100+ side hustle statistics for 2025

As more people turn to side hustles to supplement their 9-to-5 income, the side hustle industry continues to grow at an unprecedented pace. While its full impact is difficult to quantify, estimates suggest it could exceed $1.8 trillion in the next few years.

Whether you’re simply curious or looking to cash in on this booming trend, we’ve compiled over 100 side hustle statistics to guide you.

Read on as we explore the current state of side hustles, emerging trends, and other key insights.

Side hustle industry statistics

The global gig and side hustle market was worth an estimated $556 billion in 2024¹. 

According to a recent Morgan Stanley report, the adoption of multiple earning streams is set to explode by 2030². This will be driven primarily by the ease of starting as well as low start-up costs. By 2032, the market is expected to exceed $1.8 trillion.

As of 2024, the World Bank estimated that online gig work accounted for around 4.4% to 15% of the global labor force and that it was a crucial source of secondary or supplemental income for 40% of global workers.

The research also estimated that the number of those who took on secondary work or side hustles was around 173.7 million, exceeding the 132.5 million people who relied on online gigs for their main income.

Breaking it down by region, the share of people who engaged in global online gig work as a side hustle was as follows:

• South Asia - 25%
• Latin America and the Caribbean - 41%
• Sub-Saharan-Africa - 37%
• Europe and Central Asia - 42%
• Middle East and North Africa - 58%
• East Asia Pacific - 43%

36% of US job holders had a side hustle in 2024³.

This is slightly down from 39% in 2023 and up from: 

• 2019 when 19% of job holders had a side hustle.
• Before 2013 when 7% of job holders had a side hustle.

62% of US job holders earned money working for one or more gig platforms in 2024⁴.

Over 60% of these side hustlers worked to supplement their income.

According to another study, 54% of US workers started their side hustles between 2023 and 2024⁵, up from 52% in 2022. 

In addition, 24% of US workers had a side hustle for less than a year. 25% had a side hustle for 3 to 5 years and 13% had one for 6 to 10 years. 

Meanwhile, only 5% had a side hustle for 11 to 20 years. The same percentage had a side hustle for over 20 years.

In Canada, 30% of workers had a side hustle in 2024, and 87% admitted to working a side hustle at one point in their career⁶. 

The same research found that the most common reasons they pursued side hustles included earning extra money (59%), covering expenses (51%), and learning new skills.

In the UK, this figure was much higher with close to 50% of adults holding down a side hustle, and 10% actively seeking one⁷.

A further 70% of young workers in the country juggled multiple income streams.

In Australia, 61% of workers ran side hustle businesses alongside their full-time jobs in 2024⁸.

This accounted for a notable 7% increase from 2022, due to rising food and housing costs.

Side hustle platform statistics 

In the previously mentioned Morgan Stanley report, 33% of job holders used a financial trading or NFT platform, ecommerce platform, content creation platform, or play-to-earn Game (P2E) platform to earn additional income.

Financial trading or NFT platforms took the lead in the US at 22%. This was followed by content creation at 16%, ecommerce at 14%, and P2E platforms at 13%. Meanwhile, in the UK, financial trading or NFT platforms were the most used at 11%, followed by ecommerce at 9%, content creation (6%), and P2E (3%).

10% of side hustlers earned extra income from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

YouTube was the platform that Gen Z had the most confidence in using to generate enough incremental income to eventually leave a full-time job.

An average of 4% of side hustlers earned side income through ecommerce platforms, with Amazon and eBay leading the charge at over 6%.

Amazon and eBay were also the most used ecommerce platforms. Amazon was more popular in the US than in the UK (67% vs. 43%). Meanwhile, eBay was more popular in the UK (62% vs. 51%). Shopify was the third most popular platform in both countries (33% in the US and 18% in the UK).

In another study conducted by Omnisend, Shopify was the most popular platform, with 50% of ecommerce sellers in the UK, 46% in Australia, 45% in Canada, and 35% in the US using the platform⁹. 

That said, platforms like GoDaddy, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, and WordPress were also contenders but had usage rates of under 15% across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

1%-2% of side hustlers earned extra income on play-to-earn platforms in 2023.

Additionally, this form of earning was more popular in the US (8%) and in the UK (13%).

