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Job outlook for freelancers in the United States
Freelancer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected freelancer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 6,800 new jobs for freelancers are projected over the next decade.
Freelancer salaries have increased 12% for freelancers in the last 5 years.
There are over 10,530 freelancers currently employed in the United States.
There are 2,088 active freelancer job openings in the US.
The average freelancer salary is $59,367.
Are freelancer jobs in demand?
Freelancer job and salary trends over time
Freelancer jobs over time
Freelancer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10,530 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 9,278 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 9,776 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 9,226 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 8,826 | 0.00% |
Average freelancer salary over time
Freelancer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $59,367 | $28.54 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $57,955 | $27.86 | +3.5% |
| 2024 | $56,019 | $26.93 | +3.4% |
| 2023 | $54,162 | $26.04 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $52,983 | $25.47 | +1.6% |
Freelancer jobs by state
Most common states for freelancers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 11 | 2% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 49 | 1% |
| 3 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 40 | 1% |
| 4 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 16 | 1% |
| 5 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 11 | 1% |
| 6 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 10 | 1% |
| 7 | Delaware | 961,939 | 8 | 1% |
| 8 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 8 | 1% |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 7 | 1% |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 7 | 1% |
| 11 | Vermont | 623,657 | 6 | 1% |
| 12 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 6 | 1% |
| 13 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 6 | 1% |
| 14 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 5 | 1% |
| 15 | Alaska | 739,795 | 4 | 1% |
| 16 | California | 39,536,653 | 104 | 0% |
| 17 | New York | 19,849,399 | 99 | 0% |
| 18 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 43 | 0% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 39 | 0% |
| 20 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 14 | 0% |
Most common cities for freelancers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natick | 2 | 6% | $68,369 |
| 2 | Pensacola | 2 | 4% | $43,336 |
| 3 | Burbank | 2 | 2% | $70,347 |
| 4 | Yuma | 2 | 2% | $63,301 |
| 5 | Boston | 5 | 1% | $68,109 |
| 6 | Urban Honolulu | 3 | 1% | $49,336 |
| 7 | Glendale | 2 | 1% | $70,266 |
| 8 | New Orleans | 2 | 1% | $46,435 |
| 9 | Orlando | 2 | 1% | $43,901 |
| 10 | Scottsdale | 2 | 1% | $62,307 |
| 11 | Appleton | 1 | 1% | $48,216 |
| 12 | New York | 9 | 0% | $69,935 |
| 13 | Chicago | 4 | 0% | $50,219 |
| 14 | Atlanta | 2 | 0% | $41,499 |
| 15 | Houston | 2 | 0% | $50,168 |
| 16 | Los Angeles | 2 | 0% | $70,158 |
| 17 | Miami | 2 | 0% | $45,874 |
| 18 | San Francisco | 2 | 0% | $74,983 |
| 19 | Austin | 1 | 0% | $50,486 |
Freelancer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of freelancer experts
Arkansas State University
San Francisco State University
Foothill College
Duquesne University
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Highline College
Eastern Illinois University
California Baptist University
Cedar Crest College
California Lutheran University
Andrews University
Iowa State University
Heidelberg University
Jacksonville State University
Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
University of Toledo
Texas A&M University
Misericordia University
Southeast Missouri State University
Valencia College
What Freelancer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Nikki Arnell MFA: Job flexibility is a key reason why Graphic Design is a good profession to enter now. A graphic designer can have various job titles and work in different settings, providing opportunities for freelance work or full-time positions. Having a strong portfolio is more important than a job title for future job prospects.
What general advice would you give to a Freelancer?
Saskia Van Kampen: On a day-to-day basis a newly hired graphic designer must engage in any number of stages of the design process (research, ideation, iterating, testing, refinement, and/or finalization) - this is not a linear process. On top of this they may be asked to interact with clients and with colleagues (collaborating and critically engaging with work being produced).
Carolyn Brown
ProfessorFoothill College
Graphic Communications
What will help Freelancers increase their earning potential?
Carolyn Brown: AI will continue to grow in importance in the next 3-5 years. AI is useful in many ways. Right now, AI is mostly used for writing which is great for brainstorming and writing the messaging that graphic designers create the visuals for. AI is becoming an important tool for generating images, videos, animations, 3D, and AR/VR content. The most important skill is the ability to learn new skills and/or adapt your current skills to new technologies.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Freelancers?
Dr. Mike Dillon: Media is about storytelling -- whether it's an ad, a social media campaign, a magazine story, etc. Being able to use the tools of your trade, whatever they may be -- algorithms, editing suites, etc. The most important skill, though, is understanding the essence of those tools -- what is they are intended to accomplish. If you understand that, you can easily adapt when tools change -- which they frequently do.
