Housing is the single largest expense most American households face. That gives jobs that provide free housing a huge advantage. Without housing costs, saving money or paying off debt can get much easier!
Let’s take a look at the options available on the market that are divided into three categories: seasonal, year-round, and travel-oriented.
🏖 Seasonal Jobs that Provide Free Housing
Seasonal jobs that provide housing are great for high school and college students or anyone looking to work for a short time. These opportunities are often in areas of scenic beauty, such as resort towns, allowing you to experience a vacation environment without housing costs.
All of these seasonal jobs can be combined to provide an interesting year-round career. The summer seasonal jobs are an excellent opportunity for school teachers, as well as university students.
1. Ski Resort Employee
In winter, the most common seasonal jobs available are at ski resorts or in the mountains. These jobs include ski or snowboard instructor, resort manager, or temporary, seasonal staff. Many of these positions will include housing, lift passes, and other perks.
🗺 Ski resort jobs are most common in the Rocky and Cascade Mountains and New England ski areas.
2. Agricultural Worker
From harvesting apples, apricots, and plums in western Washington, to harvesting grapes in northern California or corn in Iowa, there is an abundance of seasonal agricultural worker jobs that include housing. These jobs are usually available in the summer, although there are late and early-season crop harvests as well.
🗺 Consider looking in areas known for agricultural production, such as California, Idaho, or Washington State.
3. Seasonal Hotel or Resort Staff
One of the most popular seasonal jobs that provide free housing is a seasonal resort or hotel staff. This includes restaurant workers, cleaning staff, front desk staff, bellhops, concierges, exercise instructors, and expedition leaders.
🗺 Seasonal resort jobs are available both in summer resort destinations like Alaska, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Upstate New York and in winter mountain destinations.
4. Hang Gliding Instructor
If you are a certified hang gliding instructor or want to become certified, there are opportunities across the country to provide in-residence training. These jobs usually provide seasonal or year-round employee housing and opportunities to improve your skills and resume.
🗺 Consider destinations like Outer Banks, North Carolina or the high plateaus of Utah.
5. Ranch Hand
If you’ve got experience wrangling cattle, taking care of horses — or are ready to learn — being a ranch hand everywhere from Texas to Montana is an option. Ranch jobs are popular for the community created amongst employees, opportunities to improve skills and connect with people from around the country.
🗺 The Western US offers the most opportunities.
6. Camp Counselor or Camp Employee
If you love working with children, a camp counselor, camp cook, or camp administrator are good options. There are also specialized camps for adults, families, or people with disabilities. Typical seasonal camp jobs run from late May or early June through Mid-August.
🗺 Camp employee jobs are available across the country, with a high concentration of opportunities in New England, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
📅 Year-Round Jobs that Include Housing
If you love the idea of having a job with paid housing but want something more stable, there are also many year-round options.
The advantage of year-round jobs is that they often come with benefits like health care and dental insurance plans, paid leave, and long-term security. Here are some year-round jobs that include housing:
7. Live-In Nanny
For those who love to work with children, a live-in nanny is often full-time or more. Long hours are common, but the job brings its own fulfillment. You will be entrusted with children’s care and become part of the family.
In the best cases, live-in nannies will spend many years with the same family. You will live with the family or in accommodation provided nearby.
🗺 Live-in nanny jobs are available everywhere, with high demand in cities and areas of concentrated high net worth families such as California, New York, or Palm Beach, FL.
8. Oil Rig Worker
While accommodations on oil rigs are notoriously basic, the pay is excellent. In addition, oil rig jobs provide housing while you are on the rig. Job opportunities are available for oil rig engineers, divers, managers, and entry-level roustabouts.
🗺 Oil rig jobs are found along the gulf coast (Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama), Alaska, and other oil and gas production areas, such as the Dakotas.
9. Innkeeper
If you’ve dreamed of managing a small hotel or bed and breakfast, this might be the perfect job that provides housing for you. There are opportunities for co-management as well as senior leadership positions. You can also consider opening your own hotel or B&B.
🗺 Opportunities are concentrated in areas with robust tourist economies, such as the East and West Coasts.
10. National Park Ranger or Employee
If you love the idea of conservation and spending time outdoors, consider becoming a national park employee. Opportunities include park ranger, fire ranger, and educational center employee.
🗺 You can look at national parks near you, or select parks in an area of the country you’d like to see.
11. Self-Storage Employee
Self-storage facilities require round-the-clock security. As a result, many companies opt for on-site employee housing. This is also one of the jobs you can get with little to no experience.
🗺 While housing is basic, these jobs are available across the country, including in popular cities where housing prices are exceptionally high.
12. Security Guard
Like self-storage employees, security guard jobs with both companies and communities often include housing. You will live with other security guards and work in shifts. You should have enough free time to consider working other jobs or attend college classes.
🗺 These jobs are available nationwide.
13. Live-in Caregiver
If you have a nursing degree or experience caring for the elderly, a live-in caregiver might be the perfect career. Some live-in caregiver jobs simply require monitoring an elderly patient, ensuring meals and medicine are taken on time. A degree may not be required.