Financial trading or NFT platforms paid the most side hustle income ($20-$30 per hour) in 2023.

Content creation platforms came second, paying between $5-$15 per hour. This was followed by ecommerce platforms that paid $5-8 per hour. Play-to-earn platforms paid the least at between $1-$3 per hour.

For content creation side hustles, the three most used platforms in the US were YouTube (72%), Instagram ($56) and TikTok ($48). 

Similarly in the UK, the most popular platforms were YouTube (61%), Instagram (40%) and TikTok (26%). In both countries, men accounted for the largest share of users at over 60% 

Coinbase was the most popular invest-to-earn platform in both the US (65%) and UK (55%).

Robinhood was next at 55%, followed by Revolut at 24%.

72% of side hustlers using content creation platforms planned to leave their full-time jobs. This went up to 80% for Gen Z side hustlers.

In addition:

• 66% of side hustlers in the US and 37% in the UK who used ecommerce platforms planned to leave their full-time jobs.
• 46% of side hustlers in the US and 32% in the UK planned to leave their full-time or part-time jobs to focus on earning from trading platforms. This went up to 61% for Gen Z side hustlers in the US. 

In the US and in the UK, over 50% of side hustlers on content creation, ecommerce, and financial trading platforms were Millennials. 

• On average, Gen Z ($733) and Millennials ($507) made the most per month on create-to-earn content creation platforms.
• Gen X and Millennials made the most ($530) per month on sell-to-earn ecommerce platforms.
• Gen Z ($608) and Millennials ($561) earned the most on invest-to-earn platforms.

In both the US and the UK, side hustlers' key motivators for using content creation platforms were enjoyment (48%), building a new career (29%), jobs not paying enough (26%), and making professional connections (24%).

Additionally, side hustlers' primary motivations for using:

• Ecommerce platforms included enjoyment (US:46%, UK: 42%) and jobs not paying enough (US:29%, UK: 27%).
• Invest-to-earn platforms included enjoyment (US:51%, UK: 44%) and jobs not paying enough (US:24%, UK: 26%).
• Play-to-earn platforms included enjoyment (US:59%, UK: 47%) and jobs not paying enough(US:27%, UK:14%).

Top side hustle statistics

A 2024 survey conducted by Dollar Sprout¹⁰ found that the most popular side hustles were:

• Selling goods online (Etsy, eBay, dropshipping) - 40%
• Online freelance work (writing, editing, graphic design) - 30%
• Ride-sharing/delivery services -23%
• Investing/trading - 23%
• Real estate (e.g Airbnb) - 9%

Similarly, the previously mentioned Omnisend study found that selling products online was the top side hustle. 72% of side hustlers in the UK, 59% in Australia, 53% in Canada, and 52% in the US made money via ecommerce.

In all three countries, freelancing was another popular side hustle, with 23% of Canadians, 23% of Brits, 21% of Americans, and 20% of Australians taking on gigs like writing, design or programming.

Another study found that babysitting, pet, or personal care were also popular side hustles, as cited by a majority (15%) of respondents¹¹.

This was followed by driving, writing, and manual labor at 13%.

A 2024 Preply report¹² on the best-paid side hustles in every US state found that:

• Motion graphics design had the highest average national hourly pay at $52.71, followed by web development ($52.32) and writing blogging or vlogging ($42.11).
• The average hourly pay for side hustles was $28.63.
• On the lower end, the hourly rates for cleaning, pet sitting, and babysitting were $17,$16, and $15, respectively.

The same report found that the side hustles with the best earning stability were pet sitting, dog walking, and delivering groceries.

While offering high earning potential, side hustles related to design, web development, or online reselling were less stable.

A 2024 Netcredit study looking at the best side hustles globally revealed that side hustles related to the design and development of digital spaces paid the most¹³.

Paying well over $100 per day, website design was the most profitable side hustle in 54% or 15 out of 28 countries. This was closely followed by mobile app development, graphic design, video creation, and logo design which also paid within the $50-$450 range.

The highest-earning side hustle in the world was mobile app development in Ukraine which paid $471.11 per day.

