Ask three credible research organizations how many Americans have a side hustle and you’ll get three very different answers. That gap isn’t a sign that someone is lying — it’s a window into how differently researchers define the term, who they survey and when. Understanding those differences is the first step to reading any side hustle headline with clear eyes.
Three major surveys published in 2025 and early 2026 together paint a nuanced picture of where extra-income work stands in America right now. The data covers participation rates, earnings, motivations, generational divides and the very real costs of juggling multiple income streams. None of the surveys tells the whole story on its own, but read together they reveal something more useful than any single headline figure.
Why the Participation Numbers Diverge So Sharply
The headline figures from the three surveys are strikingly different. QuickBooks’ 2026 Entrepreneurship Study, a nationwide survey of 3,000 US adults conducted in December 2025, found that 47% of Americans reported earning income from a side hustle in the past 12 months. LendingTree’s 2025 survey of 1,999 US consumers, fielded in February 2025, put the figure at 38% — down from 44% in 2022. And Bankrate’s mid-2025 Side Hustle Survey came in lowest of all, at just 27% — the lowest percentage since 2017 and a sharp drop from 36% in 2024.
That’s a 20-percentage-point spread between the highest and lowest estimates. The explanation lies in methodology, not error. Each survey used a different sample size, a different fielding period, and — most importantly — a different working definition of “side hustle.” QuickBooks asked whether respondents had “made any income from a side hustle in the past 12 months,” a broad framing that captures anyone who earned anything extra, even occasionally. Bankrate’s question appears to focus on currently having a side hustle as an ongoing activity. LendingTree’s phrasing sits somewhere in between. Question wording alone can shift results by several percentage points in either direction.
Survey timing also matters. The QuickBooks study was fielded in December 2025, capturing a full year of activity including the holiday season, when seasonal selling and gig work typically spike. Bankrate’s survey was published in July 2025, reflecting mid-year conditions. LendingTree’s was conducted in early February 2025. Economic conditions — including the job market and inflation — were shifting throughout that period, which can affect both actual behavior and how people describe it.
The practical takeaway: treat any single participation figure as a rough estimate, not a precise count. The true share of Americans earning meaningful supplemental income almost certainly sits somewhere in the range these surveys collectively describe.
Average vs. Median: The Number That Actually Matters
The earnings figures from these surveys deserve equally careful reading — and the most important distinction is between averages and medians.
Bankrate found that side hustlers earn an average of $885 per month, but the median is just $200. LendingTree reported an average of $1,215 per month, with a median of $400. QuickBooks, whose survey methodology skews toward more active side hustlers, reported an average of $2,038 per month.
The median is the more representative figure for most readers. It tells you what the person in the middle of the distribution actually earns — not what a smaller group of high earners pulls up the average. When Bankrate finds that 28% of side hustlers make between $1 and $50 per month, it becomes clear why the median sits so far below the average: a large share of people are earning very modest amounts, while a smaller group of high-performing freelancers, online sellers and consultants earns enough to pull the average significantly upward.
In other words, if you’re considering a side hustle, the median figure is a more honest starting expectation than the average. Many people earn a modest supplement — useful, but not transformative. A smaller group earns enough to meaningfully change their financial picture.
Who Is Side Hustling — and Who Earns the Most
Across all three surveys, younger Americans are the most likely to have a side hustle and, in most cases, to earn the most from one. The pattern is consistent even where the absolute numbers differ.
QuickBooks found that over half of Gen Z respondents (56%) and Millennials (54%) reported earning side hustle income in 2025, compared to lower rates among older generations. Bankrate’s survey found Gen Z leading at 34%, ahead of 31% of Millennials, 23% of Gen X and 22% of Baby Boomers. LendingTree similarly found that younger Americans and parents with young children were among the most likely groups to have a side hustle.
On earnings, Millennials tend to come out ahead in absolute dollar terms. QuickBooks found Millennials averaging $2,260 per month from side hustles — the highest of any generation — putting in an average of 20 hours per month and earning roughly $113 per hour. Gen Z averaged $1,813 per month at about $107 per hour. Bankrate’s data showed Millennial side hustlers averaging $1,029 per month, with Gen Z at $968, Gen X at $512 and Baby Boomers at $918. QuickBooks attributed Millennials’ higher earnings partly to their greater tendency toward freelance and contract-based work (27% of Millennial side hustlers), compared to 17% of Gen Z and 20% of Gen X.
A gender gap persists in side hustle earnings, too. Bankrate found men averaging $1,195 per month compared to $611 for women, with a median of $247 for men versus $148 for women. LendingTree reported men averaging $1,580 versus $749 for women. The gap likely reflects both the types of side hustles each group pursues and broader labor market dynamics.
Parents with children under 18 are also notably more likely to side hustle. Bankrate found 34% of parents with young children had a side hustle, compared to 23% of parents of adult children and 28% of non-parents. LendingTree found that 82% of parents of young kids said their side hustle improves their quality of life — the highest agreement of any group surveyed.
