California has the highest cost of living in the country and the most ways to earn on the side. Here are ten that pay in 2026, with what each really makes after costs, the state rules that change the math, and which fit the hours you have.
1. Local Friend: show visitors your city, at your rate#
California receives more visitors than any other state, and most of them see Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego from a tour bus or a hotel list. A Local Friend is someone who lives there and shows them the real version by the hour: where to eat in Koreatown or the Mission, which beach, how to use the Metro or BART, a Dodgers game, a taco crawl in San Diego. You set your hourly rate (commonly $25 to $50 in LA and SF), Roavi lists you free and takes no commission, and the money is paid to you directly.
No licence is needed; you are not a tour guide and do not guide inside places that require one. Profiles are reviewed before going live and need three real photos. Listings in California are still few, so a new profile in Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego is one of a handful and shows up on the city pages immediately. Hours: whatever you set; most people do weekends and evenings. How it works in the US.
2. Rideshare, under Prop 22#
Uber and Lyft in California pay under Prop 22: an earnings floor of 120 percent of the local minimum wage for engaged time, plus a per-mile payment and a health stipend above 15 hours a week. After gas, typical 2026 net is $18 to $26 an hour in the metros, better at the airports and on Friday and Saturday nights, worse in traffic. Needs a car that passes inspection and a clean record. Hours: any, with surge at nights and weekends.
3. Delivery#
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart. After gas, $14 to $22 an hour; bike delivery in dense San Francisco, Santa Monica and downtown San Diego skips the gas. Prop 22 applies. Lowest barrier on the list, lowest ceiling.
4. Tutoring#
The California test-prep and college-admissions market is the biggest in the country. SAT and ACT prep, math, science, and English for the children of recent immigrants pay $25 to $60 an hour in person, $20 to $40 online. Wyzant, Varsity Tutors and word of mouth. A degree or a strong score in the subject is enough; no credential needed for private tutoring. Hours: after school, weekends.
5. Pet sitting and dog walking#
Rover and word of mouth. $30 to $60 a night for boarding in your home, $20 to $30 a walk in LA, SF and the Bay suburbs. Dense neighbourhoods with young professionals (Silver Lake, Noe Valley, North Park) are where the demand is. Needs a place pets can stay and a flexible schedule.
6. Notary loan signings#
Become a California notary (course, exam, background check, about $400 all in), then a loan-signing agent. Each mortgage or refinance signing pays $75 to $150 and takes about an hour. Demand follows the housing market, and it is evening and weekend work because that is when buyers are free. The best per-hour number on this list once you are set up.
7. Event staffing#
Concerts, conventions, stadiums, the festivals (Coachella, Outside Lands, the LA Marathon). $20 to $30 an hour through staffing agencies, often with same-week starts. Hours: evenings and weekends, in bursts.
8. Interpreting and translation#
Spanish above all, then Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Armenian. Medical and legal interpreting pays $25 to $50 an hour and more with certification; community and school interpreting less. Remote phone interpreting through the big agencies lets you work from home.
9. Airbnb co-hosting#
Manage someone else's listing (messages, cleaners, check-ins) for 10 to 20 percent of bookings. Works where short-term rentals are legal and busy: Palm Springs, the coast, wine country, Tahoe, the park gateways. Needs reliability more than skill.
10. Weekend tours, with or without a licence#
Licensed guides work the city tours and the parks. Without a licence, you can still run food walks, hikes and neighbourhood walks as a private host, which is what a Local Friend does; the line is that you do not present yourself as a tour guide. Tour guiding as a side hustle, with and without a licence.
What makes California different#
The visitor numbers, which are why the first and last items on this list exist here more than anywhere. Prop 22, which gives drivers and couriers a floor most states do not have. The highest state minimum wage in the country, over $16 and higher in many cities, which sets the floor for every hourly gig. And the taxes: over $600 a year from one platform is reported on a 1099 to the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board, so set aside 25 to 30 percent and pay quarterly.
Which fits your hours#
- Evenings and weekends with a car: rideshare, event staffing, notary signings.
- Evenings and weekends without a car: tutoring, interpreting, Local Friend.
- A few hours between things: delivery, dog walking.
- A skill or a language: tutoring, interpreting, notary.
- You know your city and like people: Local Friend.
Starting as a Local Friend#
Free, ten minutes from your phone, three real photos, a review before you go live. Say which neighbourhood you live in and what you are good for; the specific profiles get booked.
Live in California? Show visitors your city at your rate.
Become a Local FriendBy city: Los Angeles side hustles. The other big states: Texas, Florida and New York. En español: cómo ganar dinero extra en California.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best side hustle in California?
The one that matches your hours and your skills, because California pays well for skills and badly for time. If you have evenings and a car, rideshare under Prop 22 has a guaranteed earnings floor. If you have a skill (a language, a subject, a licence), tutoring, interpreting and notary signings pay $25 to $150 an hour. If you know your city and like people, being a Local Friend lets you set your own hourly rate with no commission, in the state that receives more visitors than any other.How much can you make with a side hustle in California?
After costs, typical 2026 ranges: rideshare $18 to $26 an hour after gas; delivery $14 to $22; tutoring $25 to $60; pet sitting $30 to $60 a night; notary loan signings $75 to $150 each; event staffing $20 to $30; Spanish or Mandarin interpreting $25 to $50; Airbnb co-hosting 10 to 20 percent of bookings; Local Friend at the rate you set, commonly $25 to $50 in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ten hours a week in the skilled ones is $1,000 to $2,000 a month.What California rules affect side hustles?
Three. Prop 22 gives app-based drivers and couriers an earnings floor of 120 percent of the local minimum wage for engaged time plus a per-mile payment. The state minimum wage is the highest in the country at over $16, higher in many cities, which sets the floor for hourly gigs. And anything over $600 a year from one platform is reported to the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board on a 1099; set aside 25 to 30 percent for federal and state tax.Can I do a side hustle in California without a car?
Yes: tutoring, interpreting, notary work, event staffing, pet sitting, Airbnb co-hosting and being a Local Friend need no car, and in San Francisco and Los Angeles the Local Friend work is mostly on foot and on transit anyway. Rideshare and most delivery need one; bike delivery works in the dense parts of San Francisco, Santa Monica and San Diego.What is a Local Friend and how does it work in California?
Someone who lives in a city and shows visitors it by the hour: where to eat, which neighbourhood, how to get around, at a rate they set. Roavi lists you free, takes no commission, and reviews each profile before it goes live. California is the most-visited state in the country, and Los Angeles and San Francisco are where visitors ask; listings there are still few, so a new profile is one of a handful. No licence is needed; you are not a tour guide and do not guide inside sites that require one.Which side hustles work in a small California city?
Pet sitting, tutoring, notary signings and delivery work anywhere with people and a Zillow listing. Rideshare thins out fast outside the metros. Local Friend works where visitors go: the coast (Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Luis Obispo), wine country, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, the desert and the national park gateways, not the inland commuter towns.