This Survey Says Most Don’t Have Side Gigs — but the Ones Who Do Make Bank

Side hustles seem to be all the rage right now — and for good reason.

A new study commissioned by Bankrate.com found an average person makes an extra $9,948 a year with their side gig.

Record scratch.

Whoa. That’s not just pennies.

But here’s the kicker: In the same survey of more than 4,600 people, only 19% said they actually do something on the side to snag some extra income. Millennials lead the way among age groups, but even for people between the age of 18 and 26, 72% said they only work a single job.

Think only city slickers take advantage of the gig economy? Think again. The survey showed 22% of rural folks do work on the side — that’s compared to 20% of those living in urban areas.

And 11% of survey respondents older than 71 said they have a side hustle. Talk about the golden years.

We here at The Penny Hoarder consider ourselves side hustle experts — after all, we’re all about putting more money in your pockets. So here’s how you can jump on the side gig bandwagon (or at least get that bandwagon fired up and chugging along).

A Few of Our Favorite Side Hustles

Make Money and New Friends

Have a spare room? Might as well use Airbnb to make some money by renting it out.

If you’re a good host with a desirable space, you could add hundreds — even thousands — of dollars to your savings account with Airbnb.

Get Your Uber On

As an Uber contractor, you’re responsible for setting your schedule and motivating yourself to work — no one is keeping tabs on you.

Your earnings will be calculated with a base fare plus time and distance traveled after your pickup. Uber also charges a service fee.

Here’s a link to apply with Uber.

Flex Your Brain and Make Bank

Download the Perk Pop Quiz app and pick from one of the many trivia categories — The 90s & The 2000s, Music & Movie Quotes and Famous Slogans are just a few.

The more correct answers you rack up, the more points you get. You can redeem those points for gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, GameStop, Target and other stores.

You’re not going to get rich doing this, but it’s a fun way to make an extra $15 to $20 a month for the shows you already enjoy watching.

It’s that simple. Regardless of your age or location, you can — and should — start a side hustle.

Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder. He doesn’t have a side gig… yet.