While the term “side hustle” has exploded into the popular vernacular in recent decades, the phrase — like the practice — is much older. For as long as we’ve had jobs, we’ve had the option of additional pay through side hustles.
Modern technology has made obtaining a side hustle all the easier; you can find well-paying gigs on apps, for example, or platforms specifically designed to connect gig workers with businesses that want to hire them. For some, a side job is a little extra money; for others, it’s income necessary to survival. And for still others, the side gig is a stepping stone towards starting their own business.
What percentage of the country has a side hustle? What are they earning? How old are they? Find the answers to these questions and more in our side hustle statistics.
Side Hustle Statistics: The Full List
Statistic | Study Title | Source | Publish Date |
"1% of the workforce use app-based platforms to do their side hustle." | Bureau of Statistics | September 25, 2020 | |
"28% of millennials, between the ages of 18 and 26, are working on their own on the side right now." | Bankrate Study | Jul 19, 2017 | |
"61% of millennials working a side hustle are at it once week or more." | Bankrate Study | Jul 19, 2017 | |
"96% are at their side hustle at least once a month." | Bankrate Study | Jul 19, 2017 | |
"5% say their side hustle earns them $500 a month or more." | Bankrate Study | Jul 19, 2017 | |
"About 28% of millennials from ages 18-26 are continuing to work on the side." | Bankrate Study | January 2, 2022 | |
"61% are on their side gig once a week or even more sometimes." | Bankrate Study | January 2, 2022 | |
"About 45% of the U.S. working citizens earn extra income through side hustling." | Bankrate Study | January 2, 2022 | |
"37% of the population are working side jobs." | Bankrate Study | January 2, 2022 | |
"30% of people with side hustles do it to make ends meet." | Bankrate Survey | September 25, 2020 | |
"Some 43% of households earning at least $80,000 per year have a side gig." | Bankrate Survey | June 5, 2019 | |
"53% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 who work in the gig economy use it as their primary income source." | Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey | March 18, 2021 | |
"29% of the workers have second jobs." | CareerBuilder Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"1,000 Americans who are currently working a side hustle found the main motivating factor is cash." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"21% who work a side hustle are doing it during their regular working hours." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"23.1% use a side hustle to learn new skills." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"Another 23% are using their side hustle as a form of insurance in case they’re laid off at their primary job." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"14.5% are using the side hustle to start a new business of their own." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"10.8% said they use the income and experience to transition out of their primary job." | CreditLoan.com Survey | March 20, 2018 | |
"33% of survey respondents earn $500 or more per month with their side hustle." | DollarSprout Side Hustle Survey | May 14, 2020 | |
"More than 35% of respondents spent more money on their side gig than what they earned." | DollarSprout Side Hustle Survey | May 14, 2020 | |
"Almost 1/3 of the side workers are over 54+ of age." | DollarSprout Side Hustle Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"42% of the side hustlers are optimistic about their future." | DollarSprout Side Hustle Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"18% of them are interested in going full-time with their side gig." | DollarSprout Side Hustle Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"One in four Americans is working another job or gig in addition to their full-time job." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"About 63% have had one or more side hustles in the past." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"About 12% currently have multiple side jobs." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"Nearly 25% of respondents said they took on a side hustle to pay off debt." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"About 23% said they had a side hustle just for fun or as a hobby." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"At 38%, members of Generation X ages 35 to 44 had the highest percentage of respondents who said they currently have a side hustle." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"Nearly 82% of adults ages 65 and older and 74% of baby boomers ages 55 to 64 said they have had one or more side hustles in the past." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"Older adults ages 45 to 54 were also more likely than younger adults to say that they took on a side hustle to cover basic expenses." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"Over 60% of the survey respondents said they spend 15 hours or less each week on their side hustle." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"Men were much more likely than women to say that they enjoyed their side hustle more than their full-time job — about 31% compared to 20%, respectively." | GOBankingRates Survey | May 24, 2019 | |
"25% of people describe themselves as having a 'side hustle.'" | Henley Business School Study | December 18, 2020 | |
"20% of gig workers are over the age of 55." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"On average, one in four workers is a gig worker at 40% of companies." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"In 6% companies, gig workers make up as much as 85% of the workforce." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"11% companies have about 52% gig workers." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"The workforce in the finance sector is made up of 25% of gig workers, primarily independent contractors." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"Workers above 55 also choose gig work, making up 20% of the total gig workforce in the U.S." | Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses. | December 16, 2021 | |
"Nearly all working Americans (93%) have some kind of side hustle in 2022." | Insuranks Survey | June 28, 2022 | |
"Nearly half of respondents (44%) said they need a side hustle to make ends meet and cover bills." | Insuranks Survey | June 28, 2022 | |
"28% said surging inflation has pushed them into a side hustle." | Insuranks Survey | June 28, 2022 | |
"12% increase in entrepreneurs engaged in side hustles in the 21-25 age group." | Kenya National Bureau of Statistics | February 18, 2020 | |
"For 44% of gig workers, their work in the gig economy is their primary source of income. " | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"For over half of age 18-34 gig workers (53%), their gig job is their primary source of income. " | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"85% of gig employees whose gig work is their primary source of income." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"Persons age 18-34 are more likely to work within the gig economy (38%)." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"Men (31%) are more likely than women (18%) to be employed in the gig economy." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"Women (56%) are more likely to have a gig job as secondary income than men (51%)." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"For over half of African-American gig workers (55%), their gig job is their primary source of income." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"51% of gig workers say they work harder for their income than those in traditional jobs." | Marketplace-Edison Research Survey | December 2018 | |
"The number of global gig workers is expected to rise from 43 million in 2018 to 78 million in 2023." | Mastercard Survey | May 10, 2022 | |
"About one in four respondents admit to preferring their side jobs over their primary career." | NBC News Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"About 57% of the respondents are working a side job." | NBC News Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"1.1 million people are either employed in two jobs or are self-employed in addition to being in employment." | Office of National Statistics | December 18, 2020 | |
"56% of gig economy workers say they take gig jobs to earn money on top of their main source of income." | Pew Research Center Survey | May 10, 2022 | |
"Only 40% of American gig economy workers have access to medical insurance." | Statista Survey | May 10, 2022 | |
"Millennials make about $10,972 on an average every year via side gigs." | SunTrust Bank Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"From the survey of 2,028 people with different age groups and income, 1,116 had a side hustle." | SunTrust Bank Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"About 64% of the millennials admitted to having a side job at present and in the past." | SunTrust Bank Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"Plus, 19% of the millennials had multiple side gigs," | SunTrust Bank Survey | January 2, 2022 | |
"One in three Americans — 34% — have a side hustle." | Zapier Survey | Jan 14, 2021 | |
"61.1 million Americans (24%) plan to start a side hustle in 2021." | Zapier Survey | Jan 14, 2021 | |
"Among Americans who have a side hustle, two thirds (67%) started it within the past three years." | Zapier Survey | Jan 14, 2021 | |
"About a quarter of Americans — 24% — plan to start a side hustle in 2021." | Zapier Survey | Jan 14, 2021 | |
"34% of Americans, or one in three, have a side hustle." | Zapier Survey | October 18, 2021 | |
"67% started their side hustle within the past three years." | Zapier Survey | October 18, 2021 | |
"31% started theirs in 2020." | Zapier Survey | October 18, 2021 | |
"24% of Americans planned to start a side hustle in 2021." | Zapier Survey | October 18, 2021 |
Did we miss a key side hustle statistic?
We went through all of the studies and surveys the internet had to offer. But I’m sure we missed a few. Want to add some to this list? Fill in the form on this page.