What skills stand out on Freelancer resumes?
Dr. Mike Dillon: Evidence (courses, internships, other experience) that demonstrates competence in communicating with a wide array of audiences across multiple platforms. Our journalism program, for instance, is multiplatform: students learn to write, edit, shoot video, create podcasts, adapt stories to fit the requirements of multiple platforms, etc. Basically, we want to send students out of here like Swiss Army Knives -- able to work in their area of proficiency, be that writing or videography, but also adept with a wide variety of other competencies.
Mary Miller
InstructorOklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Graphic Design Faculty
What skills will help Freelancers earn the most?
Mary Miller: The skills that will help you earn the most money throughout your career as a graphic designer are people skills and business skills. It's expected that you must have the design skills to be a long-time creative employee, but to rise to the top of the field, you have to be savvy with people and business decisions. If a designer works in the industry for several years and starts their own studio, they obviously need business knowledge to run and grow their business. Many designers who follow this career path move out of the creative work and concentrate on client relations and acquisition, managing their employees, and running their business. The owners of agencies and studios can earn large, six or seven-figure incomes. The designer who doesn't want to own their own business but would rather be a creative director and/or VP in a large agency will need great people skills. They will be responsible for developing their creative teams and managing people. As VPs and creative directors, they will have more administrative responsibility for the agency, but they don't have the full responsibility an owner does. These positions earn six-figure incomes.
In these creative positions, the portfolio is the most important thing to get the job. It's not as important to have advanced degrees as it might be for accountants, engineers, or other fields. Even job postings that say they require bachelor's degrees will enthusiastically hire someone with a portfolio that showcases the right skill set, regardless of their education. The creative department ultimately decides who they want to hire, not the HR folks who typically can't assess a creative portfolio, so degree requirements are generally not as important. HR people will screen resumes for certain words, which is not necessarily the most effective way to hire creative people. The portfolio is the best way to determine the candidate's ability. The post-pandemic economy has forced companies to change some of their hiring practices. There are so many open jobs that companies realize that they can't use some of the tired strategies they used before the pandemic. They are less concerned about degree requirements now as more Americans are questioning the expense of 4-year degrees and fewer people are willing to go into deep debt to buy one.
More Americans realize the value of industry-focused, technical degrees in higher education and seek less expensive ways to ensure career success. (ABC News did a recent series on this subject. It was broadcast on KRMG radio a couple of weeks ago. The series was all pandemic recovery, "how have we changed" type of reporting.) Associate of Applied Science degrees can fill the void for many. People are doing their homework and looking for programs with great track records and successful alumni that prove it. OSUIT's graphic design program has been around since 1946 when the school was started and has lots of examples of graduates who hold associate's of applied science graphic design degrees, and nothing more, who are successful agency and studio owners, VPs of Creative, Marketing Directors, Design Directors, Executive Creative Directors, Creative Directors, Associate Creative Directors, Sr. Art Directors, etc.
What skills will help Freelancers earn the most?
Diana Boyd: -Originality/Creativity
-UX/UI design
-Branding
-Marketing and Advertising
-Illustration
What soft skills should all Freelancers possess?
Diana Boyd: -Collaboration/Teamwork
-Interpersonal
-Reliability
-Ethical behavior
-Self-starter
Samantha Osborne
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Owner, Samantha Osborne DesignEastern Illinois University
Art + Design
What hard/technical skills are most important for Freelancers?
Samantha Osborne: This completely depends on which sector of the graphic design industry you're involved in. Generally speaking, a working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite is essential, with expertise in other software as it applies to your field. I also find it refreshing and highly effective when designers can begin exploring and developing solutions in an more analog fashion on the front-end of projects, before jumping to the computer. For example, it's easier to visually organize complex ideas via a post-it/mood board wall in which you can physically move ideas around, especially when you're working with a team, which is more common than not.
What experience really stands out on Freelancer resumes?
MaryAnn Pearson: Resumes that include work with student publications (newspapers, magazines, and yearbooks) and links to published articles stand out. Students who have participated in internships also stand out as they show experience.
What experience really stands out on Freelancer resumes?
Dr. Jill Purdy: "This is partially answered previously. I think students found time to be more self-reliant and independent. Hopefully, not to a fault as they move into their careers.
