Whether you call it a side job, part time work, or a side hustle, Americans are an industrious bunch. How industrious? According to the 2017 Federal Reserve SHED, almost 31% of us work some sort of side job. Let's explore the most common side jobs in America.
Popular Side Jobs in America
By far, selling items online was the most popular side hustle.
An estimated 10.86% of all adults (and 35.31% of all adults who earned side money) sold something online. On the flip side, ride-sharing and renting out goods or property are very rare side jobs for Americans.
For both categories, only 1.64% of American adults participated in the previous month – roughly 4 million Americans did each.
Most popular side jobs in the US: What side jobs can you do?
| Percentage of American Adults | Percentage of American Part Timers | Number of Adults | |
| Selling goods on-line through eBay, Craigslist, or other websites. | 10.86% | 35.41% | 26,619,053 |
| House cleaning, house painting, yard work, or other property maintenance work | 6.72% | 21.91% | 16,472,505 |
| Selling goods or services yourself at flea markets,garage sales, or other temporary physical locations | 6.46% | 21.06% | 15,834,655 |
| Providing other personal services, such as running errands, helping people move, etc. | 5.63% | 18.35% | 13,797,203 |
| Babysitting, child care services, dog walking, or house sitting | 5.61% | 18.29% | 13,750,125 |
| Completing paid online tasks, such as on Amazon Services, Mechanical Turk, Fiverr, Task Rabbit, or YouTube. | 4.23% | 13.80% | 10,371,463 |
| Selling goods at consignment shops or thrift Stores | 3.78% | 12.33% | 9,266,790 |
| Any other paid activities that you have not yet mentioned (do not include taking GfK Surveys). | 3.75% | 12.23% | 9,194,248 |
| Disabled adult or elder care services | 2.39% | 7.80% | 5,865,770 |
| Other online paid activities (do not include taking GfK Surveys). | 2.19% | 7.13% | 5,357,750 |
| Renting out property online, such as your car, your place of residence, etc. | 1.64% | 5.35% | 4,025,313 |
| Driving using a ride-sharing app such as Uber or Lyft. | 1.64% | 5.35% | 4,020,541 |
Want to see the above in a chart? We've got your back:
Once Upon a Side Hustle in America
Surprised to see the current breakdown?
Particularly, now knowing that 11% of American adults sold online feels high (even though we ourselves fit that definition).The ride-sharing and property numbers are about on point though. They mesh well with the gig economy statistics we saw from the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this year.
As for ~ 31% of all American adults doing something on the side?
Yes, we can see it. But hey, you're here reading this site... perhaps we're a little biased here?
