US freelance knowledge workers generated $1.5 trillion in earnings in 2024, and more than one in four — 28 percent — of them now work independently (Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025). The broader independent workforce reached 72.9 million people in 2025, including a record 5.6 million who earned more than $100,000 (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025). Globally, the World Bank counts between 154 million and 435 million online gig workers (World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023). The defining story of 2026, though, is bifurcation: demand for AI-enabled freelance skills more than doubled while freelancers exposed to AI lost contracts and pay. This analysis consolidates data from Upwork, MBO Partners, Fiverr, the Federal Reserve, and 10 other primary sources to map who freelances, what they earn, and how AI is reshaping the work.
TL;DR
- The US independent workforce reached 72.9 million in 2025, up from 72.7 million in 2024 (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025).
- A record 5.6 million US independents earned $100,000-plus in 2025, up 19 percent year over year (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025).
- 28 percent of US knowledge workers freelance, generating $1.5 trillion in 2024 (Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025).
- Demand for top AI-enabled skills rose 109 percent year over year, with AI video generation up 329 percent (Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026).
- Upwork posted record full-year 2025 revenue of $787.8 million on $4 billion-plus in gross services volume (Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results).
- Fiverr’s active buyers fell 13.6 percent to 3.1 million even as spend per buyer climbed to $342 (Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results).
- 27 percent of US adults have a side hustle in 2025, down from 36 percent in 2024 — the first drop since 2017 (Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025).
- 41 percent of gig workers said their income varied month to month, versus 26 percent of non-gig adults (Federal Reserve, SHED 2024).
- The World Bank estimates 154 million to 435 million online gig workers worldwide across 545 platforms (World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023).
- The global freelance platforms market is projected to reach $24.2 billion by 2033, an 18.6 percent CAGR (Grand View Research, Freelance Platforms Market 2025).
- Gen Z grew to 28 percent of the US independent workforce in 2025, up from 21 percent in 2024 (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025).
1. Workforce Size and Growth
Counting freelancers is a definitional minefield, and the headline numbers diverge because each survey draws the boundary differently. MBO Partners’ broad measure — anyone earning independent income at least monthly — lands at 72.9 million, while Upwork’s narrower “skilled knowledge worker” lens implies just over 20 million. The through-line is that growth has stalled at the top of the range and shifted toward occasional participation: full-time independents held steady at 27.6 million while occasional independents swelled to 37.4 million (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US independent workers (2025) | 72.9 million (up from 72.7M in 2024) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Full-time independents (2025) | 27.6 million | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Occasional independents (2025) | 37.4 million | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| US knowledge workers freelancing | 28% (more than 20 million people) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| US independent workers (2022) | 36% of employed / 58 million (up from 27% in 2016) | McKinsey, American Opportunity Survey 2022 |
| Online gig workers, global | 154 million to 435 million | World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023 |
| Projected US freelancers by 2027 | 86.5 million (50.9% of workforce) | Statista, Freelancers in the US 2017-2028 |
Flag: the McKinsey 36 percent figure and the World Bank range are the most recent public editions of those studies (McKinsey, American Opportunity Survey 2022; World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023). The 86.5 million figure is a forward projection, not a current count.
2. Earnings, Rates, and the Six-Figure Surge
The most consequential earnings trend is at the top of the distribution. The number of independents clearing $100,000 a year hit a record 5.6 million in 2025 — up 19 percent from 4.7 million in 2024, and nearly double the 2020 level (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025). Full-time freelancers already out-earn the median full-time employee, per Upwork. At the other end, side-hustle income is flat and skewed sharply by gender, a reminder that averages hide a wide spread.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Independents earning $100,000-plus (2025) | 5.6 million (+19% YoY; ~2x 2020) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Median income, full-time freelancers | $85,000 (vs $80,000 for full-time employees) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| Global average freelancer hourly rate | ~$21/hour | Payoneer, Global Freelancer Income Report |
| Female freelancer earnings vs male | 84% of men’s earnings | Payoneer, Global Freelancer Income Report |
| Average side-hustle income (2025) | $885/month (vs $891 in 2024); $200 median | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
| Side-hustle gender gap (2025) | Men $1,195/month vs women $611/month | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
| Side-hustle income by generation (2025) | Millennials $1,029; Gen Z $968; Boomers $918; Gen X $512 | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
Flag: the Payoneer global hourly-rate figures are the most recent widely cited edition and predate 2024 — treat as directional (Payoneer, Global Freelancer Income Report). For a deeper cut on supplementary income, see our side hustle statistics 2026.