On resumes, we may see more of the soft skills described. It may sound counterintuitive, but I think a different kind of interpersonal skill was developed. On a Zoom call, what do we have but people and we have to figure out how to get our message across, collaborate, debate, and communicate effectively without extraneous factors. "
What experience really stands out on Freelancer resumes?
Dr. Gerhard Apfelthaler Ph.D.: I would say this is dependent on the type of company or industry. If graduates from big, national, or international employers, it is essential to make it past the artificial intelligence filters. These companies get thousands of resumes weekly, so everything that makes an applicant unique - internships with other large, recognizable companies, projects that show deep subject matter expertise - helps. For smaller, regional companies, it is probably more important to show that one is part of a community and has good networking skills.
What general advice would you give to a Freelancer?
Kimberly Pichot: If connections were meaningful before, now they are more than crucial. Find ways to connect with marketing professionals, join the American Marketing Association, and join a local chapter. Take the time to build a strong portfolio, develop your brand, and stay out there, no matter how hard it is. And consider starting a side hustle that utilizes your most treasured part of marketing - starting and running a small business while you job hunt will give you some extra skills and push you to new levels.
Geoffrey Sauer Ph.D.
Associate Professor; Director, ISU English Undergraduate Studies; Director, ISU Studio for New MediaIowa State University
Department of English
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Freelancer job market given the pandemic?
Geoffrey Sauer Ph.D.: Today, my students are quite experienced with precarity, a word that's become popular this year (which refers to environments dominated by precarious conditions). This means that many are well-suited to changing circumstances and varying methods of working on teams. Though the high unemployment rate in the US-led to reduced job listings last summer, employers have told me that they've been very impressed with the students they do hire. Many established workers have little experience with different ways to manage distance collaboration. Still, full-time students graduating this December will have had at least 10-12 courses, and those graduating next May will have had at least 15-18 courses taught online (or mostly online). This means new graduates will have had more diverse experiences with collaboration in remote teams under different professors/supervisors, which will allow them to see an extensive range of leadership styles and techniques to manage people working together at a distance. Distance collaboration is here to stay, and today's students will have superior skills and diverse experience working in such environments.
Nathan Cutietta
Director of the Gaming, Esports & Media, Assistant Professor of Communication and MediaHeidelberg University
Communication & Media Department
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Freelancers to find work opportunities?
Nathan Cutietta: The job market in Texas seems to be booming in the United States. To be successful, a graduate should be willing to go where the opportunity is. Sometimes the places with the worst economic problems have the most effective options for someone with a specialized skill, since no one wants to live there.
Chad Anderson
Associate Professor of Graphic DesignJacksonville State University
Department of Art
What experience really stands out on Freelancer resumes?
Chad Anderson: For our art majors with a concentration in Graphic Design, we like to create opportunities for "real-life" experiences through courses that focus on professional internships in the field and service-learning projects that often involve working with actual clients or members of the community. These opportunities allow students to list professional, industry-specific experiences on their resumes so that they enter the field with direct experience in applying their knowledge and problem-solving skills.
Additionally, in most of our courses, our students are encouraged to enter their best works into professional competitions (regional, national, and international). Our students who win various awards can list these achievements on their resumes as well. Notable battles, such as those affiliated with the American Advertising Federation and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (and many others), are recognized in the field and stand out on resumes.
While other activities may certainly enhance resumes, these experiences are a few that help bridge the gap between "school" and a professional career.
What Freelancer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Chad Anderson: There are several possibilities in a situation like this. Specifically, one can continue to pursue self-initiated projects. Often, outcomes from these efforts yield potential freelance or other opportunities. In a similar mode, one may continue to refine their professional portfolio of design work (as a graphic design graduate) and address any weaknesses or gaps.
Some graduates who have taken a year off have invested that time in refining their brand and presence online through web and social media platforms. This may also help land freelance or other employment. Others have used the gap of time to extend or broaden their knowledge base of software and other resource tools so that as opportunities arise, they are still fresh in terms of process and technology.
Carmita Sanchez-Fong
Professor and ChairpersonFashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
Interior Design Department
What general advice would you give to a Freelancer?
Carmita Sanchez-Fong: Be resilient. Your ability to absorb, recover, and adapt, particularly during these times of unprecedented uncertainly, will shape your future. COVID-19 has been the most significant global driver of change, and there are evolving opportunities for interior design on every front; residential, healthcare, hospitality, etc.
What Freelancer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Carmita Sanchez-Fong: Sketch, sketch, sketch, and work on your portfolio. Use the many resources at FIT to stay current with technology, including 3d printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality. Volunteer with one of the professional organizations, attend virtual conferences, enter a competition, develop your personal/professional profile, and become familiar with digital material resources. Work on your research and presentation skills. Create a well-organized digital library of your 2d and 3d assets. Prepare yourself to go back. Take some masterclasses. Volunteer as a virtual artist-in-residence at a local school. Be creative, remain engaged.