In the US, the best-paid side hustle was marketing strategy which paid $178.08 per day. Additionally, design roles accounted for over 50% of the 20 highest-paying side hustles, with presentation design dominating at $163 per day. Meanwhile, in the UK, the highest-paying side hustle was also related to design: website design at $220.15 per day.

The same study also found that among popular writing and editing side hustles, LinkedIn profiles and press releases paid the most at $110.34 and $97.09 per day, respectively.

Among digital marketing side hustles, marketing strategy took the top spot at $178, while mobile app marketing and social media marketing followed at $109.62 and $101.68 per day, respectively.

In another emerging field: AI side hustles, AI spokesperson videos were the most profitable at $131.40 per day, followed by AI content editing at $63.94 and AI music videos at $58.28 per day.

Top business side hustles based on earnings per day included pitch decks ($104.63), marketing research ($89.44), and lead generation ($89.44). Similarly, top side hustles in data science included dashboards ($120.86), machine learning ($92.25), and data analysis ($79.63).

In 2023, the highest-paying side hustle category was coaching, consulting, and personal training. Side hustles in this category paid an average of $5,200 per month.

In second place was the IT category which paid side hustlers an average of $4,800 per month. This was followed by teaching and tutoring at $3,800 per month. That said, the lowest-paying side hustles included product testing, and house cleaning at $1000 per month.

The most in-demand online side hustle skills as of 2023, were software development and technology at 34%.

This was followed by: 

• Clerical and data entry skills at 23%
• Creative and multimedia at 17%
• Writing and translation at 12%
• Sales and Marketing support at 11%
• Professional services at 3%

Side hustler statistics

As of 2024, more men had side hustles than women in the US (56% compared to 44%). 

Additionally:

• The average side hustler was 37 years old.
• 55% had a university or postgraduate level education.
• 52% lived in urban communities.

Women in the US tended to take on side hustles related to babysitting, pet or personal care (19%), crafting (15%), and house cleaning (15%).

Meanwhile, men took on side hustles related to manual labor (16%), IT (15%) and ecommerce (14%).

In 2024, side hustles were more popular with young adults. In fact, 48% of Gen Zers (ages 18-27) had a side hustle—the highest of any generation.

• 44% of Millennials (ages 28-43) had a side hustle. 
• 33% of Gen Xers (ages 44-59) had a side hustle. 
• 23% of Boomers (ages 60-78) had a side hustle. 

45% of parents or guardians of children under 18 had a side hustle. 

Parents of young children were more likely to have a side hustle than childless adults (36%) or those with adult children (28%).

Across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, the majority (30-40%) of side hustlers worked 5-10 hours a week. 

20-30% spent less than 5 hours on their side hustles, while under 10% said they spent 21-30+ hours.

43% of side hustlers in the US admitted to working fewer hours and making more money than if they only relied on their jobs¹⁴.

This was even higher for Gen Z (50%) and Millenial (48%) side hustlers. Those in this category had side hustles such as:

• Personal assistance - 20% 
• Cooking and baking - 16%
• Caregiving - 16%

85% of side hustlers who worked from home engaged in “daylighting” or working on their side hustles while on the clock at their main jobs. For side hustlers based in-office this dropped to 47%.

On average, daylighters completed up to 42% of their side hustle work during their working hours. Additionally:

• Side hustlers spent 8 hours per week or 32% of their total side hustle time daylighting.
• Daylighters mostly did work related to writing, blogging, editing, or IT.

55% of side hustlers engaging in daylighting had consent from their employers, while 17% didn’t. They also didn’t want their employers to know.

Moreover, transparency around daylighting was more common among women (63%)than men (49%).

42% of side hustlers in fields such as coaching, consulting, writing, and IT planned to replace their main job with their side hustle.

That said, the main factors which kept side hustlers from quitting their jobs included:

• Higher main salary - 55%
• Job security - 44%
• Enjoying having a variety of jobs - 34%

32% of side hustlers believed they would always need their side hustle to make ends meet.

36% of side hustlers used their side hustle earnings to pay for living expenses like rent, and groceries 37% of side hustlers used some of their side hustle income to fund discretionary spending. Meanwhile, 31% put their earnings toward savings and 20% used their side hustle income to pay down debt. 

20% of side hustlers reinvested in their side hustles while 18% saved their earnings¹⁵.

