Self-employment is an important contributor to California’s economy.

• In 2024, 2.2 million Californians (11.6% of the workforce) reported that they were primarily self-employed. California’s self-employment rate is higher than the US rate (9.9%) and ranks 8th across states.
• Gig work is one form of self-employment, which many Californians combine with wage and salary work. Estimates suggest about 10% do so nationally, reflecting a growing share over time.
• About two-thirds (64% or 1.4 million) of self-employed Californians do independent contracting or own unincorporated businesses as their primary job; they are often sole proprietors. The number in this category fell considerably during the pandemic and remains 4.3% below its 2019 level.
• Just over a third (36%) of self-employed Californians are business owners who have established corporations and typically employ others. Their numbers rose to 801,300 between 2019 and 2024—a 21.2% increase.
• Northern counties have self-employment rates above the state average, largely because self-employment is common in some of the region’s main occupations such as farming. Self-employment is also high in some Bay Area counties, while rates are lowest in the San Joaquin Valley.

The self-employed are an important source of job creation.

• Jobs created by the self-employed in California accounted for 23% of total employment in 2023, slightly higher than in the rest of the US (20%). Job creation by self-employed Californians grew from 18% in 2019.
• While a smaller share of self-employed Californians report at least one paid employee (22%) than peers in the rest of the US (24%), California business owners tend to employ more workers. The median number of paid employees is three.

Self-employment rates vary widely across demographic groups.

• Men (13%) are more likely to be self-employed than women (10%), and the gender gap in self-employment widens with age. Men tend to work in occupations where self-employment is common, such as construction and farming/agriculture.
• White Californians (15%) are more likely to be self-employed than other racial/ethnic groups. Differences in age, assets, educational attainment, and family business ownership contribute to the smaller shares of self-employed Black (8%), Latino (10%), and Asian (10%) Californians.
• Adults 55 and older make up 37% of self-employed workers but only 20% of private sector wage and salary workers. In 2024, 25% of workers aged 65 and older were self-employed, compared to 14% of those age 45 to 54 and 6% of workers under age 34.
• Immigrants comprise an outsized share of California’s self-employed population (41% vs. 34% among private sector wage and salary workers) and are more likely to be self-employed than US-born Californians (14% vs. 10%).
• Married people are twice as likely to be self-employed than those who have never been married (14% vs. 8%). Across educational levels, Californians without high school diplomas (17%) and those with professional degrees (21%) are especially likely to be self-employed.

Highly educated Californians are especially likely to own incorporated businesses.

• Highly educated self-employed Californians, especially those with professional degrees, are more likely to incorporate than their less-educated peers.
• Asian Californians—who tend to be more educated—incorporate at higher rates than white Californians (47% vs. 40%), although the latter have higher self-employment rates. Across racial/ethnic groups, incorporation rates are lowest among Latinos (26%).
• Older Californians are as likely to incorporate as adults under 35, despite large differences in self-employment rates. Similarly, US-born self-employed Californians are more likely to incorporate than those who are foreign born. Married self-employed workers are also more likely to incorporate than their single counterparts.

Self-employment can pay off economically for business owners.

• Median earnings for male owners of incorporated businesses were $85,500 in 2024, 12% more than the median for male wage and salary workers ($76,000). However, men who were independent contractors or owned unincorporated businesses earned substantially less ($49,900). The same pattern holds for women, with narrower gaps.
• The male/female earnings gap among incorporated business owners (22%) is larger than the gender gap among wage and salary earners (6%).
• Almost seven in ten business owners (68%) work full-time year-round, compared to only half of independent contractors (50%).
• Self-employment is prevalent in a mix of low-wage and high-wage occupations.