What type of skills will young Freelancers need?
Barbara Miner: The reason that students who study in the Arts are immensely employable is that they have developed a broad set of skills that are transferable to an equally broad set of on-the-job challenges. As part of their training, they have had the opportunity to work both in teams and to work independently. They must hone their time-management skills, and they engage with the process of basic research and professional practices. Arts students learn to speak about their practice of self-reflection and to set goals to move their personal work forward.
Students in the Arts learn to critique their own presentations and are therefore experienced in the routine of observation, review, and iteration of a concept/performance or presentation. At the University of Toledo, as in many other institutions, several advanced writing courses are part of the Core Curriculum, so all students are encouraged to polish their written skills. Many aspects of Arts programs rely on digital skills as part of the pedagogy, and these experiences translate into important advantages when it comes to a workplace.
Nancy Miller
Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Graphic DesignTexas A&M University
Department of Art & Design
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Freelancers to find work opportunities?
Nancy Miller: Typically, there are more opportunities in the creative field in or near larger cities or metropolitan areas. Major coastal states like California and New York have the highest rate of employment for graphic designers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2020). Most large cities, throughout the nation, host a higher concentration of companies or organizations using in-house creatives for full-time and part-time Employment.
Many of these areas are also home to creative staffing companies like Aquent and Creative Circle. These companies place marketing and creative talent in a variety of positions, from full-time direct hire to remote freelance. With the pandemic, it appears that more employers are offering the opportunity for creative employees to work remotely. If this trend continues, graduates may have more flexibility in choosing their home-base location now and in the future.
Melissa Sgroi
Associate Professor and ChairMisericordia University
Department of Mass Communications and Design
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Freelancers?
Melissa Sgroi: There will be some enduring impact on most working people, I imagine. So many employment sectors are changing-education, retail, media, and more-and these changes will impact the availability of jobs and how we work in those jobs. Currently, the pandemic is putting a hold on many employers' hiring plans. For last spring's graduates, that means increased competition from new groups of graduates throughout this year and until hiring returns to a more normalized rhythm.
Louise Bodenheimer
Professor of Graphic Design/IllustrationSoutheast Missouri State University
Fine Arts
What general advice would you give to a Freelancer?
Louise Bodenheimer: Hopefully, they have had internship experience like that makes any transition from school to the profession more seamless. I recommend that they pursue as many open positions as possible, even sending resumes to places that may not have openings but may have something later. Follow up with their contact and HR person after applying, in about a week to 2 weeks. There are graphic design needs in various places: government, in-house design facilities for multiple companies, advertising agencies, marketing firms, etc.
Be willing to relocate. Some past students have moved to cities they want to live and work in, and have taken less desirable positions while working on connecting to the community of designers in those cities. Some take advantage of freelancing opportunities. Don't be shy to reach out to previous mentors and other designers for information. The primary key is not to give up applying and always continue honing design/concept skills in the interim time. Review available positions on various job websites and social media professional platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor, etc. Create a professional website with the variation of programs available to get started showing your design capabilities in a digital portfolio.
Kristy Pennino
Professor of Graphic & Interactive DesignValencia College
Graphic & Interactive Design
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Freelancers?
Kristy Pennino: I don't believe so. Our industry adapted to the workplace changes very rapidly, and we're doing a great job of exposing our students to the technology that is already used widely by our industry (e.g., Slack, remote storage, etc.) to successfully collaborate and communicate virtually. It's already commonplace for creatives working in face-to-face workplaces in our industry to have clients and teammates who are not locally convenient to each other.
I believe the only impact the pandemic has had on the graphic design industry is with the loss of available work for those who design primarily for the hospitality and entertainment industries. There have been many layoffs in these industries. However, I do not see this as an "enduring" impact as entertainment and hospitality industries recover.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Freelancers to find work opportunities?
Kristy Pennino: All major cities in the U.S. have been known to offer the most employment opportunities for graphic designers, simply because that is where there's a greater concentration of paying clients. I guess the silver lining - as a result of the pandemic - is that people will be less likely to select their employers, clients, or residences based solely on their location. With our program internship requirement, I have already witnessed students being hired to work remotely for employers who are not local and who are not even located in the same state or country. I helped three graduates get employed in the past 48 hours for companies who are not local and eager to hire our graduates to work remotely.