Featured Photo: Cristina McCarter, Zack Orsborn, and Yo Breezye, three Memphians betting on themselves.
Memphis just earned national recognition as one of the best places in America to chase an idea.
A new Squarespace analysis of more than 100 U.S. cities ranks Memphis No. 7 among cities where passion projects thrive, putting the Bluff City alongside New York, Los Angeles, and Austin. The ranking weighed cost of living, self-employment rates, state income tax, and local search interest in passion projects.
Here is the part worth framing: Memphis posted a cost-of-living index of 85.8, the most affordable of any city in the entire top 10. Pair that with zero state income tax and a self-employment rate of 11.7 percent, and the math gets simple. In Memphis, creatives and entrepreneurs keep more of what they earn, and every dollar stretches further while they build.
The study also tracked growing local search interest in passion projects, a signal that more Memphians are actively turning ideas into income. The proof is already visible across the city, from artists filling gallery walls to founders like Cristina McCarter, whose Feast & Graze grew from a love of local food into one of the city’s signature culinary brands.
The most profitable passion projects nationally include app development, 3D printing, ceramics, writing, and web design, fields where Memphis talent is already working. The takeaway from the ranking lands clean: the city where soul lives is also one of the smartest places in America to bet on yourself.