3. The Platform Economy: Upwork, Fiverr, and Market Size
The two public marketplaces tell opposite volume stories with the same strategic pivot: chase higher-value work. Upwork grew full-year 2025 revenue to a record $787.8 million on more than $4 billion in gross services volume, while Fiverr’s active buyers fell 13.6 percent even as spend per buyer rose 13.3 percent to $342 (Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results; Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results). Fewer, bigger clients is the through-line — Fiverr’s transactions over $1,000 grew 22.8 percent.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Upwork full-year 2025 revenue | $787.8 million (record) | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Upwork full-year 2025 GSV | Over $4 billion | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Upwork active clients (Dec 31, 2025) | 785,000; GSV per client $5,129 in Q4 | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Upwork registered freelancers | 18 million-plus across 180+ countries | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Fiverr full-year 2025 revenue | $430.9 million (+10.1% YoY) | Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Fiverr active buyers / spend per buyer | 3.1 million (-13.6%) / $342 (+13.3%) | Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Fiverr GMV from $1,000-plus transactions | +22.8% YoY | Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Freelance platforms market | $6.4B (2025) to $24.2B by 2033, 18.6% CAGR | Grand View Research, Freelance Platforms Market 2025 |
Outlier: North America held the largest share of the freelance platforms market at 30.3 percent in 2025, but Asia Pacific is the fastest grower at a 20.1 percent CAGR (Grand View Research, Freelance Platforms Market 2025). Many of these platform sellers overlap with the creator economy.
4. AI’s Double Edge: Demand Boom and Disruption
No force is reshaping freelancing faster, and the data cuts both ways. Demand for the top AI-enabled skills on Upwork more than doubled, up 109 percent year over year, led by AI video generation at plus-329 percent (Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026). Yet Brookings found that freelancers in AI-exposed roles lost both contracts and income after ChatGPT’s release. Freelancers are also adopting AI faster than salaried peers, using it to augment rather than replace their output.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top AI-enabled skills demand | +109% YoY | Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026 |
| AI video generation and editing demand | +329% YoY | Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026 |
| AI integration / data annotation / chatbot dev | +178% / +154% / +71% YoY | Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026 |
| Upwork AI-related GSV (Q4 2025) | $300 million-plus annualized (+50% YoY) | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Independents using generative AI (2025) | 74% (vs 69% of traditional workers); saves ~9 hrs/week | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Freelancers reporting advanced AI proficiency | 54% (vs 38% of full-time employees) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| AI-exposed freelancers, post-ChatGPT | ~2% fewer new contracts; ~5% lower monthly earnings | Brookings, Evidence from the Freelance Market 2024 |
Context: the Brookings decline was concentrated among higher-skill freelancers doing text and image work, while administrative and video tasks were less affected (Brookings, Evidence from the Freelance Market 2024). Employers are screening for these skills too — see our AI recruiting statistics 2026.
5. Who Freelances: Demographics and Motivation
Freelancing is getting younger, more global, and more credentialed, and the satisfaction numbers explain why people stay. 84 percent of independents say they are happier working independently, even though only 59 percent say they earn more (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025). Gen Z’s share jumped seven points in a single year. Notably, skilled freelancers are more educated than the salaried workers they compete with.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Z share of independent workforce (2025) | 28% (up from 21% in 2024) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Independents happier working independently | 84% | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Independents who say they earn more | 59% | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Online gig workers who are youth | Majority under age 30 | World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023 |
| Skilled freelancers holding postgraduate degrees | 37% (vs 20% of full-time employees) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| Independents identifying as contract/freelance/temp | 76% (68% identify as gig workers) | McKinsey, American Opportunity Survey 2022 |
Context: McKinsey found nearly half of immigrants report being independent workers, framing freelancing as an on-ramp to the labor market (McKinsey, American Opportunity Survey 2022). Flexibility is the shared thread with the remote work movement.
6. The Hard Part: Income Volatility, Benefits, and Side-Hustle Fatigue
The flexibility comes with a cash-flow tax. 41 percent of adults who did gig work said their income varied at least occasionally from month to month, compared with 26 percent of those who did not (Federal Reserve, SHED 2024). The side-hustle boom also cooled for the first time in years, and a meaningful share of hustlers see the extra work as permanent rather than temporary.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US adults with a side hustle (2025) | 27% (down from 36% in 2024) — first drop since 2017 | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
| US adults doing gig work in past month (2024) | 20% | Federal Reserve, SHED 2024 |
| Gig workers with month-to-month income variation | 41% (vs 26% of non-gig adults) | Federal Reserve, SHED 2024 |
| Adults earning via selling / short-term tasks (2024) | 13% selling; 9% short-term tasks | Federal Reserve, SHED 2024 |
| Side hustlers who feel they will always need one | 29% | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
Context: the Fed’s survey of over 12,000 adults found gig workers doing short-term tasks reported lower financial well-being and wished pay were more consistent (Federal Reserve, SHED 2024). The Bankrate survey polled 2,616 US adults via YouGov in June 2025.
