These Top 5 Gigs Are the Best-Paying Side Hustles in America

Are you looking to make some extra cash on the side, beyond your regular paycheck? If so, you're not alone. Many Americans are trying to pay bills or replenish their savings with a side hustle.

New research from Preply (preply.com), an online tutoring site, shows which side hustles can help you make good money per hour. To find the best-paying side hustles, Preply analyzed average wage information for several popular side hustles listed on job sites like Indeed, Zippia, and ZipRecruiter.

Let's look at a few of the best-paying side hustles in America by average hourly wage, and see which ones might be a good fit for you!

1. Dog walker ($43 per hour)

Dog walkers can make surprisingly good money -- ranking as the top-paying side hustle in Preply's research. Pet owners are often highly selective about who they trust to care for their pets, and they're willing to pay good money for safe, responsible, reliable people. Dog walking is a great side hustle because you can fit it into your regular work schedule, or even combine it with caring for your own pets. Rover (rover.com) is a good site to find gigs as a dog walker or pet sitter.

2. Freelance designer ($32 per hour)

Preply's research also found that freelance designers can earn a good wage ($32 per hour on average) as side hustlers. If you've got graphic design skills, companies often need your help to design brochures, websites, social media images, and other design elements to represent their brands to the world.

3. Freelance writer ($29 per hour)

Freelance writers ranked slightly lower than designers in Preply's side hustle average wage study, but $29 per hour is still good enough for No. 3 on this list. Companies need to hire freelance writers to create blog articles, write website content, craft sales emails, and more. If you have professional writing experience or just a "way with words," you might make extra cash by working online as a freelance writer (like me!).

4. Notary public ($24 per hour)

Notaries are needed for a variety of contract-signing situations, such as closing on a home or refinancing a mortgage. As a notary public, you have to be responsible and trustworthy and able to show up on time for a contract signing, and then certify that the contract signatures are valid.

Being a notary requires training and state-level certifications and fees. You even get your own official "notary seal!" Becoming a notary doesn't happen overnight, but it could be worth pursuing if you'd like to make extra cash by helping people complete their most important paperwork.

5. Freelance proofreader ($22 per hour)

This is another online freelance gig for people who have an eye for detail and a way with words. Freelance proofreaders can be part of the team at digital marketing agencies, publishing companies, law firms, translation services, or any company that needs to get the words exactly right. Spellcheck, Grammarly, and other proofreading tools aren't 100% accurate; sometimes you need one more set of human eyes to review critical documents.

Bottom line

These top five best-paying side hustles from Preply's job listing analysis all pay over $20 per hour. But if you have the right skills and ambition, you can also make a good wage ($20 and up) from other side hustles that The Ascent has researched, such as yard work and home services, or driving for rideshare apps and food delivery services with tips added.

Don't assume you're stuck "only" earning the income that your day job can pay. Choosing a good side hustle can help improve your monthly budgeting and give you extra confidence in your personal finances.