11% used their earnings to invest in training and courses, while 5% invested in social media campaigns and ads for their side hustles.

27% of side hustlers admitted to being highly dependent on their side hustle income for everyday expenses, while 50% said they were ‘somewhat dependent’.

In contrast, 23% said they were not dependent on their side hustle earnings.

Only 22% of side hustlers preferred their main job, this was despite their primary job paying 69% more than their side hustle.

Additionally, these side hustlers said they would leave if their side hustle paid more.

39% of side hustlers believed that proposed regulations for gig work such as ride-sharing and delivery services would positively impact them by providing greater rights and protections.

Around 12% expected a negative impact, while 34% didn’t anticipate any changes. 15% of side hustlers were unsure.

Side hustler earnings statistics

Side hustlers made an average of $891 per month in extra income aside from their main source of income in 2024.

This was up 10% from $810 in 2023. Meanwhile, the median side hustle income increased by 25% from $250 to $200 in 2023.

The majority of those with a side hustle (25%) said they earned $1-$50 per month. This was followed by 14% who made between $301-$500 per month. 

Additionally:

• 12% earned $51-$100
• 12% earned $101-$200
• 12% earned $501-$1000
• 9% earned over $2000
• 8% earned $201-$300
• 7% earned $1001-$2000

Millennial side hustlers earned $1,129 per month on average, making them the age group with the highest side hustle income.

Next in line were Gen Zers who made $958 per month. Gen X side hustlers came in third with a total of $751 per month, while Baby Boomer side hustlers made the least at $561 per month.

While Gen Z was the age group most likely to have a side hustle, only 21% made more than $500 per month. 

Monthly, 34% of Millennials made more than $500. This went down slightly to 29% for Gen X side hustlers and 26% for Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, men made $1,034 per month while women made $735.

A similar 2024 study showed that monthly earnings from side hustles varied significantly. Overall, 68% of side hustlers earned less than $500 per month, while 12% cleared $1000 per month. 

The same study found that the majority (over 32%) of those with a side hustle spent 6-10 hours on it each week. This was closely followed by 1-5 hours per week at 31%.  On the other hand, 20% spent 11-15 hours per week on their side hustles while 18% spent more than 15 hours per week.

Another study found that compared to freelancers, side hustlers made more and spent less time on their side hustles(16 hours versus 31 hours).

The majority of side hustlers spent less than 20 hours on their side hustles but earned up to $7,400 per month or $88,000 per year. 

Side hustle motivation statistics

A 2024 survey conducted by Visa¹⁶ revealed three emerging side hustler trends:

• 79% of side hustlers were increasingly driven by passion and personal interests.
• 59% of side hustlers aligned their products and services to key social media trends.
• 37% of side hustlers juggled multiple side hustles to maximize their income.

80% of side hustlers cited money as the main motivating factor for pursuing a side hustle. 

38% of job holders also started their side hustle due to inflation and economic factors. Other key reasons for having a side hustle included building a business at 27% and pursuing a passion at 30%¹⁷.

82% of side hustlers said having a side hustle prevented them from living paycheck to paycheck. 

With this in mind, over 50% had enough savings to survive for more than 4 months in an emergency. 

23% saw a side hustle as a creative outlet, while 15% considered it a way to gain the skills and knowledge to advance their careers. 

A further 12% saw their side hustle as a potential business opportunity after a layoff.

Close to 40% of side hustlers in 2024 stated that inflation had no impact on their side hustles, while 8% said inflation had actually improved their earnings.

However, 30% stated that inflation had significantly increased their costs and reduced profitability, while 26% said inflation had somewhat increased their costs and affected profitability.

Meanwhile, passion and personal interest were the primary motivation for 8% of side hustlers. 

Passion and interest were key motivators for side hustles like teaching or tutoring (42%), writing (36%), ecommerce (36%) and creative work (31%). People tended to take on physical jobs such as driving, manual labor, and cleaning only out of necessity.

During post-pandemic economic recovery, 40% of side hustlers were encouraged to start or continue their side hustle as a financial safety net.

31% saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of new opportunities.

76% of side hustlers planned to continue pursuing their side hustles in 2025.

