Bankrate counted 27% of US adults with a side hustle in June 2025, the lowest reading in its series since 2017. Intuit QuickBooks, asking a wider question six months later, counted 47%. Four recent surveys disagree on participation by 20 points and agree on nearly everything else. Below: what each one measured, and the earnings, hours and burnout figures behind the headline numbers.
Side Hustle Statistics
How Many Americans Have a Side Hustle?
The four estimates measure four different things, which is why the spread is so wide.
Bankrate asked 2,616 US adults whether they currently had a side hustle. Fieldwork ran June 2 to 4, 2025, and 27% said yes, down nine points from 36% in 2024 and 39% in 2023.
Intuit QuickBooks asked 3,000 US adults in December 2025 whether they had earned any side hustle income in the previous 12 months. That question captures one-off resellers and seasonal gig workers who no longer count themselves as active, and it returned 47%. Of the sample, 1,403 qualified as side hustlers.
Omnisend put a present-tense question to 1,370 Americans in March 2026 and recorded 28% with a side hustle or other secondary income stream.
The federal number is the smallest because it counts only people whose second job pays a wage from an employer. Self-employed sellers and freelancers fall outside it entirely.
Much of this work happens in a bedroom corner between shifts, which is why compact seating built for tight rooms comes up so often in home office write-ups.
Side Hustle Income Statistics: Average vs Median
Bankrate’s median fell while its average barely moved, which places the loss at the bottom of the distribution rather than the top. Earnings of $1 to $50 a month were the single largest band in 2025, reported by 28% of side hustlers.
| Year | Average monthly earnings | Median monthly earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $810 | Not reported |
| 2024 | $891 | $250 |
| 2025 | $885 | $200 |
Source: Bankrate Side Hustle Survey, fieldwork June 2025 (2025 figures), with 2023 and 2024 editions as published
QuickBooks reported a much higher $2,038 per month, drawn from respondents screened down to confirmed side hustlers rather than all adults. Against an average 19 hours and 32 minutes of monthly effort, that works out to $104 an hour by the survey’s own calculation, against a national average hourly wage of $37.02 cited from BLS.
The Penny Hoarder surveyed 1,000 US adults who were screened for an active side hustle in February 2026 and put monthly earnings at $1,275. Its report labels that figure an average in one place and a median in another, so treat it as the survey’s central earnings number rather than one or the other.
Side Hustle Statistics by Generation
Gen X is the outlier. Participation sits close to boomers, but average monthly earnings are a little over half.
| Generation | Has a side hustle | Average monthly income | Wants it to become full-time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen Z (18 to 28) | 34% | $968 | 21% |
| Millennials (29 to 44) | 31% | $1,029 | 17% |
| Gen X (45 to 60) | 23% | $512 | 12% |
| Boomers (61 to 79) | 22% | $918 | 11% |
Source: Bankrate Side Hustle Survey, fieldwork June 2 to 4, 2025
QuickBooks, screening only for people who had earned side income, found 56% of Gen Z and 54% of millennials had done so in the past year. Millennials reported $2,260 a month against 20 monthly hours; Gen Z reported $1,813 against 17 hours. Among millennial side hustlers, 46% said they hope to go full-time.
Bankrate also recorded a gender gap: men averaged $1,195 a month against $611 for women, with medians of $247 and $148.
How Many Americans Work Two or More Jobs?
The Current Population Survey counts only formally held jobs, so it sets a floor rather than a ceiling. The seasonally adjusted rate reached 5.3% in June 2026, down from 5.4% in June 2025.
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple jobholders | 8.55 million | June 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Share of all employed | 5.3% | June 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Multiple jobholders | 8.86 million | June 2025, seasonally adjusted |
| Multiple jobholders, annual average | 8.80 million | 2025 |
| Multiple jobholders, annual average | 8.43 million | 2024 |
| Rate among women, annual average | 5.9% | 2025 |
| Rate among men, annual average | 4.9% | 2025 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Table A-9 and annual averages Table 36
One caveat travels with the annual figures. BLS states that the 2025 annual estimates are 11-month averages excluding October, because data for that month were not collected during the federal government shutdown, and are not strictly comparable with other years.
Most multiple jobholders are not stacking two full workloads. In 2025, 5.04 million held a full-time primary job plus a part-time second job, while only 417,000 held two full-time jobs.
