All cities / Rankings / Best for indie hackers
Best US cities for indie hackers, by places to work
All 14 cities ranked by coworking spaces and makerspaces within 10 miles, best first, as of October 2026.
Denver, CO has the most places to work with 23 mapped within 10 miles, ahead of Chicago (20) and Atlanta (16). Riverside has the fewest with 0. Chattanooga has no figure yet and is left out of the ranking.
- 1. Denver, CO
- 23spaces
- 2. Chicago, IL
- 20spaces
- 3. Atlanta, GA
- 16spaces
- 1
Denver, CONear-citywide fiber and the best bike score on this list.23spaces - 2
Chicago, ILThe one city here where living without a car is normal: over a quarter of households have none.20spaces - 3
Atlanta, GAA monthly Indie Hackers meetup, rail to the airport, and home prices below most cities here.16spaces - 4
Austin, TXBig-city tech hub with two near-citywide fiber networks and a $1.25 bus fare.15spaces - 5
Portland, ORQuantum Fiber reaches 98 percent of addresses, and one $2.80 TriMet fare covers bus, MAX and the streetcar.13spaces - 6
Nashville, TNA $2 bus ride, a $4 all day pass, and a bootstrapper meetup that actually meets.9spaces - 7
San Diego, CABeach city with the highest home prices on this list and a trolley that covers the core.7spaces - 8
Miami, FLNear-total fiber coverage and a free downtown people mover, at big-city rents.5spaces - 9
Tucson, AZThe lowest 1-bedroom rent on this list, and the buses and streetcar are free.2spaces - 10
Las Vegas, NVThe lowest Airbnb prices on this list, in a city built for driving.1spaces - 11
Asheville, NCSmall mountain city with a $1 bus and weekly founder mornings, best with a car outside downtown.1spaces - 12
Anaheim, CAOrange County base with strong fiber coverage, priced like the coast and laid out for cars.1spaces - 13
Riverside, CAInland Empire prices well below coastal California, with Metrolink trains toward Los Angeles.0spaces
Not ranked, no figure collected yet: Chattanooga, TN.
The numbers behind the ranking
Coworking spaces plus makerspaces and hackerspaces mapped on OpenStreetMap within 10 miles of downtown, each listed by name on the city page. Volunteers keep that map, so a thin count can mean an unmapped city rather than an empty one. The columns show the other three facts the indie hacker guide uses: a dedicated meetup, internet speed and rent. Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
| Rank | City | coworking spaces and makerspaces within 10 miles | Indie meetup | Fastest internet | 1-bed near downtown | Cafes, 2 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver, CO | 23 | General startup scene | 8 Gbps | $1,930 | 166 |
| 2 | Chicago, IL | 20 | Indie meetup found | 5 Gbps | $2,670 | 268 |
| 3 | Atlanta, GA | 16 | Indie meetup found | 5 Gbps | $1,710 | 49 |
| 4 | Austin, TX | 15 | Indie meetup found | 8 Gbps | $1,730 | 124 |
| 5 | Portland, OR | 13 | General startup scene | 8 Gbps | $1,760 | n/a |
| 6 | Nashville, TN | 9 | Indie meetup found | n/a | $1,725 | 42 |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | 7 | Indie meetup found | 5 Gbps | $2,660 | 92 |
| 8 | Miami, FL | 5 | General startup scene | 8 Gbps | $2,240 | 56 |
| 9 | Tucson, AZ | 2 | General startup scene | 8 Gbps | $1,100 | 31 |
| 10 | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | General startup scene | 8 Gbps | $1,340 | 16 |
| 11 | Asheville, NC | 1 | General startup scene | 5 Gbps | $1,800 | n/a |
| 12 | Anaheim, CA | 1 | General startup scene | 5 Gbps | $2,480 | n/a |
| 13 | Riverside, CA | 0 | General startup scene | 5 Gbps | $1,700 | 13 |
Questions people ask
Which US city has the cleanest air for digital nomads?
Of the 14 cities on Nomading USA, as of October 2026, Denver, CO has the most places to work with 23 mapped within 10 miles, ahead of Chicago (20) and Atlanta (16). Riverside has the fewest with 0.
How is coworking spaces and makerspaces within 10 miles measured?
Coworking spaces plus makerspaces and hackerspaces mapped on OpenStreetMap within 10 miles of downtown, each listed by name on the city page. Volunteers keep that map, so a thin count can mean an unmapped city rather than an empty one. The columns show the other three facts the indie hacker guide uses: a dedicated meetup, internet speed and rent.