What’s Driving People to Side Hustle
Economic pressure is the dominant motivator, though the picture is more layered than “people are struggling.” LendingTree found that 49% of side hustlers cited the current economy as a driver for starting their side gig, and 42% cited inflation specifically. A third said they needed side hustle income because of cost-of-living expenses, 29% needed it to pay bills and 24% needed it to pay off debt.
But not everyone is hustling out of necessity. LendingTree also found that 28% of side hustlers use the income for discretionary spending, more than 1 in 5 (22%) do it to fill spare time, 15% do it to help others and 14% do it to pursue a passion. Bankrate found that 41% of side hustlers use the extra money to fund discretionary purchases — up from 37% in 2024 and 27% in 2023 — suggesting that as the job market strengthened through mid-2025, more people were side hustling by choice rather than necessity.
That shift in motivation may partly explain why Bankrate’s participation rate fell so sharply. Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, offered a direct explanation: “A strong job market and a cooling inflation rate are the biggest reasons why fewer people are side hustling this year. But employment trends are weakening and price growth might pick up due to tariffs, so there’s a good chance side hustling will be back on the rise next year.”
That framing positions side hustling as at least partly cyclical — rising when economic conditions tighten and easing when the primary job market is strong. It’s a useful corrective to narratives that treat the side hustle economy as a one-way ratchet that only ever grows.
What People Are Actually Doing
The most popular side hustle categories are broadly consistent across surveys, though the rankings shift depending on how categories are defined.
QuickBooks found online selling to be the most common activity, with 30% of side hustlers selling goods on marketplaces, auction sites or social networks. Freelancing services — writing, design, consulting — came second at 22%. Bankrate’s data showed online sales and professional or business services as the leading categories (15% and 14% respectively), followed by food delivery and crafts (both at 9%), pet care (7%) and teaching or tutoring (6%). LendingTree found food or grocery delivery (15%), online freelancing (15%) and part-time or seasonal work (14%) tied at the top, with housecleaning, making and selling items, and e-commerce resale all close behind.
The common thread is flexibility. Digital and gig-economy work dominates because it can be started quickly, scaled up or down, and fit around a primary job without requiring significant upfront investment.
The Time Commitment and Burnout Reality
Side hustles are rarely passive. LendingTree found that 45% of side hustlers spend at least 10 hours per week on their extra work, and 9% spend more than 20 hours. QuickBooks found that the average side hustler dedicates roughly 19.5 hours per month — but that figure likely reflects a broad sample that includes very casual sellers alongside more committed operators.
The financial stakes of stopping are real. LendingTree found that 61% of side hustlers say their life would be unaffordable without their side hustle income, and 18% said they would have to cut an essential bill if their side hustle disappeared. Yet 65% said that, given the opportunity, they would prefer to have one main source of income rather than multiple. That tension — between financial dependence on a side hustle and a preference for simplicity — is one of the more honest findings in the data.
The ambition to go full-time is real but the gap is wide. QuickBooks found that 40% of side hustlers want to eventually turn their venture into a full-time business, with 46% of Millennial side hustlers expressing that goal. But the same survey found that side hustlers would need to earn an average of $94,000 per year to feel comfortable leaving their primary job — and fewer than 11% of side hustlers reported making that much from their side hustle last year. The aspiration is common; the execution is rare.
Permanent Fixture or Cyclical Response?
The honest answer is probably both, depending on which Americans you’re looking at.
For a meaningful share of the population — particularly lower-income households, parents of young children and those carrying significant debt — side hustle income is load-bearing. LendingTree found that 61% of side hustlers say their life would be unaffordable without it, and 44% say it provides long-term financial security. For these people, side hustling is less a lifestyle choice than a structural necessity, and it’s unlikely to disappear as long as wages remain under pressure from inflation and the cost of living continues to outpace primary income growth.
For another segment — younger, higher-earning, more digitally fluent — side hustling is an entrepreneurial on-ramp. QuickBooks found that 50% of Gen Z respondents plan to use business ownership to build wealth in 2026, and 20% of side hustlers have already formally registered their business. For this group, the side hustle is a deliberate career strategy, not a stopgap.
But Bankrate’s sharp drop — from 36% participation in 2024 to 27% in 2025 — is a reminder that the aggregate numbers are sensitive to economic conditions. When the job market is strong and inflation cools, fewer people feel the need to take on extra work. If tariffs push prices higher or employment weakens, the surveys conducted in 2026 may well show a rebound.
What seems durable is the infrastructure: the platforms, tools and cultural acceptance that make starting a side hustle easier than it has ever been. Whether any given American uses that infrastructure depends heavily on their financial situation, their generation and the state of the broader economy at the moment they’re asked.
For anyone weighing whether to start or expand a side hustle, the most useful frame is not “what does the average side hustler earn?” but “what would a realistic outcome look like for someone in my situation, with my skills and available time?” The surveys provide useful context. The median earnings figures provide a realistic floor. And the gap between the two is where most people’s actual experience will land.
