Study: The Most Popular Side Hustles by State

Life is expensive. Rent, utilities, clothing, groceries . . . the list goes on and on, and that’s only considering the necessities. After you add in leisure activities, money can start to feel tight. That’s why many Americans turn to small jobs on the side to earn a little extra cash. 

At CGTrader, we work closely with designers who have taken their passion and turned it into a side hustle that brings in some extra income. That’s why we set out to learn which side hustles are most popular in every state. 

To do this, we built a list of more than 70 keywords related to 23 common side hustles, including podcasting, dog walking, rideshare driving, and more. We then analyzed monthly search volume by state and in 30 major U.S. cities for each keyword. Using this data, we not only uncovered the most popular side hustles overall but also the top jobs in each state and city. Read on to learn how people in your state are earning some extra money. 

Key Takeaways

• YouTube content creator and rideshare driver are the most popular side hustles in the U.S.
• "How to start a podcast" and "how much do Uber drivers make" are the most common side hustle searches among Americans. 
• Podcaster and YouTube content creator are the most uniquely popular side hustles by state. 
• YouTube content creator is the most popular side hustle in the Midwest. 
• Affiliate marketer is the most popular side hustle in the Northeast.
• Podcaster is the most popular side hustle in the South. 
• Rideshare driver, selling crafts/Etsy shop owner, and YouTube content creator are tied for the most popular side hustles in the West.

Top Side Hustles by State

While there are endless options for part-time gigs to bring in a little extra cash, some side hustles always seem to capture people’s attention. When analyzing search trends by state, we found podcaster was the most popular, claiming the top spot in 12 states including: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

While many podcasts are started by celebrities with fancy setups, there have been countless podcasts started by average joes. In fact, according to Apple’s top podcasts this is the case for the second most popular podcast, Crime Junkie. While the host, Ashley Flowers, may be a popular name these days, she didn’t star on a reality TV show before starting her podcast. Perhaps you will start the next podcast that takes off and tops the charts for the most listeners. 

Coming in second place is another side hustle in the online world, YouTube content creator, as it claims the top spot in 10 states. This includes: Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. 

From streaming video games to cooking tutorials, there have been many YouTube channels started in recent years. What started off as a fun project on the side for many people has turned into multimillion dollar businesses for many creators, as they have turned their side hustle into their full-time gig. 

Most Popular Side Hustles in America

After analyzing the top side hustles by state, we wanted to learn which jobs are most popular overall. Up first is YouTube content creator with a monthly search volume of 30,740. When considering the millions of Americans who watch their favorite creators each day, it’s understandable that they would want to build a similar following themselves. 

Coming in second place for the most popular side hustles is rideshare driver, following closely behind with a monthly search volume of 29,560. In most cases, the highest demand for these drivers comes later in the day and on weekends, allowing many people to make money when they’re away from their full-time job. 

Up next, claiming third place with a monthly search volume of 29,310 is podcaster. This is followed by personal trainers (24,300), showing that those who enjoy spending their free time in the gym can benefit from their fitness activities by earning extra money. Similarly, yoga teachers claim fifth place for the most popular side hustle (11,780), followed by influencers (10,960), and life coaches (10,720) in sixth and seventh places, respectively.

Sell Your Designs with CGTrader

Most of us aren’t quitting our typical 9-to-5 in favor of our side hustle, but having the opportunity to make extra money can offer peace of mind as well as extra spending flexibility. At CGTrader, we have a variety of 3D model and 3D printing downloads to choose from, but we also offer a community for designers. 

If you are seeking an opportunity to turn your designing skills into some extra cash, check out our 3D modeling jobs. Get started today and take a look through the projects people are currently requesting and learn how the process works.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn which side hustles are most popular. To do this, we built a list of 23 common jobs people take on part time to make extra money. We then utilized ChatGPT and the Google Ads keyword planner tool to build a list of keywords for each job. 

To refine this list, we only included keywords with an average monthly search volume of 500 or higher. We then collected search volume for all keywords in each state and 30 major U.S. cities. We then grouped keywords by job and calculated the total search volume for each to determine the most popular overall. 

Then, we compared the search volume of each job in each state compared to the national search volume to determine which side hustles were most uniquely popular.