College-educated Americans and middle-income earners are increasingly leaning into the side hustle

America's middle class is always hustling — and now, they're side hustling.

The second job is no longer just a survival tactic for the lowest earners, or a nice income boost for the highest earners — it's increasingly showing up for college-educated, middle-income Americans and the women of the workforce, who seem to be seeking out an extra buffer of stability and income.

An analysis from the Richmond Federal Reserve found that before the pandemic, the share of multiple jobholders across income groups was similar: low-, middle-, and high-earners worked multiple jobs in roughly equal proportion.

At the same time, college-educated workers have increasingly been creeping into the multiple jobholder workforce. In the 1990s, they made up around 35% of those holding multiple jobs; by 2024, they made up over half, according to the Richmond Fed analysis.

Taken together, the data indicate that more educated and traditionally more affluent Americans feel an urge to bring in multiple income streams. Side hustles are increasingly prevalent across the economy: The share of Americans holding down a side hustle has increased from 19% in 2017 to 27% in 2025, per a Bankrate survey. Official measures of multiple jobholding also often fail to completely capture the number of workers participating in gig work, since BLS's rate measures workers who hold at least one traditional wage job.