7. Regional and Sector Spotlight: UK, Global Market, and Voice Work
Freelancing is a global structure with local weight. The UK’s freelance workforce stands at about 2.046 million, nearly half of the country’s 4.199 million solo self-employed, who together contributed an estimated 366 billion pounds to the economy in 2024 (IPSE, The Self-Employed Landscape). The broader gig economy is a multi-hundred-billion-dollar market, and audio work is one fast-growing niche within it.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK freelancers | ~2.046 million (49% of 4.199M solo self-employed) | IPSE, The Self-Employed Landscape |
| UK solo self-employed economic contribution | 366 billion pounds in 2024 (up from 331bn in 2023) | IPSE, The Self-Employed Landscape |
| Global gig economy market | $674.1 billion (2026) to $2,522 billion by 2035, 15.79% CAGR | Business Research Insights, Gig Economy Market 2026 |
| Online gig platforms worldwide | 545 platforms, HQ in 63 countries; users in 186 countries | World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023 |
| Global dubbing and voice-over market | $4.2 billion (2024) to $8.6 billion by 2034, 7.4% CAGR | Market.us, Dubbing and Voice-over Market |
| North America share of freelance platform revenue | 30.3% (Asia Pacific fastest at 20.1% CAGR) | Grand View Research, Freelance Platforms Market 2025 |
Context: voice-over and narration is one audio corner of the freelance market where demand is rising, and independent voice talent increasingly uses tools such as an AI voice generator to prototype and produce work faster (Market.us, Dubbing and Voice-over Market).
Summary: Freelance Economy by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US independent workers (2025) | 72.9 million | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Independents earning $100,000-plus (2025) | 5.6 million (+19% YoY) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| US knowledge workers freelancing | 28% ($1.5 trillion earned in 2024) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| Median income, full-time freelancers | $85,000 (vs $80,000 for employees) | Upwork, Future Workforce Index 2025 |
| Online gig workers, global | 154 million to 435 million | World Bank, Working Without Borders 2023 |
| Projected US freelancers by 2027 | 86.5 million (50.9% of workforce) | Statista, Freelancers in the US 2017-2028 |
| Top AI-enabled skills demand | +109% YoY | Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026 |
| AI video generation demand | +329% YoY | Upwork, In-Demand Skills 2026 |
| AI-exposed freelancers post-ChatGPT | ~2% fewer contracts; ~5% lower earnings | Brookings, Evidence from the Freelance Market 2024 |
| Independents using generative AI (2025) | 74% (saves ~9 hrs/week) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| Upwork full-year 2025 revenue | $787.8 million (record) | Upwork, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Fiverr full-year 2025 revenue | $430.9 million (+10.1% YoY) | Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Fiverr active buyers / spend per buyer | 3.1 million (-13.6%) / $342 (+13.3%) | Fiverr, Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results |
| Freelance platforms market by 2033 | $24.2 billion (18.6% CAGR) | Grand View Research, Freelance Platforms Market 2025 |
| Gen Z share of independent workforce (2025) | 28% (up from 21% in 2024) | MBO Partners, State of Independence 2025 |
| US adults with a side hustle (2025) | 27% (down from 36% in 2024) | Bankrate, Side Hustle Survey 2025 |
| Gig workers with variable monthly income | 41% (vs 26% of non-gig adults) | Federal Reserve, SHED 2024 |
| UK freelancers | ~2.046 million | IPSE, The Self-Employed Landscape |
| Global gig economy market (2026) | $674.1 billion | Business Research Insights, Gig Economy Market 2026 |
| US independent workers (2022 measure) | 36% of employed / 58 million | McKinsey, American Opportunity Survey 2022 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating primary company disclosures, government and multilateral surveys, named annual workforce studies, and market-research reports published between 2022 and 2026, prioritizing the most recent editions and flagging figures older than 2024.
- Upwork — Future Workforce Index 2025 (press release); survey of 3,000 US skilled knowledge workers, December 2024 to February 2025, margin of error plus or minus 1.8 percent
- Upwork — Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results (investor release)
- Upwork — In-Demand Skills 2026 (press release), published February 4, 2026
- MBO Partners — 15th Annual State of Independence in America 2025 (report hub; press release)
- Fiverr International — Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results (investor release)
- Bankrate — Side Hustle Survey 2025 (report); YouGov poll of 2,616 US adults, June 2-4, 2025
- Federal Reserve — Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 / SHED, Employment and Gig Work (report); over 12,000 respondents, fielded October 2024
- Brookings — Is generative AI a job killer? Evidence from the freelance market (article)
- World Bank — Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work, 2023 (publication)
- McKinsey — American Opportunity Survey / Freelance, side hustles, and gigs, 2022 (report)
- Grand View Research — Freelance Platforms Market Report, 2026-2033 (report)
- IPSE — The Self-Employed Landscape (report)
- Payoneer — Global Freelancer Income Report (resource)
- Statista — Number of freelancers in the US 2017-2028 (series)
- Business Research Insights — Gig Economy Market (report)
- Market.us — Dubbing and Voice-over Market (report)
Data watch: several cited sources refresh on annual cycles. MBO Partners typically publishes its State of Independence study in the fall, so a 2026 edition is expected in H2 2026. Upwork’s In-Demand Skills report has run in early February, and its Future Workforce Index in spring; both quarterly financial releases continue through 2026. Bankrate refreshes its side-hustle survey mid-year, and the Federal Reserve publishes the next SHED report (2025 data) in May 2026. The McKinsey American Opportunity Survey and World Bank gig-work estimates are the most recent editions available and may be superseded.
Last updated: July 10, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.