SOUTHAMPTON has been ranked the best city in the UK to be your own boss, figures show.

Figures from accounting giant Intuit QuickBooks, which surveyed 5,000 self-employed workers from across the country showed that Southampton is the best place to be self-employed with workers earning £5,000 more than the UK average.

Southampton’s self-employed mean yearly income is £39,024 and they work 26 hours a week, compared to the national average of £32,000 and 28 hours.

London was ranked second with an average wage was £35,779 for 27 hours a week, Edinburgh was third with £35,285 for an average of 28 hours a week.

Intuit’s reports also showed that 79 per cent of the city’s self-employed felt they in control over their own schedule while 69 per cent had more flexibility to work on their own terms.

Dominic Allon, vice president and managing director of Intuit Europe, said: “The surge in self-employment has been fuelled by demand for a better quality of life.

“This ranking will be particularly welcome news to Southampton residents, where the workforce has carved out the best balance to earn more, work less and be happier.

“New technologies and platforms are enabling more of us than ever to explore new income streams and dramatically different working habits.”

Sandeep Sesodia, chair of the Southampton Business Board at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce welcomed the firm’s findings.

He said: “We are delighted to learn that in a recent survey Southampton has emerged as the best city to be self-employed.

“An increasing number of people choose self-employment as a way to improve their work-life balance.

“The statistics in this report appear to confirm that this improvement is achievable in Southampton.”