Georgia is the 7th Best Place in the US to be a Freelancer, According to Research
Thursday, July 6th, 2023
With many factors to consider before going self-employed, a new study has revealed the best places to be a freelancer in the US.
Looking at the overall self-employed population, broadband costs, download speeds, co-working spaces, cost of living, and search trends, Tipalti uncovered the top 10 freelancer hotspots.
Top 10 best US states to live as a freelancer
| Rank | State | % of Population who are self-employed | Cost Index | No. of Coworking Spaces per 100,000 | Median Download Speed | Annual Searches | Freelancer Score |
| 1 | Texas | 3.14% | 92.1 | 1.62 | 72 | 125,400 | 10.00 |
| 2 | Florida | 3.05% | 100.3 | 1.60 | 90 | 97,500 | 9.80 |
| 3 | Tennessee | 3.34% | 89 | 1.17 | 73.4 | 17,700 | 9.59 |
| 4 | Colorado | 3.26% | 105.3 | 2.97 | 68.5 | 19,500 | 9.39 |
| 5 | Illinois | 2.31% | 94.3 | 1.67 | 85.1 | 45,600 | 9.18 |
| 6 | Connecticut | 3.22% | 121.6 | 1.60 | 87.3 | 12,060 | 8.78 |
| 7 | Georgia | 2.57% | 88.8 | 1.33 | 55.7 | 43,400 | 8.78 |
| 8 | New York | 2.52% | 148.2 | 2.45 | 88.5 | 99,000 | 8.57 |
| 9 | California | 3.33% | 142.2 | 1.98 | 57.8 | 184,200 | 8.37 |
| 10 | Virginia | 2.40% | 101.8 | 1.33 | 84.3 | 35,500 | 8.16 |
Texas is the best US state for freelancers. Scoring 10 out of 10, Texas has many coworking spaces that offer flexible working arrangements for freelancers, with 493 in total (1.62 per 100,000). The state received among the highest number of Google searches for freelance work (125,400 annual searches). Self-employed workers accounted for 3.14% of the population, higher than in states with city metropolis locations like New York.
Florida is the second best place to be a freelancer in the US. Florida earned a score of 9.80 out of 10. Florida has a cost of living index of 100.3 and, considering its tourism levels, it is relatively inexpensive to live in. If you do choose to move to Florida, you can expect reliable Wi-Fi connectivity and fast broadband speeds, with a median internet download speed of 90Mbps.
The state of Tennessee claimed third place among the best states for freelancers, with a score of 9.59 out of 10. 3.34% of its population works on a self-employed basis, among the highest numbers on our list. The state offers reliable broadband speeds (73.4Mbps) and has the lowest cost of living index score of our top ten states (89).
Further findings:
- Montana has the highest levels of self-employed population. Despite the freelancer score being low at 2.04 out of 10, Montana scored the highest for the US percentage of population who are self-employed (4.51%). The median download speed is 62.6 and the cost index is 100.7.
- California has the most annual searches for freelancers in the US. California scored a high freelancer score with 8.37 out of 10. The annual searches for freelancers was 184,200, making it the highest on the list. The cost index is 142.2 and the percentage of the population who are self-employed is 3.33%.
You can view the full research here: https://tipalti.com/the-
Article courtesy of Metro Atlanta CEO, published July 6, 2023.