09/13/2026
Extra cash is only one reward of a "retiree side hustle!"
The retiree side hustle economy is worth $6 billion — and growing.
A MarketBeat survey of 3,000 respondents found that retirees with side hustles earn an average of $379 a month, with top earners in states like Utah pulling in over $800. The most popular options: starting a small business, crafting and selling homemade goods, trading and investing and freelancing.
A 79-year-old Minneapolis retiree started offering furniture assembly services on TaskRabbit after reading a newspaper article. He now earns roughly $4,000 a month on a completely flexible schedule. "Very quick gratification," he said. "I have control of my calendar and work as much or as little as I desire."
A Dallas retiree runs a Kansas City-style barbecue catering business and drives for a luxury rideshare platform that provides him with a vehicle. Between the two, he's built a second income stream — and has seen parts of his city he never knew existed.
The numbers tell an interesting story about motivation. Retired side hustlers spend an average of about 10 hours a week on their gigs. Only 34% say additional income is their primary reason for doing it. 76% say the hustle brings them genuine happiness.
This isn't about financial desperation — though 53% of retirement savers do plan to work in some capacity to help make ends meet. It's about purpose, structure and the satisfaction of building something on your own terms after decades of building things on someone else's.
"There's no age limit to innovation and entrepreneurship," MarketBeat founder Matt Paulson said.
The retiree economy is proving him right.
