What eight common gigs actually earn, who can qualify, and the tax and aid rules to know first
October 29, 2026
A side hustle can help cover rent or books. In October 2024, 44.6% of full-time college students were in the labor force, compared with 81.6% of part-time students, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's more than 4 in 10 full-time students working or job hunting.
The right side hustles for college students depend on your schedule, age and car access. Compare pay, costs, schedules and requirements below, plus tax and aid rules like the 1099-K reporting threshold for 2026. For app gigs, see our picks for the best side hustle apps.
BestMoney compared eight common student side hustles on pay, startup cost, schedule fit and requirements. Pay figures come from BLS and Federal Student Aid, not BestMoney research. Rows without a verified pay source show no benchmark.
Side Hustle | Well-Suited For | Typical Pay Benchmark | Startup Cost / Requirements | Schedule Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tutoring | Students strong in a subject | Little upfront cost | Evenings and weekends | |
Federal Work-Study job | Students with financial need | At least the federal minimum wage, $7.25/hour | Hours set by your school | |
Babysitting and childcare | Students with childcare experience | Set by each family or platform | Evenings and weekends | |
Pet sitting and dog walking | Animal lovers 18 or older | 18+; Rover keeps 20% per booking for sitters approved since March 2016 | Mornings, evenings and weekends | |
Food delivery (DoorDash) | Students with a car, scooter or bike | No verified benchmark | On demand | |
Grocery delivery (Instacart) | Students with a reliable car | No verified benchmark | On demand | |
Freelancing online (Upwork) | Students building a portfolio | No verified benchmark | Fully remote | |
Odd jobs and tasks (TaskRabbit) | Handy students in active cities | No verified benchmark | Task by task |
Yes, tutoring is well-suited for students who can explain a subject clearly. Tutors earned a median $20.84 an hour in May 2025, according to BLS. Most tutors work part time, and hours cluster in the evenings, on weekends and in the run-up to standardized tests — which is also when your own schedule is likeliest to have room.
Undergraduate and graduate students with financial need qualify, and pay is at least the federal minimum wage, per Federal Student Aid and its 2026–27 handbook. That floor is $7.25 an hour, per the U.S. Department of Labor. You must submit the FAFSA, and jobs are limited, per Federal Student Aid.
Childcare workers earned a median $16.82 an hour in May 2025, according to BLS. You can find families through people you know or through a sitting platform such as Care.com.
You need to be 18 or older to sit or walk pets on Rover. Rover's service fee depends on when your sitter profile was approved: 20% per booking for profiles approved on or after March 1, 2016, so you keep 80%. Sitters using RoverGO pay 25%, and fees work differently in California, per Rover. Animal care and service workers earned a median $17.08 an hour in May 2025, according to BLS.
Yes, you can dash at 18 in most states. Thirteen states — Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and West Virginia — set the minimum at 19, and new California applicants must be 21, per DoorDash. You can deliver by car, scooter or, in select cities, bicycle. Bike delivery doesn't require a driver's license or auto insurance.
Full-service shoppers must be 18 or older, have regular access to a reliable car and carry a smartphone that runs the shopper app, per Instacart. Expect a background check during signup. The work is physical — you're loading and carrying full grocery orders — so check the current application page for the exact lifting requirement before you apply.
Yes, online freelancing in writing, design or coding lets you work remotely and build a portfolio in your major. Upwork's freelancer service fee runs 0% to 15% per contract, is set when you send the proposal and stays locked for that contract, per Upwork. Budget for Connects too — Upwork charges you to submit proposals, so there's a cost before you earn anything.
To become a Tasker, you must be 18 or older, have a U.S. Social Security number and pass a background and ID check. You also need a checking account and a smartphone, pay a one-time, nonrefundable $25 registration fee and work in an active city, per TaskRabbit.
You choose the right side hustle by checking four things: your free hours, the platform's requirements, your tax bill and your financial aid.
Protect enough hours to keep your grades on track, and favor hustles you can pause during exams. Federal Work-Study follows the same logic. The FSA Handbook says schools set work-study hours based on your financial need and how work and study hours affect your health and academic progress. Work-study also carries a grade requirement: fall below your school's standard for satisfactory academic progress and you lose eligibility, per Federal Student Aid.
