Many Brits are earning additional income from side hustles like walking dogs, filling out surveys or selling handmade goods. Some of us even choose to set up an extra business, and if you are serious about your side hustle, you may decide to open a dedicated business account. We look at the latest side hustle statistics and trends across the UK, including how many people have them and the average earnings.
Side hustle statistics: Highlights
43% of Brits have a side hustle as an additional source of income in 2024.
The average income from side hustles is £207 a week or £900 a month.
Around half of men (49%) make money from a side hustle, compared to 37% of women.
More than two-thirds of generation Z (68%) earn money from side hustles compared to just 7% of the silent generation.
Millennials earn the most from side hustles, with an average income of £1,208 a month.
How many people have a side hustle?
In 2024, 43% of Brits have at least one side hustle as an additional source of income, according to our nationally representative survey. Around half of men (49%) make money from a side hustle, compared to 37% of women.
Side hustles are becoming a popular way for Brits to earn extra cash during the cost of living crisis when many Brits are struggling to make ends meet or put money into savings.
Case study: The cost of living crisis has impacted Tracey's savings
Tracey Greyvenstein
Tracey is a Finder member from Abingdon who has been struggling to save due to the cost of living crisis. She tells us about her side hustles:
I already have 3 side hustles and am still battling to get by. I cook for the local squash club, I sell clothes on eBay, I enter competitions and I do online surveys for money.
I am not happy with how much I have saved. I have had to use some of it to pay for things like car insurance, tyres, MOTs, electricity bills and repairs.
What is the average side hustle income?
On average, Brits earn £207 from side hustles per week, which adds up to around £900 a month or £10,800 a year. Around a quarter of Brits (25%) have a side hustle that earns them between £1 and £200 a week.
Explainer: What exactly is a side hustle?
A side hustle is when you have a job or business in addition to your primary job that enables you to make extra money. For example, you could sell items online, do freelance work, drive people around in your car or do other odd jobs. You might also have a secondary part-time job in addition to your main job.
Side hustles provide an additional source of income but can also give people the opportunity to try a new challenge or have fun doing something they enjoy. It’s like having a hobby, but you get paid for it!
The rise of the gen Z side hustle
Remarkably, more than two-thirds of generation Z make money from a side hustle (68%), more than any other generation. Millennials are not far behind their younger counterparts, as 65% have a side hustle that earns extra cash, as well as 2 in 5 members of generation X (40%).
Side hustles are less common as an extra source of income among the older generations, with 23% of baby boomers and 7% of the silent generation (21%) earning money this way.
The popularity of side hustles among the younger generations could be related to several factors, including lower average income from their main employment and higher usage of apps and online platforms that allow easy ways to set up side hustles, such as selling clothes online or creating TikTok content.
Which region of the UK earns the most from side hustles?
Londoners are at the top of their game when it comes to side hustles in the UK, with 6 in 10 (61%) having a side hustle that makes extra money, earning an average of £1,643 a month!
Those in the North East are also earning big from side hustles, with an average income of £1,208 among the 39% making money this way.
Those in Wales are the least likely to earn money with a side hustle, with 1 in 5 (21%) doing so and earning an average income of £335 a month.
According to external research, the top 3 most popular side hustles are:
Selling old clothes on Vinted or similar
A part-time second job
Becoming a social media “influencer” on TikTok or similar
The most popular side hustles fall into 5 key categories:
Selling old or refurbished items
Creating content
Creating products and selling them
Having a secondary part-time job
Manual labour
We’ve grouped the top 30 UK side hustles in these categories in the table below:
Selling old or refurbished items
Creating content
Creating products and selling them
Secondary part-time jobs
Manual labour
Selling old clothes on Vinted or similar
Becoming a social media "influencer" on TikTok or similar
Drawing people’s pets
Mystery shopping
Putting flat pack furniture together for other people
Buying clothes from charity shops and selling them as "vintage" pieces
Blogging/writing
Making candles
Web design
Delivery services
Refurbishing electronics to resell
OnlyFans
DIY for other people
Private tutoring
Pet services (dog walking/pet sitting/grooming)
Bulk buying products, then selling them cheaper individually
Vlogging
Creating and selling your own products
Admin/data entry
House cleaning
/
Podcasting
Baking
Proofreading
Painting people’s nails
/
Busking
/
Graphic design
/
/
/
/
Translating
/
/
/
/
Taxi services (either through Uber/Lyft or your own branding)
/
/
/
/
Childcare
/
/
/
/
Another part-time secondary job
/
/
/
/
/
/
Sources used
Finder commissioned Censuswide in January 2024 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,006 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
Side hustle statistics: Highlights
44% of Brits have a side hustle.
The average income from side hustles is £206 per week, or £10,701 per year.
Three-quarters (76%) of generation Z have a side hustle, more than any other generation.
The most popular side hustle is selling unwanted clothes online.
How many people have a side hustle?
44% of Brits have at least one side hustle, according to our nationally representative survey in 2023. Around half (49%) of men in the UK have a side hustle, compared to 2 in 5 (40%) women.
Side hustles are becoming a popular way for Brits to earn extra cash during the cost of living crisis when many Brits are struggling to make ends meet or put money into savings.
What is the average side hustle income?
On average, Brits earn £206 from side hustles per week, which adds up to an extra £10,701 per year. However, the majority of people (57%) earn less than £100 a week from side hustles. An additional 40% of people earn between £100 and £1,000 a week from side hustles, but only 2% make more than £1,000 a week.
Our survey found that approximately three-quarters (76%) of generation Z have a side hustle outside of their regular job, such as selling items online or creating content for TikTok. This is the highest percentage of side hustlers among the generations.
They are followed by 62% of millennials, 42% of generation X, 25% of baby boomers and 17% of the silent generation. The number of people with side hustles decreases with age, perhaps because older generations have a more stable income from their regular job or younger generations are more likely to look for untraditional ways of earning money.
Among all generations, millennials are the highest earners from side hustles, with an average weekly income of £268. Gen Z is a close second with an estimated £223 per week from their side hustles. This trend is not surprising, given the growing popularity of social media and content creation among younger generations.
Residents in Nottingham currently earn the most from side hustles, with average weekly earnings of £269.45, closely followed by Manchester and London, with £249.06 and £243.28, respectively. Only 4 cities earn more than £200 per week on average from side hustles.
The city with the lowest earnings from side hustles is Plymouth, with average weekly earnings of only £96.99.
Which profession is most likely to have a side hustle?
Surprisingly, those in higher management positions are most likely to have a side hustle, with almost 2 in 3 (63%) having an extra income stream. Our survey indicates that people at higher job levels tend to have more side hustles whilst also earning more on average per week from them. The highest earners are those in higher management positions, with average weekly earnings of £353.89 from side hustles.
Approximately one-third (34%) of semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers have a side hustle. However, this group earns the least among all job levels from their side hustles, with an average weekly income of only £128.37.
Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional
55%
£211.66
Supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional
48%
£188.38
Skilled manual workers
44%
£181.72
Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
34%
£128.37
Casual or lowest grade workers, pensioners and others who depend on the welfare state for their income
22%
£192.33
Sources used
Finder commissioned Censuswide in February 2023 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
Onepoll
Case study database
Finder’s research team sometimes needs first-hand experiences of personal finances to bring our pages to life. If selected and used for our research, we will pay for your case study.
If you are interested in taking part, you can apply to be included in our case study database or email: ukpr@finder.com
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact
Matt Mckenna UK Communications Manager T: +44 20 8191 8806
Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife.
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