Are you considering starting a career as a freelancer? Not only does this path give plenty of freedom to run your business as you want, but according to financial website Nerdwallet, Austin is the top city to start out in when jumping off as your own boss. Nerdwallet looked at statistics such as affordability, cell phone range throughout the country, and percentage of self-employed workers.
They found that self-employed Austinites currently bring home about $2,179 a month. While our freelancing, west coast neighbors in San Francisco are bringing in $2,658 after taxes, living expenses in the Bay Area are significantly higher, lowering the area’s appeal for freelancers.
However, that doesn’t mean that living in Austin is cheap, it’s actually quite expensive when compared to other cities in the state. But not compared to the Bay Area. Nerdwallet found that the monthly median rent in Austin two years ago was $1,084, the third highest in all of the cities analyzed. Despite the steep rent, average health insurance premiums, phone bills, and other monthly costs combined to help Austin rank highest of all the cities for freelancers.
Comparatively, our fellow Texans also have it pretty good. Following Austin on the list of top freelance cities is Dallas in third place, Fort Worth in eighth place, Houston at 18, and San Antonio at 19.
(H/T: Culture Map)
