Side hustle statistics for 2023

Our research found that 44% of Brits have a side hustle in 2023.

Many Brits are earning additional income from side hustles like walking dogs, filling out surveys or selling handmade goods. We look at the latest side hustle statistics and trends across the UK, including how many people have them, the difference across the generations and the most popular options.

Quick overview

  • 2 in 5 Brits (44%) have a side hustle in 2023.
  • 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.

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.

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! 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.

How many people have a side hustle?

In 2023, 44% of Brits have at least one side hustle, according to our latest nationally representative survey. 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.

Case study: The cost of living crisis has impacted Tracey's savings

Tracey Greyvenstein profile pic
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 £206 from side hustles per week, which adds up to an extra £10,701 per year. The majority (57%) of people 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.

Weekly earnings from side hustle(s) Percentage
£50 or less 30.93%
£51-£100 26.43%
£101-£200 12.94%
£201-£400 14.29%
£401-£600 7.76%
£601-£800 2.92%
£801-£1,000 2.36%
£1,001-£2,000 2.36%

The rise of the gen Z side hustle

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.

Generation Have a side hustle Average earnings per week
Gen Z 75.82% £223.42
Millennials 62.23% £267.87
Gen X 41.79% £163.59
Baby boomers 24.96% £89.49
Silent generation 16.83% £70.34

According to external research, the top 3 most popular side hustles are:

  1. Selling old clothes on Vinted or similar
  2. A part-time second job
  3. 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 /
/ / / / /

Which city earns the most from side hustles?

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.

City Average weekly earnings from side hustle(s)
Belfast £221.99
Birmingham £176.30
Brighton £179.53
Bristol £123.93
Cardiff £184.52
Edinburgh £197.12
Glasgow £196.80
Leeds £175.21
Liverpool £187.19
London £243.28
Manchester £249.06
Newcastle £137.69
Norwich £116.99
Nottingham £269.45
Plymouth £96.99
Sheffield £171.37
Southampton £177.33

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.

Job level Percentage that have a side hustle Average earnings per week
Higher managerial, administrative or professional 63% £353.89
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
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

Related articles

Best easy access savings accounts for 2023

Best easy access savings accounts for 2023

Earn interest on your savings while still being able to withdraw them if you need to with an easy access savings account.

Read more…
Savings statistics: Average savings in the UK

Savings statistics: Average savings in the UK

The average person in the UK has £17,773 in savings but almost a quarter of Brits have no savings at all. Find out more in our latest savings statistics.

Read more…
Working from home and hybrid working statistics

Working from home and hybrid working statistics

Our research found that 38% of Brits work from home at least some of the time. We look at who is working from home and how working from home affects productivity.

Read more…
Best savings account for £50,000

Best savings account for £50,000

Wondering what to do with £0 savings? Earn up to 3.6% with easy access, 0% tax-free or 0% in a fixed-rate bond. Read more…
Best savings account for £20,000

Best savings account for £20,000

Wondering what to do with £0 savings? Earn up to 3.6% with easy access, 0% tax-free or 0% in a fixed-rate bond. Read more…
Best savings account for £10,000

Best savings account for £10,000

Wondering what to do with £0 savings? Earn up to 3.6% with easy access, 0% tax-free or 0% in a fixed-rate bond. Read more…

More guides on Finder

  • Winners of the Finder Lending Innovation Awards 2023 announced

    Now in their third year, these awards recognise the credit, loans, mortgage and BNPL providers displaying the best innovations in their field.

  • Winners of the Finder Lending Innovation Awards 2023 revealed!

    The winners of the Finder Lending Innovation Awards 2023 have been announced, find out who won across seven categories here.

  • Finder Lending Innovation Awards 2023

    Find out the winners and highly commended brands in the Finder Lending Innovation Awards 2023. The best lending innovation in the UK!

  • How to buy Sui (SUI) in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy Sui, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (SUI).

  • How to buy Pepe (PEPE) in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy Pepe, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (PEPE).

  • How to buy Arbitrum (ARB) in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy Arbitrum, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (ARB).

  • How to buy SSV Network in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy SSV Network, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (SSV).

  • How to buy USDD in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy USDD, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (USDD).

  • How to buy Blur in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy Blur, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (BLUR).

  • How to buy FLOKI in the UK

    This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to buy FLOKI Inu, lists some exchanges where you can get it and provides daily price data on (FLOKI).

Go to site