🗺 Caregiver jobs are available everywhere. There are high concentrations where there are large elderly populations, such as Arizona and Florida, as well as in high-net-worth communities.
14. Property Manager
Many condos and apartment buildings require an on-site manager and/or maintenance. You often get to live in one of the apartments for free or reduced rent. The hours required are not always full-time, allowing you to work other jobs as long as you are available for tenants and oversee maintenance.
🗺 Property manager jobs are more common in cities and large metropolitan areas.
15. Dorm or Residence Advisor
This is an especially attractive position to get free housing and meal vouchers while earning a university degree. The job entails assisting dorm residents with problem solving, coordinating activities, enforcing policies, etc.
🗺 Dorm or residence advisor positions are available in universities, colleges, and high schools across the country.
16. Butler
For those with experience, training, and stellar recommendations, working as a butler can be a lucrative lifetime career. The hours are not regular, but for some, the pay and housing make up for it.
🗺 It’s more likely that these jobs will be available in high-net-worth communities. Start by looking on specialized sites for requirements and openings.
17. Personal Chef
While a good recommendation is required, becoming a personal chef rarely requires a college degree. A passion for food, flexible cooking style and the ability to accommodate special dietary needs opens greater opportunities.
🗺Many personal chef opportunities are available in California, Florida, Seattle, and the East Coast.
18. Building Superintendent
Many building superintendent positions for commercial properties also provide housing. Responsibilities include overseeing maintenance, responding to tenants, showing vacant units, and collecting rent.
🗺 Building superintendent jobs are available across the US, with greater opportunities in cities and resort areas.
19. Faculty in Residence
Universities, colleges, and boarding schools often like to offer faculty-in-residence as a resource and support for students. Job requirements include mentoring, counseling, and other after-hours support for students.
Faculty in residence will still teach a regular course load and earn a standard salary, but the in-residence option provides free housing and other benefits such as meal vouchers.
🗺 Available in universities, colleges and boarding schools nationwide.
✈️ Travel Jobs With Housing Included
If you long to see the world, jobs that provide housing and offer travel opportunities could be a perfect fit. While some jobs require professional training, there are many entry-level jobs that can let you travel the world while saving money. Here are some of the best jobs that include housing and let you travel:
20. Cruise Ship Employee
There are a variety of different career paths as a cruise ship employee. You could be an entertainer, a casino dealer, involved in hospitality, management, or even become a co-captain. Cruise ship employees live on the ship during cruises, and the company will usually put you up in port between voyages.
🗺 Opportunities are available on cruises departing from ports in Florida, Alaska, California, and along the Gulf Coast.
21. Military
Whatever branch of the military you choose, you receive housing, income, training, and opportunities. Some choose to make the military a career, while others spend some time in the military to get ahead financially and earn a college degree.
22. International Educator
If you have credentials in teaching or education administration, working at an international school can be a lucrative career that provides housing. In addition, these jobs usually offer enticing educator packages that include housing, full medical and dental coverage, moving expenses, and annual flights home for the whole family.
🗺 Middle Eastern countries, such as the United Arab Emirates as well as Southeast Asian countries offer the most opportunities.
23. Teaching English Abroad
For those just starting a career in education or who want to take a gap year before college, teaching English abroad is a job that typically provides housing and financial compensation for full or part-time work. You will need a TEFL certificate, which can be obtained in even a few weeks of full-time study.
🗺 The highest-paid opportunities are in the Middle East, China, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries.
24. Doctors without Borders
For medical doctors who want to make a difference and see the world, Doctors Without Borders provide housing, and the ability to work in under-served communities around the world. Many medical professionals will also choose to work with Doctors without Borders for a portion of each year while maintaining a career in the US.
25. Civil Engineer
An international civil engineer is a career path in high demand in much of the world. You can expect excellent compensation packages that often include moving expenses and annual flights home.
🗺 The United Arab Emirates and Singapore are a few of the countries with many openings.
26. Au Pair
If you like taking care of children and would like to experience living or studying in another country, you might want to consider becoming an au-pair. Au pairs are considered a part of the host family and not just an employee. Therefore, you get to live with the host family while taking care of their children, either full-time or part-time, while still receiving compensation for your work.
🗺 Outside the US, you’ll find most au pair opportunities in Western Europe and Canada.
27. Peace Corps Volunteer
For those without a medical degree, the Peace Corps is a path to see the world and make a difference. The Peace Corps provides basic housing and compensation. It requires a 27-month commitment, and the pay is minimal. If you feel called to help people and create lasting change, the Peace Corps is a good option.
🗺 Most Peace Corps volunteers serve in Africa, Central and South America.
These are just a few of the many career paths that provide housing. So whether you are just starting your career or looking for a change, housing costs don’t have to limit where you live and what you get to experience.
Where to Find Jobs With Free Housing?
Most job search platforms like Indeed and Snagajob will have openings for jobs that provide housing year-round.
Some of the great places to find seasonal jobs are:
- CoolWorks – You can search by season, state, and category. They even have a section for national park jobs.
- Season Workers – Lots of seasonal jobs listings in the US and Europe.
- SeasonalJobs.com – Another solid option for finding seasonal work.
