We asked 12 gig workers how much they made in 2025. The answers varied wildly.

2 hours ago 3

By Alex Bitter

2026-04-16T09:17:01.244Z

Gig workers and the companies that pay them often talk about earnings in hourly terms.

That doesn't tell the full story, though.

Unlike full-time employees, gig workers often get paid per task. Many are also juggling multiple gigs or working for apps like Uber or Lyft in addition to other commitments. Pay can also vary significantly depending on which app you choose and your strategy.

Business Insider spoke with a dozen gig workers across the US about their 2025 earnings. We verified the information they provided through documentation, such as 1099 tax forms and earnings statements from the companies. Beyond how much they made, we wanted to know who they were, why they turned to gig work, and how they made it work.

Here's what we heard:

A 63-year-old ride-hailing driver in Phoenix made $65,000 in gross earnings for Uber

Two men sit in a car with an Uber sticker on the inside of the windshield at night. Other cars sit parked around them, and a streetlight stands in the background.

The breakdown:

Uber: $65,000
Consulting income: $6,000

I started as a rideshare driver in 2018 after getting laid off from my job. The first two years, I worked for Lyft, but I moved to Uber in 2020 after a problem I had with their rental car program. I also needed a few months to recover from COVID.

Uber is a good way to make money here in Arizona during the winter, when the snowbirds come down for the warm weather. During the summers, though, there's less demand for rides, which means more competition among drivers and less pay.

While I made $65,000 from Uber last year, my real income was closer to $40,000 after expenses like gas and car maintenance. This year, I'm trying to start a nonprofit to support disaster relief, but I'm still working for Uber to pay my bills.

I also have a consulting business that helps companies manage international expansion.

A 61-year-old former nurse made $23,000 working for Amazon Flex in Michigan

The breakdown:

Amazon Flex: $23,000

I had been a nurse for over two decades when I quit in 2016. They were trying to retrain me, and I felt like my boss was hinting that I should leave. So I started trying different kinds of gig work and landed on delivering packages for Amazon Flex.

I have a pension from my old job that paid me $20,000 last year. I also get health insurance through my husband's retirement plan, so Flex is really good for supplementing my income.

We travel a lot, so the flexibility to work as much or as little as I want is great. If I didn't have that fixed income or had to pay more for healthcare, though, it probably wouldn't work out.

A 33-year-old handyman made $37,000 working for Taskrabbit in Arizona

The breakdown:

Taskrabbit: $37,000
Handyman business: $41,000

I've always been pretty handy with furniture assembly. The majority of what I do for Taskrabbit is assemble Ikea furniture, though I also see a lot of items from Wayfair and Amazon.

I've found my niche within Ikea's Pax wardrobe system. It can be a stand-alone dresser against a wall or an entire walk-in closet, depending on how it is assembled. I've played around with an in-store tool Ikea offers that lets you customize it, so I've become familiar with this particular piece of furniture.

With Taskrabbit, I set my own schedule. I have a farm and my own handyman business, so I schedule tasks in between those commitments. My time is very limited, and having the ability to pick and choose and create my schedule is so critical.

A 29-year-old in Tennessee made $2,000 delivering for Walmart over the holidays

The breakdown:

Walmart Spark: $2,000

I was having trouble finding a "real" W-2 job as a graphic designer, so my aunt, who works for Walmart, told me about the Spark delivery service.

I started on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The holidays were busy, especially for grocery orders. This year, so far, has fallen off a bit. I generally work on weekends and on Monday and Wednesday, between noon and 8 pm.

I don't think I'll do grocery delivery until I'm 80, though I've seen plenty of older people doing this work. For now, I enjoy it. I'm actually waiting for a pharmacy order right now.

A 45-year-old Lyft driver in Florida made $6,000 after getting laid off

The breakdown:

Lyft: $6,000

I started driving for Lyft nine years ago, but stopped after I got a full-time job. Then, last October, I got laid off from my job as a broker in the trucking industry and came back to Lyft. I haven't received severance or applied for unemployment benefits, so I've relied mainly on gig work since then.

The most I can drive in a day is about six hours because of back pain. I've also noticed that the rides pay less than they used to. I used to make almost all of the fare. These days, I'll pick someone up who's paying $48, and I'll get $16 before tip.

My goal is to find another job in the trucking industry. I've had about 10 interviews, but none have panned out.

