Ask any freelancer what they love about their career choice. Consistently, you’ll hear about the freedom: The freedom to work for yourself, the freedom to choose clients, and the freedom to work from anywhere in the world.
For new freelancers choosing to work in a U.S. city, picking the right location can have a major impact on a growing freelance career. If you choose a city without work opportunities, an overly expensive city, or a city without much of an existing freelance community, you may not find the same levels of success or satisfaction as your peers.
To help freelancers with their city search, Fundera recently published a report on the best 15 cities to freelance from, based on factors like housing costs as a percentage of income, job growth, and rising rates of self-employment.
Based on these numbers and others, you’ll find the top major American cities with freelancing opportunities ranked in the list below.
Perhaps surprisingly to some, the list is dominated by southern and western cities with great growth, housing cost ratios, and job opportunities. Here’s additional analysis on the first ten cities in Fundera’s ranking, none of which are located in Northeast or Mid-Atlantic regions:
1. Atlanta, Georgia
One of the nation’s cultural and economic hubs, Atlanta also is the best city for freelancers in the country. Atlanta has an impressive self-employment rate of 11.1% and a lower housing cost ratio than many major American cities.
2. Oakland, California
Located next door to the tech capital of the world, Oakland is the second top freelancing city in the United States. Oakland boasts above-average job growth and a high self-employment rate, as well as easy access to San Francisco with its wealth of economic and cultural opportunities.
3. Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is the third-best city for freelancing in the country due to its high job growth and recent growth in self-employment. The Tucson self-employment rate grew by an impressive 1.1% in the timeframe measured as well.
4. El Paso, Texas
El Paso is an excellent pick for freelancers because of Texas’ lack of a state income tax, low housing cost ratio, and rapidly growing self-employed community. Consider El Paso and the three other Texas cities on the list as top options—if you can survive the heat of a Texas summer, that is.
5. Houston, Texas
With booming, diverse population and positive job growth, Houston is a great choice as a freelancing city. Houston also boasts prominent industries with plenty of opportunities like healthcare and energy.
6. Dallas, Texas
With a low housing cost ratio and unemployment rate of 4.3%, this is another ideal Texas city option to choose for your freelancing career. Plus Dallas is an economic powerhouse with a competitive full-time job market, if you’re just looking to freelance part-time.
7. Albuquerque, New Mexico
The freelance community is strong in Albuquerque with 9.9% of the working population choosing this work style. A large percentage of coffee shops per capita are another draw if you like to stay caffeinated while working and networking.
8. Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is a metropolis dedicated to entertainment and has also seen growth in self-employment of 1.1% last year. Assuming you can stay focused, Vegas could be the right freelancing city choice for you.
9. Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix has seen 5.6% growth in job opportunities in recent years and boasts a self-employment rate above 10%. A high full-time employment rate along with strong self-employment numbers is a recipe for work success.
10. Long Beach, California
Freelancing is a popular work option in Long Beach, California with solid 1.7% growth last year. Like Oakland, Long Beach likely benefits from its proximity to a population powerhouse in Los Angeles.
If you’re looking for a northern or midwestern city to freelance from, review the full ranking of the best cities for freelancers in Fundera’s report. While you could work untethered from any one location by working as a digital nomad while freelancing, those who want to establish roots in one place should consider a city full of opportunity and community. Doing so can set you up for long-term success—no matter what your freelance goals are.
