Know before you go: Top 10 cities for freelance workers

The pandemic has created more opportunities for remote, self-directed and freelance work than ever. Today, around 10 million Americans say they’re working for themselves in some capacity.

The opportunity to work from anywhere is indeed enticing to many, and it begs a question: If you could work from anywhere, where would it be?

To help you answer, we put together a list of the 10 best cities for freelancers in 2022. Our underlying analysis, which used recent metro-area data from the U.S. Census Bureau and state-level data from the Federation of State Tax Administrators, finds signs of relatively affordable rent. The metro areas also seem to have vibrant and growing freelancer cultures and growing demand for goods and services. Here’s the list.

Top 10 metro areas for freelancers

1. Greenville-anderson, S.C.

2. Boise City, Idaho

3. Columbus, Ohio

4. Des Moines-west Des Moines, Iowa

5. Ogden-clearfield, Utah

6. Raleigh-cary, N.C.

7. Worcester, Mass.-conn.

8. Chattanooga, Tenn.-ga.

9. Winston-salem, N.C.

10. Knoxville, Tenn.

Many of the top 10 cities for freelancers had relatively low housing costs.

But moving isn’t easy or cheap, so deciding when to take your freelancing life to another town can be tricky. Business experts say to keep three things in mind when contemplating a move.

1. Understand the tax effects

The bigger the city, the more it costs to live, says Jonathan Medows, a certified public accountant at Medows CPA in New York City. State income tax brackets and rates vary, and in some places there are even new or extra taxes to consider. Medows’ hometown of New York Cityhas a city-level income tax with state and federal taxes; freelancers moving there may have to consider raising their rates to compensate for the additional tax expense.

2. Don’t just uproot your life

Medows recommends a preview trip. “Dip your toes. Go for a couple of weeks. Work there. See if it’s something that’s viable. Moving’s expensive, and I would do like a pilot trip,” he says. That will give you a chance to gather the tax and licensing information you need.

“So No. 1, get a lay of the land; understand the county, state and local taxes. No. 2, understand if you need any business licenses,” he says. “No. 3, see if your good or service that you’re offering is subject to sales tax and register for sales tax.” Zoning laws should be another consideration, Medows adds.

Once you’ve moved, go into the local bank and set up your account in person, says Lori Martinek, a Los Angeles-based certified mentor for SCORE, which is a national nonprofit that offers free resources to business owners.. “Go meet the people at the bank, tell them what you’re trying to do. And they will put you in touch with other organizations and other small businesses. It happens time and time again,” she notes. “They want to help you because they want to see your business grow.”

3. Know when location is important — and when it’s not

“One of the best things about being a freelancer or an independent contractor is that you literally can live and work anywhere that has a high-speed internet connection, domestically or internationally,” Martinek says.

Location can’t solve everything, though.

“The things that location can’t fix include, for instance, a lack of a business plan or having a valuable skill or service to offer,” Martinek says.

Also, certain types of work may only be available in specific areas.

“You can be in the busiest city in the world, but if you can’t get any business for what you’re doing, then you’re in the wrong place,” Medows says.