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This Little-Known U.S. City — Where Self-Employed People Make $179,080 a Year on Average — Could Be a Great Place to Start a Side Hustle Nowadays, practically anyone can start a side hustle — but earnings may vary significantly.

By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas

Key Takeaways

  • More than half of Americans started a side hustle in the last 12 months.
  • Learn how location might impact self-employment earnings in the U.S.

More than half (54%) of Americans say they've started a side hustle to supplement their primary source of income in the last 12 months, according to a survey from MarketWatch Guides.

Although there's no shortage of potential opportunities — side hustles can span teaching online to cleaning barbecues, creating digital products and so much more — one doesn't necessarily have the same earning power as the next.

Related: 10 of the Most Profitable Side Hustles You Can Start With Little or No Money

Choosing a side hustle is one crucial piece of the puzzle — but where you decide to start it is another that might make or break your success.

So where in the U.S. do side hustlers have the greatest earning potential?

The team at SideHustles.com conducted a study to find out, analyzing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Community Survey to determine which states and cities have the highest percentage of residents earning self-employment income and their average earnings.

Households in North Dakota, New Jersey and Connecticut earn the most from self-employment income, at $60,221, $55,748 and $55,192, per the data from SideHustle.com.

Lake Charles, Louisiana, has the highest average self-employment earnings at $179,080 per household, followed by San Tan Valley, Arizona ($141,459) and Upland, California ($130,291), the analysis found.

Related: The Top 10 U.S. Cities for Starting a Side Hustle, According to Statistics

Read on to see the top five cities and states where people earn the most, on average, from self-employment income, according to the study:

Top five cities where self-employed earn the most

  1. Lake Charles, Louisiana: $179,080
  2. San Tan Valley, Arizona: $141,459
  3. Upland, California: $130,291
  4. Newton, Massachusetts: $118,527
  5. Bethesda, Maryland: $110,573

Related: This 20-Year-Old Student Started a Side Hustle With $400 — and It Earned $150,000 Over the Summer

Top five states where self-employed earn the most

  1. North Dakota: $60,221
  2. New Jersey: $55,748
  3. Connecticut: $55,192
  4. Massachusetts: $54,712
  5. California: $53,639
Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

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