Gen Z Turns Side Gigs Into 57% of Total Income

What was once a stopgap for hard times is fast becoming a fixture of American financial planning. According to a new PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Do the (Side) Hustle: Four in 10 U.S. Consumers Seize the Opportunity to Earn More Income,” side hustles now make up nearly half of the income for many who pursue them — a sign that supplemental work has evolved from a fringe phenomenon into a defining feature of the modern economy.

The study, part of PYMNTS’ ongoing New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report series, surveyed 2,247 U.S. consumers between April 2 and April 21, 2025. Its findings come amid renewed inflation worries and a fresh wave of tariffs under the Trump administration’s global trade policies. They’re pressures that have pushed more Americans to diversify their income.

What’s emerging isn’t simply a story of financial strain. It’s one of adaptation. It’s about consumers building flexible, multi-channel earning portfolios that look more like corporate balance sheets than household budgets.

• 41% of U.S. consumers now earn income outside traditional employment. Among those with side hustles, 67% also hold full- or part-time jobs, while 24% rely entirely on side work. For these workers, supplemental gigs aren’t side income; they’re structural to survival.

• Side hustles account for 43% of the average hustler’s total income. That share climbs to 57% for Gen Z consumers and a striking 76% for those earning under $50,000 annually — turning what was once a cushion into a core source of liquidity.

• Nearly one in four consumers has started or expanded side work due to economic pressures. Three-quarters of struggling paycheck-to-paycheck consumers report taking on more hustles or hours as prices rise, often sacrificing leisure to fill the gap.

The most common reason for picking up side work remains necessity: 22% of consumers say they do so primarily to cover living expenses, and 38% list that as one of several goals. Yet an emerging share is using their extra income more strategically, not to survive, but to stabilize and plan.

Four in 10 side hustlers say they’re building savings or emergency funds, and one in five invests those earnings or keeps them in separate accounts. Gen Z, notably, leads that shift: 24% invest side hustle proceeds, compared with 14% overall, signaling that younger workers are turning gig money into financial runway.

That generational pivot is reshaping how Americans view work itself. Once stigmatized as a sign of economic struggle, the side hustle is increasingly seen as a mark of agency — a financial back-up plan and learning lab rolled into one. For a growing cohort, managing multiple income streams isn’t a symptom of volatility; it’s a hedge against it.

As the report notes, more than 60% of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck with difficulty expect to increase their side hustle activity in the next six months. That may point to an economy where the 9-to-5 job no longer defines stability — and where resilience means mastering the art of always having something on the side. 

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