Meanwhile, only a small share of side hustlers (1%) said they were no longer interested in having a side hustle.

Side hustle challenge statistics

50% of side hustlers in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia cited time management as their biggest challenge.

Those between the ages of 30-39 were two to three times more likely to feel like they didn’t have enough time or energy for their side hustles. 

At the same time, 36% of side hustlers felt unpredictable earnings were their second biggest challenge. 

Other key challenges included competition at over 30% and marketing difficulties at over 20% for side hustlers across all four countries. 

30% of side hustlers considered the high cost of living the biggest obstacle standing in the way of their financial goals.

This was followed by low income at 22% and needing to support others financially at 8%. Other noteworthy challenges included:

• Lack of budgeting - 8%
• Poor credit score - 7%
• Too much debt - 6%
• Not understanding how to get started - 5%
• Not being able to find a job - 4%

44% of those already engaged in side hustle work were worried about losing their full-time jobs in 2024.

65% believed that having multiple income sources was crucial. Additionally, 72% of those with side hustles felt more financially secure with more than one source of income. 

Time constraints were the main reason people quit their side hustles. This was true for 40% of former side hustlers in Canada, 37% in Australia, 36% in the UK and 31% in the US. 

Other reasons for quitting included:

• Burnout and stress - 20% in the US, 18% in the UK, and 17% in  Australia and Canada (17%).
• Not earning enough - 23% in Canada, 19% in the US, and 15% in the UK and Australia.
• Personal life changes - 18% in the US, 15% in Canada, 13% in Australia and 10% in the UK.

Gen Z side hustle statistics 

Close to 50% of Gen Z workers in 2024 said the reality of work had fallen short of their expectations¹⁸.

87% of Gen Z globally cited key challenges such as inflexibility (60%) and job insecurity (58%)  with traditional full-time work.

As a result, an average of 73% of Gen Z dreamt of starting a side hustle. 

This aspiration was highest among Gen Z professionals in the US (81%), UK(79%) and Korea (79%). 

45% of Gen Z considered themselves digital side hustlers in 2024¹⁹.                                    

While 61% of Gen Z increased their income by at least 10% between 2023 and 2024, a large share reported challenges with holding down a side hustle.

This included:

• Feeling time poor - 55%
• Struggling to keep up with repetitive tasks such as scheduling and finance - 42%

Aspiring Gen Z side hustlers also cited a lack of time (58%) as a key barrier to achieving their earning goals.

Other barriers included not knowing how to do certain tasks like marketing and finance to support their side hustle (67%) and not having the tools or technology to be successful.

73% of Gen Z side hustlers across five countries used AI to help them earn extra income.

75% said AI helped them get things done more effectively, while a further 69% considered AI their go-to resource when in need of help.

96% of current Gen Z side hustlers expressed interest in trying new AI tools to make their side hustle successful.

The top 3 use cases they selected were:

• Summarizing long documents or meeting notes - 43%
• Research or creative inspiration - 37%
• Creating new written or visual content - 35%

83% also stated that access to their laptops and smartphones was the key to working seamlessly.

40% considered a PC the most important tool for the success of their side hustle.

Student side hustle statistics

In the US²⁰ and in the UK²¹, 30% of college students had a side hustle alongside their academic commitments.

70% of recent grads had a side hustle to help make ends meet while 34% of college students and recent graduates had a side hustle to make extra cash.

43% of students globally met between 25%-50% of their monthly income requirements through online side hustles as of 2023.

34% made less than 25% of their monthly income while 23% made 51%-100% of their monthly income.

Side hustle AI statistics 

AI is expected to boost side hustle income by between $83 billion and $300 billion²².

In 2023, 93% of creators used AI to increase their revenue. This was also the case for 90% of ecommerce sellers.

Over 50% of side hustlers either used or planned to use AI tools like ChatGPT for their work in 2024.

Side hustlers mainly used AI to generate ideas, written content, or illustrations (44%) or provide customer service (41%). 

AI use was most popular with side hustles in writing/editing/blogging (58%), coaching/personal training (46%), and IT-related services (56%).

Side hustlers were optimistic about the impact of AI with 43% believing it would increase work productivity.

On the flip side,12% of those with side hustles were concerned about AI taking over their jobs.

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