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Big Markets, Unsteady Pay: Where Gig Work Really Stands Out Across America

August 17, 2026

Big Markets, Unsteady Pay: Where Gig Work Really Stands Out Across America

A market’s business activity and employee wages tell different stories. The number of independent businesses reflects one part of the local economy, while payroll data show what covered employees are paid. Neither measure, on its own, tells us how much a freelancer earns or how consistently work is available.

Giggster examined the 30 largest U.S. metro areas using three separate comparisons: variation in average weekly payroll wages in the independent artists, writers and performers industry; an hourly wage benchmark across five selected occupations; and the number of businesses without paid employees in the same industry. The results describe these different parts of the market, not an overall ranking of the best places for gig workers.

View our full methodology and breakdown here.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

  • No metro led across every measure. New York had the largest freelancer business market, Washington had the highest Typical Hourly Pay benchmark, and Minneapolis recorded the lowest payroll wage variation.

  • Across the 26 ranked metros, average payroll wage variation was 35%. Minneapolis had the lowest payroll wage variation at 9%, while Tampa had the highest at 139%.

  • The Typical Hourly Pay benchmark averaged about $33 across the 29 qualifying metros. Washington had the highest calculated benchmark at $52, while Pittsburgh had the lowest at $22.

  • Washington ranked highly across all three measures. It ranked first for the Typical Hourly Pay benchmark, fourth-lowest for payroll wage variation, and fifth for freelancer business market size.

Where Payroll Wages Varied Least: Minneapolis Leads, While Tampa Swings Widest

What the Data Shows:

  • Minneapolis recorded the lowest payroll wage variation among the 26 eligible metros, at 9%, compared with the 35% average.

  • Tampa recorded the highest payroll wage variation, at 139%. Across the available quarters, average weekly wages for employees in the industry ranged from about $0.9K to $13.6K.

  • Three California metros appeared among the 10 with the highest payroll wage variation: Los Angeles ranked second-highest, Riverside fifth-highest, and San Diego sixth-highest. All three recorded variation of at least 39%.

Washington, D.C., Leads the Report’s Hourly Wage Benchmark

What the Data Shows:

  • The Washington, D.C., metro had the highest calculated hourly wage benchmark, at $52, followed by Atlanta at $49 and Seattle at $46.

  • Pittsburgh had the lowest calculated benchmark, at $22, followed by Tampa at $23. Phoenix, Orlando, and St. Louis each had a benchmark of about $24.

  • The results describe employee wage estimates, not freelance rates or annual earnings. A higher hourly figure does not establish how much paid work is available.

New York Leads Business Counts for Independent Artists, Writers and Performers

What the Data Shows:

  • New York had the largest business count in the industry, with 106.2K nonemployer businesses, followed by Los Angeles with 93.4K and Chicago with 30.8K.

  • Los Angeles had the highest industry share among the metros displayed. Approximately 7% of its nonemployer businesses were classified as independent artists, writers, and performers.

  • Eight of the 10 largest industry business markets had at least 20K businesses, while none of the 10 smallest exceeded 10.1K.

Key Terms

Metro Area

A metro area includes a principal city and nearby communities connected through employment and economic activity. Metro names in this report refer to the full metropolitan area, not only the central city.

Pay Variation

Pay Variation shows how much quarterly average weekly payroll wages varied during the study period. A lower percentage indicates less variation in the observed industry averages, while a higher percentage indicates greater variation. It does not measure changes in an individual freelancer’s earnings.

Average Weekly Pay

Average Weekly Pay refers to the average payroll wage per covered employee per week during a quarter. It is based on private-sector payroll data and does not represent individual freelance, self-employed, or gig-platform earnings.

Typical Hourly Pay

Typical Hourly Pay is a report-calculated measure based on the median of the available median hourly employee wages for writers, artists, actors, photographers, and musicians and singers in each metro. It is not a median wage for all gig workers, and the mix of available occupations may differ between metros.

Gig-Related Occupations

The five occupations included in the hourly wage analysis are writers and authors, artists and related workers, actors, photographers, and musicians and singers. The wage estimates cover employees and exclude self-employed workers.