Side Hustle Statistics by Category: What People Actually Do
Bankrate’s shares run low across every named category because 43% of its respondents selected an unlisted option, leaving the named categories to divide a smaller pool.
| Category | Share of side hustlers |
|---|---|
| Online sales | 15% |
| Professional and business services | 14% |
| Food delivery | 9% |
| Crafts | 9% |
| Pet care | 7% |
| Teaching and tutoring | 6% |
| Ridesharing | 3% |
Source: Bankrate Side Hustle Survey, fieldwork June 2025
Other surveys rank the same activity first under different labels. QuickBooks put online selling at 30% and freelancing services at 22%. The Penny Hoarder grouped transportation and delivery at 25%, creative services at 25% and e-commerce at 21%.
Freelancers running professional services from home are a recurring feature of real workspace tours, and coders billing evening hours tend to build around screen space first, as this developer desk breakdown lays out.
Global Side Hustle Statistics: Four Markets Compared
Omnisend surveyed four English-speaking markets in March 2026. E-commerce led in all four, and financial pressure was the stated reason for four in five respondents everywhere.
| Country | Has a side hustle | Earns up to $500/month | Combined monthly earnings | Top selling platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 28% | 51% | $84.1 billion | eBay (49%) |
| United Kingdom | 25% | 67% | £8.5 billion | eBay (51%) |
| Canada | 31% | 53% | $9.9 billion | Facebook Marketplace (53%) |
| Australia | 33% | 41% | $10.1 billion | Facebook Marketplace (54%) |
Source: Omnisend Side Hustle Economy Report 2026, survey conducted by Cint, March 2026
Money was named as the main reason by 80% of Americans, 83% of Britons, 85% of Canadians and 80% of Australians. Between 8% and 10% across the four markets described their side hustle as a passion project. The US total rose from $83.1 billion a year earlier, while the UK figure fell from £12.5 billion. Roughly half of these ventures started within the past year.
Selling online is also the easiest hustle to run from a corner of a room, which is part of why pared-back desk layouts keep turning up among sellers and creators.
Side Hustle Burnout Statistics
The Penny Hoarder’s February 2026 sample of 1,000 active side hustlers reports exhaustion at scale alongside heavy reliance on the income.
| Measure | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Experience burnout at least sometimes | 65% |
| Never experience burnout | 10% |
| Would struggle to cover essentials without side income | 53% |
| Treat the side hustle as job-loss insurance | 62% |
| Would keep hustling after a 20% raise from their employer | 40% |
| Feel at least somewhat financially secure | 44% |
| Run two or more side hustles | 57% |
Source: The Penny Hoarder 2026 Side Hustle Survey, fieldwork February 2026
The average respondent puts in 13 extra hours a week, which the survey converts to 676 hours a year, or 17 additional 40-hour weeks. Respondents had been side hustling for 2.8 years on average, and a quarter for more than five.
Most run more than one gig at a time.
Goldman Sachs Research, in a report published November 17, 2025, found that hours worked on gig platforms rose more during 2025 in metro areas where payroll growth slowed. Citing Federal Reserve survey data, the report noted that 20% of people who took a pay cut, lost a job or had hours reduced in the prior two years took up gig work, and that gig workers earn 50% to 65% as much per hour as they did in previous traditional jobs.
Long hours at a desk are the common thread across freelancing, selling and content work, and a sit-stand workstation is one of the more common adjustments people make once the second job becomes permanent.
FAQs
How many Americans have a side hustle?
Omnisend recorded 28% currently side hustling in March 2026. Bankrate recorded 27% in June 2025. QuickBooks recorded 47% who earned any side income in the 12 months to December 2025, a broader question.
How much does a side hustle actually pay?
Bankrate put 2025 median monthly earnings at $200 and the average at $885. QuickBooks, screening for active side hustlers, reported $2,038 a month. The Penny Hoarder reported $1,275 in February 2026.
Do Reddit side hustle income posts match the survey data?
Reddit threads are self-selected anecdotes, not sampled data, and skew toward people with results worth posting. The verified 2025 Bankrate median was $200 a month, with 28% of side hustlers earning $1 to $50.
How many hours do side hustlers work?
QuickBooks measured an average 19 hours and 32 minutes per month in 2025. The Penny Hoarder measured 13 extra hours per week in February 2026, which it converts to 676 hours a year.
What is the most common side hustle?
Selling online leads every survey. Bankrate put online sales at 15% of side hustlers, QuickBooks put online selling at 30%, and Omnisend put e-commerce and resale at 41% of American side hustlers.
Sources
https://www.bankrate.com/loans/small-business/side-hustles-survey/
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/starting-a-business/state-of-side-hustles/
https://www.omnisend.com/side-hustles-report-2026/
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t09.htm
