Florida · Jacksonville
Start a care staffing agency in Jacksonville
Home care, support work and nursing assistance — high volume, low rate, and almost entirely dependent on funding the payroll cycle.
In short
To start a care staffing agency in Jacksonville, form a Florida entity, register for unemployment insurance and withholding, carry workers' compensation, and fund the payroll gap. At the Florida median pay of $18.03 for nursing assistants, ten contractors tie up roughly $60,272 before your first invoice is paid.
What is specific to Jacksonville
- —Port and logistics employment drives light industrial volume, with insurance and banking operations providing professional demand.
- —Rates sit below Miami for equivalent roles, so gross margin depends on holding markup rather than passing through pay increases.
Pay and bill rates for Care and support in Florida
| Role | Median pay | Burdened cost | Bill at 25% GM | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $16.25 | $18.28 | $24.38 | 50% |
| Nursing Assistants | $18.03 | $20.28 | $27.05 | 50% |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | $29.70 | $33.41 | $44.55 | 50% |
Pay rates are published state medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — bls.gov/oes. Employer burden is applied at 12.5% of pay. Where a state has no published median for a role, the row is omitted rather than estimated.
Cash required to open in Jacksonville
- Setup
- $9,000
- Six months of overheads
- $27,000
- Payroll gap (10 contractors)
- $60,272
- Total, unfunded
- $96,272
- Total with a 90% invoice advance
- $42,027
Modelled on nursing assistants at the Florida median of $18.03, 40 hours a week, a 7-day pay cycle and 45-day client terms.
Funding a care book
The thinnest margins and the heaviest headcount on the board. Care staffing lives or dies on the cost of its funding line.
Florida hospitality and healthcare clients frequently pay on 45 to 60 day terms while the workers are paid weekly. Seasonal peaks mean your largest payroll weeks and your slowest collection weeks can arrive together — size the facility for the peak, not the average.
Registrations and compliance in Florida
- 01
Form an LLC or corporation with the Florida Division of Corporations and obtain an EIN
- 02
Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for reemployment tax
- 03
Workers' compensation thresholds are low and stricter for construction — confirm which threshold applies to your vertical
- 04
Nurse registries, home health and healthcare staffing are licensed through the Agency for Health Care Administration, which is a separate and slower process
General guidance, not legal advice. Confirm current obligations with the relevant state agency and a staffing-literate attorney before you trade. Full Florida guide.
Questions founders ask
Do I need a licence to run a care staffing agency in Jacksonville?
General commercial and industrial staffing does not require a specific state staffing licence, but healthcare staffing does: nurse registries, home health agencies and related models are licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Start that application early, because it gates your ability to trade.
How much does it cost to start a care staffing agency in Jacksonville?
Setup runs about $9,000 and six months of overheads about $27,000. The real number is the payroll gap: ten contractors at the Florida median of $18.03 tie up roughly $60,272, or $42,027 in total once a 90% invoice advance is in place.
What should I bill for care contractors in Florida?
At the Florida median pay of $16.25 for home health and personal care aides, a 25% gross margin needs a bill rate of $24.38 once 12.5% employer burden is applied.
Stay close to the money
The recruitment funding briefing
One email a month: funding terms we are seeing, margin benchmarks, and what buyers are paying for agencies. Written for founders, not for a mailing list.
Launching care in Jacksonville?
We back recruitment and staffing founders with operators who have built in your market, and then with the capital to fund the payroll gap.