Manhattan-based nurse Viell-aware that living in the Big Apple doesn’t come cheaply – which is one of the reasons she’s taking on extra shifts as a school nurse in addition to her regular night shifts at the hospital
“It’s great to have an extra income,” Ezugwu said. “It gives you a sense of comfortability.”
Ezugwu isn’t alone. Side hustling is seemingly American as apple pie, with over one in four (27 percent) American adults taking on side jobs in addition to their full-time occupation, according to Bankrate’s most recent
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Gen Z leads the way with side hustles
Gen Z are hustling more than other generations. They lead the pack with taking on side jobs, with over one in three (34 percent) having an extra job in addition to their full-time occupation. They trail a bit ahead of 31 of percent of side-hustling millennials, 23 percent of Gen Xers and 22 percent of baby boomers.
Gen Z’s participation in side hustling may come as no surprise, as the youngest working generation is currently facing a unique set of financial challenges. With 34 percent of Gen Zers having no emergency savings, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings survey, side hustling can be a way to bolster savings and manage a financial emergency when primary income isn’t enough.
More than 1 in 3 Americans needed to tap their emergency savings in the past year
Does your side gig cover your emergency savings? For over one-third (37 percent) of Americans, what they have in their bank account isn’t enough.
Despite the economic turmoil from tariffs, slowly-cooling inflation and global conflict, overall side hustle participation is down, with 27 percent of Americans overall indicating that they have a side hustle, down from 36 percent last year.
Though Gen Zers are consistently ahead of the other generations’ side hustle participation, overall participation has dropped within all age cohorts since 2023.
- Parents with children under age 18 are significantly more likely to have a side hustle, with 34 percent having an extra job. They’re more likely to do so than parents of adult children (23 percent) and non-parents (28 percent).
- The higher of a degree you have, the more likely it is you’ll have a side hustle. Post-graduate degree holders are most likely to have a side hustle at 32 percent, while 30 percent of four-year degree holders and 23 percent of those with only a high school diploma or less have a side hustle.
The side hustle generation
With Gen Z leading the demographic pack with taking on side jobs, young adults across America are filling their free time with dog walking, “It’s just very jo a completely different setting,” Ezugwu said. “When I’m doing school nursing, I like to say I’m living my best life.” Median side hustle income earnings are currently at $200 per month, down from $250 per month in 2024. Average side hustler monthly income is also down from last year. Side hustlers are earning $885 per month in 2025 on average compared to $891 on average per month in 2024. Overall, however, side hustle income is still up from $810 on average in 2023. Earnings under $50 per month outpace all other earning categories as well, with 28 percent of side hustlers overall making $1 to $50 per month on average with their side gig. While more Gen Z side hustlers are making less – with 40 percent making between $1 and $50 per month – their average income is still outpacing how much Gen X and baby boomer side hustlers make: Millennial side hustlers:$1,029 Baby boomer side hustlers:$918 Flexibility and availability are the name of the game for side hustle work, as online sales and professional/businessSide hustle income is slightly down on average
E-commerce and professional work are the most popular side-hustles
Food delivery and crafts were next, with 9 percent of side hustlers working in both industries, then pet care (7 percent) and then teaching/tutoring (6 percent). The least popular sidegigs include healthcare (4 percent), landscaping/home repair (4 percent), fitness (3 percent), ridesharing (3 percent) and finally home rental (2 percent).
Side hustle participation also reached beyond the listed industries, with 43 percent of side hustlers indicating they work in an unlisted category.
Online sales and professional services remain the most popular named categories for side hustlers of all generations. Gen Z side hustlers slightly break the mold by relying more on professional and consulting services as their side gig (18 percent) over online sales (14 percent), with online sales remains the most popular industry for millennials side hustlers (20 percent), Gen X side hustlers (15 percent) and baby boomer side hustlers(12 percent).
More side hustlers are using their income for fun
While side hustling can be a crucial way to bring in much-needed revenue, more side hustlers are using their side-gig money for fun — with 41 percent of side hustlers using their extra income to fund discretionary expenses, up from 37 percent in 2024 and 27 percent in 2023.
Despite this, side hustle income is still a crucialt using it for regular living expenses, 28 percent saving at least some of the money, 20 percent using it to pay down debt and 29 percent feeling they’ll always need a side hustle to make ends meet
For others, their side hustle is the ramp to a main gig, with 16 percent of side hustlers wanting their side hustle to develop into their main
Over one in five (21 percent) of Gen Z side hustlers want to turn their side hustle into a full-time endeavor, ahead of 17 percent of millennials, 12 percent of Gen X and 11 percent of baby boomer side hustlers.
While de Anda didn’t start handing out flyers with the expectation that it would turn into a full-time job, he found that the pay was on par with his day job – and the flexibility was far better.
“I’m busy almost every day, and I have the flexibility of actually choosing when I want to take a break and just not work because I want to go to the beach or the movies,” de Anda said. “I have the flexibility now because of how good I am with the owners of the restaurants and stores (I work with).”
- Black side hustlers are more likely to rely on side hustle income for essentials than other groups, with 42 percent of Black side hustlers indicating they use their side hustle income for regular expenses, and 39 percent needing a side hustle to make ends meet.
- Over one in four (26 percent) of four-year degree holders are using their side hustle income to pay off their debt, ahead of 20 percent of side hustlers overall.
The hows and whys of side hustling
While side hustling represents vital income and financial security for many, for de Anda and Ezugwu — both Gen Zers, the leading generational cohort in side hustling — their side jobs mean more than just the money.
For Ezugwu, working as a school nurse not only allows her flexibility to pick up shifts when she wants to, but the ability to take a break from her hectic hospital job to work with school children.
“It’s a breath of fresh air,” she said. “I work with older adults who are critically sick, so seeing little kids be joyous and jo
For de Anda, his side hustle is a way to create more flexibility in his life, as he can now set his own hours and terms. As a bonus, he says his side hustle is AI-proof — giving him an extra sense of security in a quickly-changing world.
“I’ve built something that can’t be automated away, and I control my own income by deciding how much work to take on,” he said.
Discretionary income may also only be the tip of the iceberg. With 46 percent of Gen Zers stating that money negatively impacts their mental health, according to Bankrate’s Money and Mental Health Survey, a side hustle can feel like an extra layer of protection against what feels like ever-present uncertainty.
“Young people are already inherently more vulnerable financially than their older counterparts because they haven’t had as much time to build up a safety net,” says Sarah Foster, economic analyst for Bankrate. “But we also find in surveys that they feel concerns about job security more intensely, likely stemming from the lasting impact of launching their careers in a challenging market, which has undoubtedly left a mark on their mindset.”
While Ezugwu doesn’t rely primarily on her side hustle income, for her, it’s a valuable insurance policy against job loss, surprise bills and price increases — a mentality that she believes is fueling the popularity behind side hustles’ popularity with Gen Z.
“We thought it was just us being go-getters, but we’ve seen a lot,” Ezugwu said. “We lived through two recessions under the age of 25. I saw how it was devastating for other people, and it really was a wake up call for me that I cannot have this happen in my life.”
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,616 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd – 4th June 2025. The survey was carried out online and meets rigorous quality standards. It gathered a non-probability-based sample and employed demographic quotas and weights to better align the survey sample with the broader U.S. population.
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