Uber drivers can make up to $9.83 more an hour compared with minimum-wage workers.
You’ve likely heard about that anecdotal Uber driver who’s pulling in serious cash by picking up passengers in his or her spare time. However, how much you can bring in as an Uber driver ultimately depends on where you’re driving in the United States.
Use our Uber calculator to see a rough estimate of your monthly and annual income potential. When calculating earnings, also consider how much you’ll spend on gas, insurance, maintenance, payments and extras.
Uber calculator
How much on average are Americans spending on car services?
We crunched data from our June 2018 consumer survey to find out how much Americans in 16 key US states spend on car services such as Uber. For states we focused on those with over 40 participants in our survey.
States
Average of Car services (Uber, Lyft etc) per month
Illinois
$373.82
Colorado
$120.36
Texas
$97.96
California
$81.81
Washington
$79.78
New York
$75.53
North Carolina
$69.00
Florida
$63.75
Michigan
$62.08
Ohio
$62.08
Arizona
$61.41
Pennsylvania
$60.71
Missouri
$55.00
Georgia
$52.92
New Jersey
$42.90
*States with over 40 participants in June 2018 finder.com survey
**Survey commissioned by finder.com and conducted by Pureprofile of 2020 Americans
How much can I expect to earn as a Uber driver?
We calculated how much you can make as an Uber driver in 6 key cities. In terms of cities we specifically focused on Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco and Washington, DC. which had data available on Uber. According to data from Uber.com, Uber drivers in New York City can make the most among the other five cities. With so many people looking to hail a ride, the Big Apple’s Uber drivers have the potential to make up to $30.35 an hour. Doing the math for a 40-hour work week, that’s $1,214 a week and $63,128 a year for picking up and dropping off passengers.
Major city
Median Uber earnings per hour
Earnings per 40-hour week
Annual income
Boston
$19.06
$762.40
$39,644.80
Chicago
$16.20
$648.00
$33,696.00
Washington, DC
$17.79
$711.60
$37,003.20
Los Angeles
$16.98
$679.20
$35,318.40
New York
$30.35
$1,214.00
$63,128.00
San Francisco
$23.52
$940.80
$48,921.60
Average
$20.65
$826.00
$42,952.00
How does driving for Uber compare to a minimum-wage job?
In the best-case scenario, an Uber driver will make on average $20,453.33 more annually when compared with a minimum-wage job in the six states we analyzed. In terms of additional weekly income, Uber drivers can make close to $400.
Working a minimum-wage job
Major city
Minimum wage
Earnings per 40-hour week
Annual income
Boston
$11.00
$444.00
$22,880.00
Chicago
$8.25
$330.00
$17,160.00
Washington, DC
$13.25
$530.00
$27,560.00
Los Angeles
$11.00
$440.00
$22,880.00
New York
$10.40
$416.00
$21,632.00
San Francisco
$11.00
$440.00
$22,880.00
Average
$10.82
$432.67
$22,498.67
How much more can you make driving for Uber vs. a minimum-wage job?
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
Elizabeth Barry is lead editor for Finder's global financial niches which includes banking, crypto and investments. She has written about finance for 10 years and specialises in personal finance, including new and emerging areas of banking in Australia and globally. Elizabeth is regularly featured in a range of publications and media including Seven News, the ABC, MSN, the Irish Times and Singapore Business Review.
Learn how to buy and store crypto with a few checklists to keep in mind.
Feedback
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser Disclosure
finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
