Last updated: August 28, 2026
United States: Certified Local Occupation Data
TransparentRate uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 release as the official local source. The primary statistic is national cross-industry hourly wage percentiles (P25, P50, P75), published in USD per hour. Each TransparentRate occupation is matched to a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code at the most granular level that supports a defensible mapping.
Mapping confidence is labeled for every record. Direct and Strong mappings with publishable wage cells receive a U.S. Certified Local Primary benchmark. Context Only records are shown as secondary references, and Unsupported or suppressed records receive no local primary value. The source edition ID for this release is US-OEWS-2025-05-r1.
The official hourly employee statistic is preserved and the modeled freelance planning benchmark applies the provisional 1.75 coefficient once. TransparentRate does not add a target markup, compare the local statistic to an international reference by percentage, or infer values where BLS does not publish a cell.
Source limitations: OEWS is an employer survey and excludes self-employed workers. It reflects national cross-industry percentiles, not metro-specific markets or freelance engagements. Some occupations, especially emerging or narrowly defined roles, rely on a proxy SOC code; the exact SOC and mapping label are always shown.
Disclaimer: TransparentRate provides planning estimates only — not financial advice. The official BLS figure remains employee-wage evidence; the 1.75 conversion is a TransparentRate model assumption. Full details are in the methodology.
San Francisco, New York, and the U.S. Regional Market
The United States freelance market is large, liquid, and geographically varied:
- San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle: Highest contractor rates for senior software, AI/ML, cloud, and product roles, driven by tech-company and venture-backed demand. Cost of living and competition are both elevated.
- New York City: Deep finance, media, legal, consulting, and advertising markets. Premium rates for fintech, strategy, legal-adjacent, and creative work.
- Austin, Denver, Boston, Los Angeles: Strong secondary hubs. Austin and Denver are active for tech and startup contracting; Boston for biotech, healthcare IT, and consulting; Los Angeles for entertainment, design, and production.
- Midwest and South: Lower headline rates on average, but remote-first clients in coastal markets can narrow the gap. Local small-business pricing often differs from national-occupation benchmarks.
Because OEWS is national, the calculator does not embed a metro premium. Use the national benchmark as a starting point, then adjust for the client's location, your specialization, and project scope.
U.S.-Specific Considerations
1099 vs. W-2 and Self-Employment Tax
U.S. freelancers are typically paid on a 1099-NEC basis. Unlike W-2 employees, you pay both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes (self-employment tax), plus federal and state income tax. The 1.75 freelance-conversion coefficient is designed to absorb this gap at a planning level, but your actual tax burden depends on income level, deductions, state of residence, and entity structure.
Entity Structure
Many independent contractors operate as sole proprietors initially, then form a single-member LLC for liability protection. An S-corporation election can reduce self-employment tax once net earnings are high enough to justify the added accounting cost, but it does not change the underlying economics of what you need to charge.
Health Insurance and Retirement
Freelancers purchase health insurance on the individual market or through a spouse's plan, and must fund their own retirement (SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), etc.). These costs are part of why the freelance benchmark is meaningfully above the equivalent employee wage.
Quarterly Estimated Taxes
The IRS expects quarterly estimated tax payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. Setting aside roughly 25–35% of gross freelance income is a common rule of thumb, but this is not a substitute for advice from a tax professional.
How the U.S. Result Is Presented
When a Direct or Strong, publishable SOC mapping exists, the BLS hourly employee percentile band is the local primary and the modeled hourly planning band appears beside it. Context Only, Unsupported, and unpublished records show no local primary. A separate U.S.-anchored hourly reference is also available, but it is never described as additional official U.S. wage data. Compare coverage on the countries index.
FAQ
Are TransparentRate U.S. numbers freelancer rates or employee wages?
They are modeled planning benchmarks derived from official Bureau of Labor Statistics employee-wage percentiles. The BLS value is employee-wage evidence; TransparentRate applies a disclosed 1.75 coefficient once to produce a freelance planning benchmark. It is not an observed freelancer-rate distribution.
Should U.S. freelancers quote hourly or project-based?
Both are common. Hourly retainers and weekly day-rate arrangements dominate consulting, dev-ops, and legal work; fixed-project pricing is common in creative and content work. The calculator preserves the official hourly employee statistic so you can translate it into your preferred quoting format after accounting for scope, efficiency, fees, and taxes.
Do these benchmarks include self-employment tax or health insurance?
No. The benchmarks do not estimate taxes, health insurance, retirement contributions, or business expenses. The 1.75 coefficient is a gross planning assumption, not a personal cost model. Use the personal-minimum calculator inside the benchmark tool for your own floor.
Get Your Personalised U.S. Rate Estimate
Select the United States and an occupation to see the certified local hourly benchmark when available, plus the separate international reference.
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