' Compensation data portal shows whether a business has a policy or an exemption.
4. Complaints. The city's contractor search page links to the Duval County Clerk of the Court and DBPR complaint records.
5. Permits. Ask for permit numbers from recent jobs and look them up in JaxEPICS, the city's online permitting system.

Where to find Jacksonville contractors

For more free list sources and how to combine them, see the construction companies industry guide.

Selling to Jacksonville contractors

Who to contact. At the 4,615 establishments under 20 employees, the owner, who is often also the license qualifier, makes the decision. At the 392 with 20 to 99 employees, add an operations manager or general superintendent and an office or HR manager. At the 59 with 100 or more, go to department heads: preconstruction, procurement, safety and the CFO.

A plan:

1. Pull licensed contractors by county and category from DBPR, then add association members.
2. Segment by trade and size; a finishing contractor with four employees and a mechanical contractor with 60 need different offers.
3. Find the owner or manager and a reason to write, such as a new permit, a new license category or a hiring post. Bebop finds companies that match a plain-language description and researches each account, which saves time once the list reaches the hundreds.
4. Sequence calls and emails over two weeks and stop when someone says no.

The guide to finding decision makers covers the contact research step in detail.

Outreach example

Illustrative example. The company, people and assumptions are invented; the establishment counts are from CBP.

St. Johns Trade Staffing (sjtrade.example) places skilled tradespeople with contractors. It targets specialty contractors with 10 to 49 employees in Duval and St. Johns. The metro has 730 establishments in that size range. Duval and St. Johns hold 79.6% of all establishments and specialty trades are 66.9%, so, assuming those shares hold in this size range, about 390 targets. With the owner and an operations manager at each, that's 780 contacts. A 5% positive reply rate gives about 20 conversations; if a quarter place an order, that's five new clients.

Subject: Covering [trade] crews for [company]

Hi [first name],

I noticed [company] is hiring [role] on [job board or site] and has [number] open permits in [area].

Most [trade] contractors we work with around Jacksonville lose a week or two every time they try to hire a licensed hand directly. We keep vetted [trade] workers on call in Duval and St. Johns, with workers' comp covered on our side.

Would it help to have two people ready for your next start?

[Your name]

Next step: compare Jacksonville with Central Florida in the Orlando construction companies market report.