Money Makers - Side-Hustle Hot Spots

 With monthly Google searches for ‘side jobs’ reaching a record 279,000 in July 2025, research has revealed the U.S. cities where residents are actively seeking side-hustle opportunities.

The study by direct-to-film transfer experts Ninja Transfers analyzed search volumes for second jobs, or ‘side hustles,’ in over 170 major US cities by population, to determine where residents are most actively looking for side hustle opportunities. 80 different job titles were analyzed, including freelance writers, podcasters, and mystery shoppers, for searches that included them, such as “how to make money with [job]”, “does [job] pay well”, and “[job] gig” for every one of the last 12 months.

America’s top side-hustle cities

Rank	City	Population	Average monthly searches for side hustle-related terms	Average monthly searches per 100,000 people
1	Atlanta, Georgia	499,127	1,914	384
2	Orlando, Florida	316,081	1,140	361
3	Salt Lake City, Utah	204,657	653	319
4	St. Louis, Missouri	286,578	815	284
5	Birmingham, Alabama	196,910	558	283
6	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	183,146	503	275
7	Minneapolis, Minnesota	425,096	1,146	270
8	Miami, Florida	449,514	1,208	269
9	Cleveland, Ohio	361,607	969	268
10	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	302,898	776	256

Atlanta recorded an average of 1,914 monthly searches for side hustle-related terms, coming out to around 384 searches per 100,000 residents, which is the highest rate in the country. The top three side hustles according to Google searches in the state are podcasting, online tutoring, and freelance tutoring.

Orlando, Florida, comes in second place with 361 searches per 100,000 residents, with Florida appearing three times in the top ten, with Fort Lauderdale at 275 searches and Miami at 267 searches ranking sixth and eighth, respectively.

Salt Lake City, Utah, takes third place with 319 monthly searches per 100,000 residents, and it comes in as the highest-ranking Western US city on the list.

Midwestern cities saw two placements in the list, with St. Louis, Missouri, ranking fourth with 284 searches and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in seventh position with 270 searches.

Rounding out the top five is Birmingham, Alabama, which ranks fifth with 283 searches per 100,000 residents and a population of 196,910 people.

Southern cities dominate the list, with Atlanta, Orlando and Birmingham featuring in the top five, and Rust Belt cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh feature too, potentially highlighting a surge in interest for alternative methods of making money in historically industrial cities.

In 74 of the most populated cities, podcasting is the most popular side hustle, with online tutoring following at 63 cities, and freelance writing and mystery shopping having 26 and 14 cities, respectively.

Victor Ilisco, Director of Sales & Operations at Ninja Transfers, commented on the findings, "Many Americans nowadays are looking to explore further than the standard 9-to-5. A Bankrate study from back in 2023 found that 39% of Americans have a side hustle, and this number has likely grown since then. They are becoming increasingly accessible thanks to digital platforms and tools, and the barrier for starting one is a lot smaller than what it used to be, and whether it be something that's driven by cost-of-living pressure or ambition, there are plenty of options on things Americans can do to earn money on the side."

ENDS

If using this story, please credit and link to: https://ninjatransfers.com

Source: Google Keyword Planner

Methodology:

1. A seed list of side hustles was established from the collection at sidehustlesdatabase.com, and search volume data was collected for related terms across multiple templates such as "[job] side hustle", "how to start [job]", and "does [job] pay well".
2. The study analyzed over 80 different side hustles, including affiliate marketing, food delivery, online tutoring, print-on-demand, and ridesharing. Search volume data was adjusted per 100,000 residents based on population data to ensure cities of different sizes are measured fairly.

The top 30 cities

Rank	City	Population	Average monthly searches for side hustle related terms	Average monthly searches per 100,000 people
1	Atlanta, Georgia	499,127	1,914.2	383.5
2	Orlando, Florida	316,081	1,140.0	360.7
3	Salt Lake City, Utah	204,657	653.3	319.2
4	St. Louis, Missouri	286,578	815.0	284.4
5	Birmingham, Alabama	196,910	557.5	283.1
6	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	183,146	503.3	274.8
7	Minneapolis, Minnesota	425,096	1,145.8	269.5
8	Miami, Florida	449,514	1,207.5	268.6
9	Cleveland, Ohio	361,607	969.2	268.0
10	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	302,898	775.8	256.1
11	Cincinnati, Ohio	309,513	773.3	249.9
12	Richmond, Virginia	229,395	554.2	241.6
13	Knoxville, Tennessee	195,889	470.8	240.4
14	Charleston, South Carolina	153,672	367.5	239.1
15	Baltimore, Maryland	569,931	1,243.3	218.2
16	Alexandria, Virginia	155,525	335.8	215.9
17	Saint Paul, Minnesota	303,176	648.3	213.8
18	Tampa, Florida	398,173	839.2	210.8
19	Denver, Colorado	713,252	1,489.2	208.8
20	Hollywood, Florida	152,650	315.8	206.9
21	Tempe, Arizona	185,950	380.0	204.4
22	Grand Rapids, Michigan	196,908	393.3	199.8
23	Buffalo, New York	276,486	540.8	195.6
24	Las Vegas, Nevada	656,274	1,283.3	195.55
25	Washington, District of Columbia	671,803	1,313.3	195.49
26	Lakewood, Colorado	156,120	305.0	195.4
27	Seattle, Washington	749,256	1,431.7	191.1
28	Rochester, New York	209,352	399.2	190.7
29	Springfield, Missouri	170,067	323.3	190.1
30	Mobile, Alabama	183,289	341.7	186.4