Some call it a side hustle. Others call it a part-time. Regardless of its name, more Americans than ever this year have picked up extra work in addition to their full-time jobs to make ends meet.

With the average American’s wages remaining the same for the past decade, Authority Hacker, an educational website marketing group, analyzed data from Google Trends that identified the most popular side hustle in each state.

The financial circumstances of Americans have forced many to tap into jobs that can be done with access to a vehicle or a computer.

While each state’s top part-time gig varies, the data revealed that the most profitable side hustles across all states are DoorDasher, Uber driver, babysitter, virtual assistant and online tutor.

Courtesy of Authority Hacker.

Side hustles have continued to increase due to the fact that 37% of Americans lack enough money to cover an emergency expense of $400, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2022 survey. One in four consumers use credit, turn to family, sell assets or get a loan to cover any major unexpected cost, the survey found.

About 39% of Americans work part-time gigs, according to Bankrate, with younger generations facing more financial instability. According to the data, 53% of Gen Z, 50% of millennials, and 40% of Gen X have a side hustle – and Gen Z oftentimes has more than one side hustle.

Gen Z is most likely to split their work hours between three or more employers. Around 93% of Gen Zers are holding down multiple jobs, according to Paychex.

They have capitalized on having additional jobs in a now mostly remote and hybrid work world and are calling it ‘polyworking.’ The popularity of work-from-home jobs is what has made a virtual assistant the most popular side hustle in America, according to Authority Hacker’s findings.

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The data also revealed that western states like Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah are more likely to side jobs. Authority Hacker suggested the increase is due to residents in the West ‘feeling the economic impact the most.’

Across the South, the most popular side hustles were virtual assistants and DoorDashers. Google Trends also showed the preferred side hustles based on how the majority voted in the 2020 presidential election.

In Republican-led states, DoorDash was the most popular while driving for Uber was favored in states that voted Democratic.

Authority Hacker indicated that the discrepancy might exist because of the ‘rural-urban divide that tends to present in American politics;’ and how DoorDash is useful for people who don’t want to drive a long distance to get items, while Uber is helpful in more urban environments where people are less likely to own a car.

The data disclosed that inflation and financial woes like low wages, high debt and minimal savings would continue to contribute to Americans having multiple side hustles and younger generations creating their own ways of making money in the future.