Rover, DoorDash, Instacart and TaskRabbit all require you to be at least 18, and some add more rules. DoorDash's minimum is 19 or 21 in some states. Instacart requires a car, and TaskRabbit requires a background check and a $25 fee.
No car? Tutoring, online freelancing and pet care are easier to start without one. DoorDash also accepts bicycles in select cities.
Your side hustle income is taxable, even if it's paid in cash or doesn't show up on a 1099 or W-2, according to the IRS. You must file a return once you have $400 or more in net self-employment earnings, per the IRS. That income also faces a 15.3% self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.
Reporting rules changed for 2026. Clients don't have to file a Form 1099-NEC unless they pay you $2,000 or more, according to the IRS. Payment apps don't file a Form 1099-K unless payments exceed $20,000 across more than 200 transactions, per the IRS.
You still owe tax on smaller amounts. Think of your tax set-aside like a tip jar you don't touch until you file. For more detail, read what you need to know about side hustle taxes.
Yes, some earnings can change your aid, depending on the job. Work-study earnings aren't counted in your total income when your school calculates your aid offer, per Federal Student Aid. Other earned income, such as gig pay, can count toward your Student Aid Index under the 2026–27 formula.
You can avoid side hustle scams by refusing to pay for a job and walking away from any check-deposit request. Reported consumer losses to job and employment-agency scams reached $501 million in 2024, up from $90 million in 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC's student job-hunting alert flags these warning signs:
Never pay anyone to get a job.
Treat any request to deposit a check and send some of the money elsewhere as a scam.
Check messages from a professor or college office directly, using contact info you find yourself, not the info in the message.
Give your side hustle money a home and a plan as soon as it starts coming in. Here are four steps to start with:
Explore student banking options and keep earnings in a separate account.
Set a simple budget, such as the 50/30/20 rule, before you spend.
Build an emergency fund for surprise costs like car repairs.
Track spending with one of the budgeting apps for college students, and stretch what you earn with the best money-saving apps for students.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — median pay for tutors, childcare workers and animal care and service workers (May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), and October 2024 labor force participation for college students.
Federal Student Aid and the FSA Handbook — Federal Work-Study eligibility, pay floor, hour-setting rules and the aid-calculation exclusion; the 2026–27 Student Aid Index formula.
U.S. Department of Labor — the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
IRS — gig income taxability, the $400 filing threshold, the 15.3% self-employment tax rate, and the 2026 Form 1099-NEC and 1099-K reporting thresholds.
Federal Trade Commission — reported job and employment-agency scam losses, and student job-hunting warning signs.
Official platform pages — Rover, DoorDash, Instacart, Upwork and TaskRabbit requirements and fees.
The right pick depends on your free hours, your age and whether you have a car. Use the chart above to match pay, requirements and schedule fit, or browse job search apps for part-time and campus jobs.
At the BLS median tutor wage of $20.84 an hour, $1,000 takes about 48 paid hours a month, or roughly 11 hours a week. Actual pay and hours vary, and taxes come out of what you earn.
Yes. You must file a return if you have $400 or more in net self-employment earnings, even without a 1099, according to the IRS.
It can, depending on the job. Work-study earnings are excluded from your aid calculation, but other earnings, such as gig pay, can count toward your Student Aid Index.
Tutoring, online freelancing and pet sitting all work without a vehicle, and DoorDash accepts bicycles in select cities. Federal Work-Study jobs are usually on campus or at a nearby nonprofit, so they rarely require driving either.
The right side hustles for college students fit your class schedule first and your bank account second. Match each option to the hours you can spare and the age, car and background rules you meet. Set aside money for taxes, since gig income is taxable even without a 1099.
Check how earnings could affect your financial aid, and skip any gig that asks you to pay upfront. Once the money comes in, bank it, budget it and start an emergency fund.
The BestMoney editorial team is composed of writers and experts covering a full range of financial services. Our mission is to simplify the process of selecting the right provider for every need, leveraging our extensive industry knowledge to deliver clear, reliable advice.
