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How much can you make from driving for Uber?

Uber drivers can make up to $9.83 more an hour compared with minimum-wage workers.

You’ve likely heard about that anecdotal Uber driver who’s pulling in serious cash by picking up passengers in his or her spare time. However, how much you can bring in as an Uber driver ultimately depends on where you’re driving in the United States.

Use our Uber calculator to see a rough estimate of your monthly and annual income potential. When calculating earnings, also consider how much you’ll spend on gas, insurance, maintenance, payments and extras.

Uber calculator

How much on average are Americans spending on car services?

We crunched data from our June 2018 consumer survey to find out how much Americans in 16 key US states spend on car services such as Uber. For states we focused on those with over 40 participants in our survey.

States Average of Car services (Uber, Lyft etc) per month
Illinois $373.82
Colorado $120.36
Texas $97.96
California $81.81
Washington $79.78
New York $75.53
North Carolina $69.00
Florida $63.75
Michigan $62.08
Ohio $62.08
Arizona $61.41
Pennsylvania $60.71
Missouri $55.00
Georgia $52.92
New Jersey $42.90
*States with over 40 participants in June 2018 finder.com survey **Survey commissioned by finder.com and conducted by Pureprofile of 2020 Americans

How much can I expect to earn as a Uber driver?

We calculated how much you can make as an Uber driver in 6 key cities. In terms of cities we specifically focused on Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco and Washington, DC. which had data available on Uber. According to data from Uber.com, Uber drivers in New York City can make the most among the other five cities. With so many people looking to hail a ride, the Big Apple’s Uber drivers have the potential to make up to $30.35 an hour. Doing the math for a 40-hour work week, that’s $1,214 a week and $63,128 a year for picking up and dropping off passengers.

Major cityMedian Uber earnings per hourEarnings per 40-hour weekAnnual income
Boston$19.06$762.40$39,644.80
Chicago$16.20$648.00$33,696.00
Washington, DC$17.79$711.60$37,003.20
Los Angeles$16.98$679.20$35,318.40
New York$30.35$1,214.00$63,128.00
San Francisco$23.52$940.80$48,921.60
Average $20.65 $826.00 $42,952.00

How does driving for Uber compare to a minimum-wage job?

In the best-case scenario, an Uber driver will make on average $20,453.33 more annually when compared with a minimum-wage job in the six states we analyzed. In terms of additional weekly income, Uber drivers can make close to $400.

Working a minimum-wage job

Major cityMinimum wageEarnings per 40-hour weekAnnual income
Boston$11.00$444.00$22,880.00
Chicago$8.25$330.00$17,160.00
Washington, DC$13.25$530.00$27,560.00
Los Angeles$11.00$440.00$22,880.00
New York$10.40$416.00$21,632.00
San Francisco$11.00$440.00$22,880.00
Average $10.82 $432.67 $22,498.67

How much more can you make driving for Uber vs. a minimum-wage job?

Major cityAdditional hourly incomeAdditional weekly incomeAdditional annual income
Boston$8.06$322.40$16,764.80
Chicago$7.95$318.00$16,536.00
Washington, DC$4.54$181.60$9,443.20
Los Angeles$5.98$239.20$12,438.40
New York$19.95$798.00$41,495.00
San Francisco$12.52$500.80$26,041.60
Average $9.83 $393.33 $20,453.33

Compare ridesharing services

Name Product USFTR-RDS Earning structure Signing bonus Insurance support Locations
Uber
  • Earn base fare plus amounts for time and distance
  • Earn tips
  • Surge pricing
  • Earn more for long-distance pickups
No
Yes
All 50 states
The more you drive, the higher your earnings.
Via
Via
  • Earn base fare plus amounts for time and distance
  • Earn tips
  • Earn bonuses
Yes
No
New York City
Chicago
Los Angeles
Washington, DC
Arlington, Texas
West Sacramento, California
King County, Washington
Newton, Massachusetts
Salt Lake County, Utah
Cupertino, California
Birmingham, Alabama
Pickups and dropoffs are always on a street corner.
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For all media inquiries, please contact:

Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager

E: uspr@finder.com

/in/richardlaycock/ /aleksvee/

Elizabeth Barry's headshot
Senior editor

Elizabeth Barry is Digital Managing Editor for Entertainment at Are Media and formerly the lead editor for Finder's global financial niches which includes banking, crypto and investments. She has written about finance for 10 years and specialises in personal finance, including new and emerging areas of banking in Australia and globally. Elizabeth is regularly featured in a range of publications and media including Seven News, the ABC, MSN, the Irish Times and Singapore Business Review. See full bio

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