A 37-year-old DoorDash delivery worker in Texas made $3,000 while taking care of her mom

The breakdown:

DoorDash: $3,000

I started making restaurant deliveries for DoorDash last May. I'd do it about once a week.

I take care of my mom, and her place is really far out of town, so getting a traditional job wasn't convenient. I don't have a ton of income, but I also don't have a lot of expenses myself, so the job works for me.

A 64-year-old nonprofit leader made $5,000 in Colorado through a ride-hailing cooperative

The breakdown:

Drivers Cooperative Colorado: $5,000

The bulk of my career has been in the nonprofit sector. In 2024, I left a full-time salary to start a new nonprofit focused on teaching the principles of nonviolence preached by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My wife has a full-time job and benefits, and I'm grateful for that solid foundation. Still, I could use some side income, so I started driving for a rideshare cooperative here in the Denver area at the end of 2024.

The flexibility has been great. I've been able to work on my nonprofit in the car while waiting for rides to come in. I've also enjoyed being part of the Cooperative as opposed to the big ride-hailing apps. We aren't focused on profit, and I don't feel like a cog in a machine the way other drivers I know do.

A 40-year-old in Texas made $12,000 on DoorDash while dealing with health issues

The breakdown:

DoorDash: $12,000

I used to be a professional chauffeur for a wealthy man in the petroleum industry. Unfortunately, I started having autoimmune issues that interfered with that job, so I quit.

On DoorDash, you can make your own schedule. That's super important because I am limited on a daily basis in the amount of work that I can put in for health reasons. That hasn't stopped me from reaching platinum status in the app's worker rewards program, which is the highest rank. Lately, I've been able to work seven days a week.

This year, gas prices have affected how much I have left at the end of the month, though I've downloaded some cash-back apps to help with that.

A 48-year-old in New York City made $25,000 on Uber Eats

A black-and-green Uber Eats insulated bag sits tied onto the back of a bicycle on a sidewalk.

The breakdown:

Uber Eats: $25,000

I joined Uber Eats a few years ago. I mostly deliver on a bike in Queens. The orders here are all from fast-food restaurants, like Wendy's or Burger King.

My pay has gone up and down over the years. I saw a boost in early 2024, when New York City implemented an $18-an-hour minimum wage law. Later, though, some of the apps moved the option to leave a tip until after delivery. After that, tips became a rarity. I got them on a handful of orders each week.

At the start of this year, I saw my earnings go up again after the city started requiring the companies to offer customers the option to tip at checkout.

A 63-year-old retired post office worker made $6,000 through Lyft in Colorado

The breakdown:

Lyft: $6,000
Ushering: $6,000

I started driving for Lyft eight years ago. Many of the per-trip payments now aren't as high as they were back then. Publicly, Lyft says its drivers make over $30 an hour, but after my expenses, it's closer to $14 an hour.

I also made $22,000 from my pension last year.

I'm retired, so this is a side gig for me. Between my Lyft earnings, my pension, and working as an usher at concerts in Denver, I do OK.

A 46-year-old in Virginia made $35,000 as an Uber Eats driver

The breakdown:

Uber Eats: $35,000

I used to work in sales, but business dried up after COVID, so I started doing gig work.

I tried doing rideshare for Uber and deliveries for Walmart through Spark, but these days I just do Uber Eats — everything from delivering a Popeyes order to picking up a few items someone needs at CVS.

The flexible schedule has allowed me to leave the corporate world. I've also been able to become a coach for a local youth baseball team — something that I never would have had time for with my old jobs.

A 58-year-old in Louisiana made $40,000 doing deliveries for Walmart and Uber

Customers walk through a Walmart parking lot, with cars in the foreground and a white-and-yellow Walmart sign mounted on a wall of the store painted blue

The breakdown:

Walmart Spark: $32,000
DoorDash: $4,000
Uber Eats: $4,000

I spent the last 40 years driving 18-wheel trucks. Most recently, I drove cement mixers for construction. I needed something to do in between those jobs, so I signed up for Spark at Walmart.

Over time, it became my main income. I work eight hours a day, six days a week. My best days are Sundays and Mondays, when people need groceries for a week of work or school. I take a lot of deliveries that involve driving out into the country because they tend to tip better.

My car broke down recently, so I started renting one to make deliveries, which has eaten into my take-home pay. I'll probably go back to driving an 18-wheeler.

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