Freelancer Business

Freelancer Business is the report term for a business with no paid employees in the independent artists, writers, and performers industry. The figures count businesses, not individual freelancers, and one person may operate more than one business.

Business Share

Business Share is the percentage of all businesses without paid employees in a metro that are classified in the independent artists, writers, and performers industry.

Nonemployer Business

A nonemployer business is a business with no paid employees. These businesses may be operated by self-employed individuals or other business owners. The figures do not represent a direct count of individual freelancers.

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Methodology

This report compares employee wage patterns and nonemployer business activity across the 30 selected U.S. metro areas. The three measures cover different populations: payroll employees in the independent artists, writers and performers industry, employees in five selected occupations, and businesses without paid employees in that industry. Each category was ranked separately. The report does not directly measure gig-worker earnings or produce an overall ranking.

Gig Pay Stability

This category measures how much quarterly average weekly payroll wages varied for private-sector establishments in the independent artists, writers, and performers industry.

Data was retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) (2019 and 2022–2024). 

Industry: NAICS 7115, Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers.

The study period included quarterly data from 2019 and 2022 through 2024. The 2020 and 2021 data were excluded because pandemic-related shutdowns and unusual demand patterns could distort longer-term comparisons.

To measure payroll wage variation:

  • Quarterly average weekly payroll wages were collected for each metro.
  • Pay Variation was calculated using the coefficient of variation.
  • Metros were ranked from lowest to highest Pay Variation.
  • Lower percentages indicate less variation in quarterly average weekly payroll wages, while higher percentages indicate greater variation.

The calculation was: Pay Variation = population standard deviation of quarterly pay ÷ average quarterly pay × 100

Metros needed at least eight published quarters to qualify. Twenty-six metros met this requirement. Seattle, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Portland were not ranked because they had fewer than eight available quarters.

Gig Occupation Pay

This category compares published median hourly employee wages across five gig-related occupations.

Data was retrieved from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (2025).

The occupations studied were:

  • Writers and Authors
  • Artists and Related Workers
  • Actors
  • Photographers
  • Musicians and Singers

To calculate Typical Hourly Pay:

  • The published median hourly wage was collected for each available occupation.
  • The median of the available occupational wages was calculated for each metro.
  • Metros were ranked from highest to lowest based on Typical Hourly Pay.

Metros needed published wage data for at least three of the five occupations to qualify. Twenty-nine metros qualified. San Francisco was excluded because published median wages were available for only two occupations.

The Highest-Paying Job identifies the occupation with the highest published median hourly wage in each metro.

Gig Business Market Size

This category measures the number of businesses without paid employees in the independent artists, writers, and performers industry.

Data was retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics (2022).

Industry: NAICS 7115, Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers.

Freelancer Businesses refers to businesses with no paid employees. The figures count businesses, not individual freelancers.

Metros were ranked from highest to lowest based on the number of freelancer businesses.

Business Share was calculated as: Freelancer businesses ÷ all businesses without paid employees in the metro × 100

Business Share was included to show how much of each metro’s broader nonemployer business market was made up of independent artists, writers, and performers.

Ranking Convention

Each category was ranked separately. The tables show the 10 highest and 10 lowest results for each measure.

Rankings were calculated using unrounded figures. Metros displaying the same rounded value are not necessarily tied.

Things to Keep in Mind

The wage figures measure employees, not freelance contract income or gig-platform earnings. The business figures count nonemployer businesses in one industry. These datasets describe different populations and should not be interpreted as measuring the same workers.

Payroll wage variation reflects changes in industry averages. Bonuses, payment timing and changes in the mix of employees can affect those averages. The analysis does not track individual income stability or establish the causes of the observed variation.

The hourly wage benchmark uses different combinations of available occupations across metros. It is not a like-for-like comparison of an identical workforce and does not account for local living costs or job availability.

Data availability and reference years differ across the measures. Metros also have different sets of available quarters. A larger business count or higher wage benchmark does not establish better conditions for freelancers, and the report does not identify an overall best metro for gig workers.