Freelance Economic Impact Report

A growing number of Americans are choosing to pursue flexibility and autonomy in their career paths, fueling a substantial uptick in the number of freelancers around the country. For independent professionals ranging from AI consultants and architects to web developers and graphic designers, dissecting, quantifying, and fully grasping this segment of the workforce can pose a challenge. In collaboration with Illuminas, this report continues to be a leading analysis of the size and growth of independent professionals across the country, as well as an interesting look at their population in specific metro areas.

For the fourteenth year, Fiverr’s Freelance Economic Impact Report analyzes nearly 30 million tax returns from annually compiled Non-Employer U.S. Census Bureau statistics to explore the size, growth, and skills of independent professionals across the 30 largest metropolitan cities for independent knowledge-based work. This report is a crucial resource for understanding the opportunities for independent work and its impact on local metro areas, as well as for understanding the rising demand for this type of work.

*Projections for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 based on U.S. GDP Growth

#1
New York City

New York City ranks #21 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#2
Los Angeles

Los Angeles ranks #29 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#3
Miami

Miami ranks #1 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#4
Chicago

Chicago ranks #15 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#5
Dallas

Dallas ranks #6 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#6
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. ranks #28 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#7
Atlanta

Atlanta ranks #30 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#8
Houston

Houston ranks #13 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#9
San Francisco

San Francisco ranks #25 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#10
Boston

Boston ranks #23 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#11
Philadelphia

Philadelphia ranks #24 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#12
Phoenix

Phoenix ranks #8 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#13
Seattle

Seattle ranks #14 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#14
Denver

Denver ranks #9 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#15
Minneapolis

Minneapolis ranks #19 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#16
San Diego

San Diego ranks #27 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#17
Detroit

Detroit ranks #20 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#18
Austin

Austin ranks #3 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#19
Orlando

Orlando ranks #2 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#20
Tampa

Tampa ranks #10 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#21
Riverside

Riverside ranks #18 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#22
Nashville

Nashville ranks #4 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#23
Portland

Portland ranks #17 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#24
Baltimore

Baltimore ranks #22 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#25
Charlotte

Charlotte ranks #11 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#26
Las Vegas

Las Vegas ranks #5 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#27
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas ranks #7 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#28
St. Louis

St. Louis ranks #12 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#29
San Jose

San Jose ranks #26 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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#30
Sacramento

Sacramento ranks #16 among the fastest growing cities by population for independent professionals.

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The Fourteenth Annual Freelance Economic Impact Report

We've partnered with Illuminas for the fourteenth annual Freelance Economic Impact Report. While our report focuses on the top 30 metropolitan cities, we believe there are many other areas of the U.S. that could benefit greatly from independent work, especially now as we've seen more opportunities for independent workers to join the online world.

Click Here to Download our 2025 Report

If interested in taking a look at our reports from previous years, you can download and view them below.