Blog: 5 Reasons to love living in North Port: Our business community

Blog: 5 Reasons to love living in North Port: Our business community

Published on August 17, 2026

In this weekly five-part series, I'm highlighting five of the many reasons people choose to call North Port home. From education and local businesses to our natural environment, quality of life and the dedicated public servants who make it all possible, these are the amenities, investments and people that help our city prosper.

Every great city is powered by its people - and in North Port, that power increasingly comes from the business owners and entrepreneurs who choose to build their futures here.

It's no secret that North Port has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. We ranked No. 12 on the list of America's New Boomtowns in SmartAsset's latest national study of municipal economies.
The report points to several growth indicators, including a 42% increase in housing units, a 78% increase in the labor force and 4.8% compound annual real GDP growth at the county level. People are coming here to build lives, and increasingly, to build businesses.

Small businesses are the backbone of that story. From the family-owned restaurant up the road to the home-based graphic designer working out of a spare bedroom, these entrepreneurs represent the everyday courage it takes to bet on yourself and your community. Home-based businesses in particular often go unnoticed, but they are quietly the biggest and one of the most resilient parts of our economy - flexible, low-overhead and deeply rooted in North Port neighborhoods. If you've ever hired a local bookkeeper, bought soap from a neighbor's Etsy shop or had your lawn serviced by a one-truck operation, you've supported this hidden engine of our local economy.

None of this happens in a vacuum. The North Port Area Chamber of Commerce continues to be a vital connector, helping new business owners find mentors, navigate permitting and plug into a network of fellow entrepreneurs who understand exactly what it takes to succeed here. Through ribbon cuttings, networking events and advocacy at the city level, the Chamber gives small business owners a seat at the table and a sense that they aren't building alone.

Groups like BNI (Business Network International) add another layer of support, giving entrepreneurs a structured way to build relationships and grow through referrals rather than cold calls. North Port's BNI chapter brings together professionals from dozens of industries who meet weekly to pass leads, share expertise and hold each other accountable for showing up and following through. For many small business owners, that steady drumbeat of word-of-mouth support is what turns a good idea into a sustainable business.

At the same time, our City's Economic Development Division has been laying the groundwork for something bigger: responsible, diversified growth. North Port's growing commercial and industrial base is distinguishing it as a choice business destination, and the city is already recognized as one of the Best Places for Manufacturing in Tampa Bay, according to Southern Business & Development magazine. The city's Innovation Corridor along I-75 is central to that vision. Flexible zoning there allows for 600,000 square feet of light industrial development and 800,000 square feet of business park and office space, with access to markets from Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida all the way to Miami and Orlando.

The lesson is this: North Port's future is being built deliberately by people who care about this place. Whether it's a chamber ribbon-cutting, a home-based startup or a new employer along the Innovation Corridor, the throughline is the same - a community investing in itself, one small step at a time.

Jerome Fletcher is the North Port City Manager. He can be reached at[email protected].

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