OKC voted among top cities for freelancers

For much of the past century, the eight-to-five job has defined what most Americans think of as “work.” That thought is rapidly changing. More than 53 million Americans are now earning income from work that is not within the traditional work hours, according to a report from Fundera.

Oklahoma City ranks 13th in a nationwide survey among the top 50 cities (based on workforce data) as the best place for freelancers. Atlanta was voted as the most desired location for freelancers while Oakland was second.

Oklahoma City boasts a freelance population of nearly 10% of its workforce. Other notable items that ranked the city high were affordability, low employment and a surging job growth rate of 4.5 percent.

Fundra’s rankings analyzed data on job growth, self-employment rate, unemployment rate, housing costs as a percentage of income, and state income tax rate. Even the percentage of coffee shops per capita in cities were factors.

The surge in freelancing is more than two decades old. Whether by choice or by circumstance, many of the state’s workers have since started working job-to-job which has afforded them the flexibility and creativity to keep the workforce expanding. 

The organization’s findings and expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of the methodology used can be found at https://www.fundera.com.