I recall that during the interview process, they dropped off the face of the earth once I asked them about hourly rates and if they'd be able to meet my minimum

I recall that during the interview process, they dropped off the face of the earth once I asked them about hourly rates and if they'd be able to meet my minimum. I refused to do any coding exercises if they couldn't openly state that my requested hourly rate was within reason. From everything I have read online, the rates are low for US based freelancers. You're better off finding your own clients and skipping the middleman.