Freelance Statistics 2026: Government Data and Major Surveys Compared
Short answer: how many freelancers there are depends on who is counting and how they define "freelance." The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 11.9 million independent contractors in their main job in July 2023, or 7.4% of everyone employed. Industry surveys that count any freelance work in the past year get much bigger numbers: Upwork put it at 64 million Americans in 2023, and MBO Partners at 72.9 million independent workers in 2025. The Federal Reserve found that 20% of adults did some kind of gig activity in a single month of 2024.
They measure different things. Below are the freelance statistics we could verify on October 20, 2026, grouped by source, with a note on what each one counts.
Freelance statistics at a glance
| Measure | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Independent contractors (main job) | 11.9 million, 7.4% of employed | BLS, July 2023 survey |
| Unincorporated self-employed, nonfarm | 8.83 million | BLS Employment Situation, Table A-8, September 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Adults who did any gig activity in the past month | 20% | Federal Reserve SHED, October 2024 survey |
| Adults who ever earned money on an online gig platform | 16% | Pew Research Center, August 2021 |
| Americans who did freelance work in the past year | 64 million, 38% of the workforce | Upwork Freelance Forward, late 2023 |
| U.S. independent workers | 72.9 million | MBO Partners, 2025 (coverage) |
The government counts are smaller because they ask about a person's main job or a specific week or month. The industry surveys ask about any independent work over a full year, so someone who did one paid design job in March counts the same as a full-time freelancer.
Government data: BLS
The BLS runs a supplement to the Current Population Survey on contingent and alternative work arrangements. The latest one was fielded in July 2023 and released November 8, 2024. It only counts a person's sole or main job.
| Arrangement (main job) | Workers | Share of employed |
|---|---|---|
| Independent contractors | 11.9 million | 7.4% |
| On-call workers | 2.8 million | 1.7% |
| Temporary help agency workers | 945,000 | 0.6% |
| Workers provided by contract firms | 862,000 | 0.5% |
| Contingent workers (expect the job to end) | 6.9 million | 4.3% |
A few more figures from the same release:
- Most contractors want to stay that way. 80.3% of independent contractors preferred their arrangement, and 8.3% would rather have a traditional job.
- They skew older. 36% of independent contractors were 55 or older. Among workers 55 and up, 11.5% were independent contractors, compared with 6.9% of workers aged 25 to 54 and 2.2% of those 16 to 24.
- Men were more likely to be contractors, 8.7% versus 5.8% of women.
For a monthly number, the BLS jobs report tracks unincorporated self-employed workers. In Table A-8, the seasonally adjusted count outside agriculture was 8,830,000 in September 2026, down from 9,078,000 in September 2025. It leaves out incorporated businesses and side jobs.
Gig economy statistics: Federal Reserve and Pew
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) asked more than 12,000 adults in October 2024 about gig activity in the prior month. This is the most recent SHED gig section we found; the 2025 report, published May 2026, doesn't include one.
| Gig activity, prior month (2024) | Share of adults |
|---|---|
| Any gig activity | 20% |
| Any selling of items | 13% |
| Selling items you previously owned | 10% |
| Selling items bought to resell | 4% |
| Selling items you made or repurposed | 3% |
| Short-term rentals | 2% |
| Any short-term tasks (rides, delivery, odd jobs) | 9% |
| Short-term tasks arranged through an app or website | 4% |
What the Fed found about the people doing it:
- It's mostly a side thing. Only 21% of people who did gig activities said it was their main job. 70% usually spent under 5 hours a week on it.
- Younger adults do more of it: 26% of adults 18 to 29, 24% of 30 to 44, 21% of 45 to 59, and 12% of those 60 and older.
- Flexibility is the draw, pay is the complaint. Among gig workers, 61% agreed it let them be their own boss and 55% said it gave flexible hours, while 49% wished the pay were more consistent.
- Gig workers were financially worse off on average. 65% were doing okay or living comfortably, compared with 75% of adults who didn't do gig work.
Pew Research Center asked 10,348 U.S. adults in August 2021 about online gig platforms specifically (ride-hailing, delivery, task and freelance apps). 16% had ever earned money that way, and 9% had in the past 12 months. Among current or recent platform gig workers, 31% said it was their main job over the past year.
Industry surveys: Upwork and MBO Partners
These surveys come from companies that sell freelance services and use broad definitions, but they're the main sources on freelancer income and attitudes.
