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How many freelance software developers are there in the United States?
Hi there! Thanks for your question about the number of software developers in the United States. The best resources I found to answer your question were LinkedIn, Upwork, and Guru. The short answer is that between these three freelance profile sites, there is an average of freelance 29,290 software developers in the United States.
METHODOLOGY
I began by searching for the top sites with the largest searchable databases of freelance software developer profiles. I determined that LinkedIn, Upwork, and Guru provide the largest number of profiles with individuals who work as freelance software developers. Within each of these sites, I used the advanced search engine to narrow the search for freelancers who work in the United States. From there, I also searched popular career profile websites such as Indeed's resume board and Peopleperhour for freelance software developers. Though these two sites did not return results as extensive as the other three sites, they did return substantial results for individuals working as freelance software developers in the United States. After searching for freelance profiles, I then searched government websites, academic databases, and reliable news sources for any quantifiable information on freelancers working in software development in the United States. Though there was no public information reflecting this demographic specifically, I was able to find helpful insights into the United States freelancer workforce in general. Below you will find a deep-dive of all my findings.
FREELANCERS BY DATABASE
Between the three top freelance profile sites, there is an average of 29,290 freelance software developers in the United States. Upwork returned results which categorized profiles based on skill level. Upwork's advanced search settings returned a total of 4,476 US freelance software developers. Of those developers, 102 have had at least 100 hours billed through Upwork, and 27 have had at least 1,000 hours billed through Upwork. Additionally, among these freelancers 4,412 are independent freelancers, and 64 work with an agency. Though LinkedIn does not provide a breakdown by hours billed, their profile database returned the largest number of software developers working in the United States with 50,710. Finally, Guru's database resulted in 32,685 freelance software developers in the United States. Additionally, Indeed.com's resume board has 243 resumes of US freelance software developers, and Peopleperhour has 343 freelance US software developer profiles. The total number of US freelance software developer profiles found between all five sites is 88,457. The average number of profiles for the top three sites is 29,290.
AT A GLANCE
Freelance Software Developer US Totals
Upwork: 4,476
LinkedIn: 50,710
Guru: 32,685
Indeed's Resume Board: 243
Peopleperhour: 343
Total Number of Profiles on All Five Sites: 88,457
Average Profiles Between Upwork, LinkedIn, and Guru: 29,290
ADDITIONAL INSIGHT
According to a recent study conducted by Upwork, "one in three Americans are freelancing." Citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics' estimated workforce at 157 million, Upwork determined that 53.7 million American workers are defined as freelance workers. According to Intuit's 2020 Report detailing twenty trends that will shape the next decade, they predicted that by the year 2020, traditional full-time employment will no longer be the norm. Instead, these jobs will be replaced by contingent workers, which are defined as part-time and freelance workers. Their report states that 80 percent of large corporations intend to increase their use of contingent workers. Though these statistics do not specifically address software developers, it is interesting to note how corporations are expanding their use of freelance workers, considering the price for freelance software developers in the United States is less expensive than hiring a full-time software developer. According to Codementor's cost analysis of hiring a freelance software developer versus a full-time software developer, the annual cost for a full-time software developer is $198,974 versus $107,400-$179,000 for a freelance software developer. With that in mind, as the year 2020 approaches, it is likely that there will be a major increase in freelance software developers entering the US workforce.
CONCLUSION
In short, between the three major career profile sites for freelancers, there is an average of 29,290 software developers in the United States. Other sites such as Indeed and Peopleperhour also have a substantial amount of freelance software developers working in the United States. The United States has a workforce of 157 million people, and it is estimated that 53.7 million are freelance workers. On average, hiring a freelance software developer is less expensive than hiring on full-time, and by the year 2020, 80 percent of corporations will be utilizing freelance workers. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if there's anything else we can help with.