Jacksonville's 25 Biggest Employers in 2026: Baptist Health Tops the List, and the Navy Employs More Than 30,000

Baptist Health is the biggest employer in Northeast Florida, with about 15,000 workers, according to the latest list from the JAXUSA Partnership, the region's economic development group.

It's followed closely by Naval Air Station Jacksonville (14,390), Duval County Public Schools (11,310), Publix (10,920) and Mayo Clinic (10,900).

Here's the full top 25, plus what the list says about where Jacksonville people actually work.

The top 25 employers in Northeast Florida

The list covers seven counties: Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns. JAXUSA notes the employee numbers are estimates drawn from several sources.

What the list tells us

1. Health care is Jacksonville's biggest industry

Five hospital systems are in the top 16:

Add Florida Blue (5,700), Brooks Rehabilitation (3,250) and UF Health St. Johns (1,560), and health care accounts for more than 50,000 of the region's biggest-employer jobs.

2. The Navy is the region's biggest employer of all

Add up the military entries and the Navy outranks everyone:

That's about twice as many workers as Baptist Health. Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, which overhauls and repairs Navy aircraft, would be a top-20 employer on its own.

3. Jacksonville is a banking town

Jacksonville has long been a back-office and operations hub for big banks. The list includes:

That's nearly 29,000 jobs at 11 banks, investment firms, insurers and financial tech companies.

4. Logistics: Amazon, UPS and CSX

Jacksonville's port, rail lines and interstates make it a shipping hub. Amazon (8,000) and UPS (4,500) are both in the top 15. Railroad giant CSX (2,530), Crowley Maritime (1,300) and trucking company Landstar (900) are all headquartered here.

5. Public schools are huge employers

Four county school districts are on the list:

• Duval: 11,310
• Clay: 5,250
• Nassau: 3,730
• Flagler: 2,180

Add Putnam (1,670), and that's more than 24,000 school employees in five districts. The St. Johns County School District doesn't appear on JAXUSA's list, even though it's one of the fastest-growing districts in Florida. That's likely a gap in the list, not a sign the district is small.

The biggest companies headquartered here

Many big local employers are branches of national companies. These are among the largest companies with their corporate headquarters in Northeast Florida, from JAXUSA's September 2025 headquarters list:

Employee counts on the headquarters list are from September 2025, so a few differ from the February 2026 list. Baptist Health, for example, shows 12,000 there and 15,000 on the newer list.

More big employers, ranks 26 to 50

Looking for a job?

Most of these employers post openings on their own websites, and many hire year-round. A few tips:

• Hospitals hire for far more than doctors and nurses: billing, IT, food service, security and maintenance.
• Government jobs (city, sheriff, schools, the Navy's civilian workforce) are posted on official sites such as the City of Jacksonville's careers page and USAJobs.gov for federal jobs.
• CareerSource Northeast Florida offers free job search help.

Quick answers

What is the largest employer in Jacksonville?
Baptist Health, with about 15,000 employees in Northeast Florida, according to JAXUSA. Counting all its local sites together, the U.S. Navy employs more than 30,000.

How many people work at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville?
About 10,900.

How many people work at NAS Jacksonville?
About 14,390, plus about 4,200 at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast on the base.

What big companies are headquartered in Jacksonville?
Among the largest are Baptist Health, CSX, GATE Petroleum, Fanatics, FIS, Fidelity National Financial, Landstar, Crowley, VyStar, Haskell and Winn-Dixie.

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