Upwork Freelance Forward 2023. Upwork's press release reports that 64 million Americans did freelance work in 2023, 38% of the U.S. workforce, up from 60 million in 2022. It estimates freelancers earned $1.27 trillion that year. The survey covered 3,000 U.S. working adults (1,142 freelancers) online between October 24 and November 9, 2023, weighted to BLS population data, with a margin of error of ±1.7 points overall. Upwork's site blocked us from opening the page directly today, so these figures come from the release text as shown in search results. Gig Economy Data Hub notes that the 12-month window is broad and that terms like "full-time" are left to respondents.
If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.
MBO Partners State of Independence 2025. MBO's 15th annual study, released September 9, 2025, counted 72.9 million U.S. independent workers, up from 72.7 million in 2024, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. The same coverage breaks it down as 27.6 million full-time, 7.9 million part-time, and 37.4 million "occasional" independents. The release from Beeline, which owns MBO, adds:
- 5.6 million independents earned over $100,000 a year, up 19% from 2024
- 42% rely on online platforms as their main way to find work
- 74% use generative AI in their work
- Gen Z made up 28% of the independent workforce
MBO's State of Independence page now says "a record 74.9M Americans now earn income independently" and that "almost 6M" earn over $100K, but it doesn't say what year or survey those come from, so we left them out of the tables.
Which freelance statistic should you cite?
- "How many people freelance as their main job?" Use BLS: 11.9 million independent contractors, 7.4% of employment (July 2023).
- "How common is gig work?" Use the Federal Reserve: 20% of adults in a given month (October 2024), with 21% of them treating it as their main job.
- "How many people do any freelance work in a year?" Use Upwork (64 million, 2023) or MBO (72.9 million, 2025), and say it's a company survey.
Don't add these together or compare them as a trend. A jump from 11.9 million to 72.9 million is a change in definition, not growth.
What this means if you're starting
The data points the same way across sources: most freelancing and gig work is part-time income layered on top of something else, and pay is uneven. The Fed found 58% of self-employed adults said their income varied month to month in its 2025 survey. Plan around that before you quit anything.
Freelance income is taxable. If your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more, the IRS says you generally owe self-employment tax at 15.3% on top of income tax. And watch for job scams: the FTC's job scams guide says real employers never ask you to pay to get a job, and none will send you a check to deposit and ask you to send part of it back.
If you want a practical start, our guide to freelance work from home covers finding a first client, and the freelance writing side hustle post goes deeper on one skill. Some freelancers also build an asset of their own, like a faceless YouTube channel; VidPuff turns a title into a narrated long-form video that you review stage by stage. For how crowded YouTube is, see how many YouTube channels there are.
FAQ
How many freelancers are there in the US?
It depends on the definition. BLS counted 11.9 million independent contractors in their main job (July 2023). Upwork's survey counted 64 million Americans who did any freelance work in 2023, and MBO Partners counted 72.9 million independent workers in 2025.
What percentage of the workforce is freelance?
By BLS's main-job measure, independent contractors were 7.4% of employment in July 2023. Upwork's broader definition put freelancers at 38% of the U.S. workforce in 2023.
What are the latest gig economy statistics?
The Federal Reserve found that 20% of U.S. adults did gig activities in the month before its October 2024 survey: 13% sold items, 9% did short-term tasks, and 2% did short-term rentals. Only 21% of them called it their main job.
How many freelancers make over $100,000?
MBO Partners reported 5.6 million U.S. independent workers earning over $100,000 a year in its 2025 study. Government data doesn't break out freelancer earnings this way.
Sources and method
We opened each source on October 20, 2026, and used only figures stated on the page or, where noted, in the publisher's release text. Shares are as published; we did no recalculation.
- BLS, "Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, July 2023", released November 8, 2024. Current Population Survey supplement, main job only.
- BLS, Employment Situation Table A-8, September 2026 data. Unincorporated self-employed, nonagricultural, seasonally adjusted.
- Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024: Employment and Gig Work, published May 2025. Survey of more than 12,000 adults, October 2024.
- Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Income and Expenses, May 2026. Survey fielded October 17 to 28, 2025.
- Pew Research Center, "The State of Gig Work in 2021", December 8, 2021. 10,348 adults, August 23 to 29, 2021.
- Upwork, Freelance Forward 2023 press release. 3,000 working adults, October 24 to November 9, 2023. Methodology notes from Gig Economy Data Hub.
- Beeline, MBO Partners 15th State of Independence release, September 9, 2025, and Staffing Industry Analysts coverage.
Limits: BLS's contingent work supplement runs only every few years, so its 2023 figures are the latest available. Upwork and MBO are company-sponsored online surveys with broad definitions, and their counts aren't comparable to BLS or to each other. Pew's platform data is from 2021.
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