40 Best Summer Side Hustles (Make $1000+ Per Month!) - Boss Single Mama (2024)

Last Updated on May 13, 2023 by Rebecca Lake

Looking for ways to make extra money during the summer months?

Summer side hustles can help you to pay for a fun vacation away, make extra cash for back-to-school shopping season or add to your emergency savings.

Some of the best side hustles for summer include things you can do outside, like cleaning pools, walking dogs and lifeguarding. But there are also lots of ways to make money online over the summer if you’d rather beat the heat indoors.

I’ve written about the best side hustles for fall before. So today, I thought I’d share some of my favorite summer side hustles as well.

Related post:28 Flexible Summer Jobs for Teachers (Make an Extra $1,000+/Month!)

Best (Offline) Summer Side Hustles

Some summer side hustles you can do online; others you can do in person. If you’re interested in offline summer side gigs, here are some of the best ways to make money.

1. Dog walker

Walking dogs is a great summer side hustle for an animal lover who wants to make money in their spare time while enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.

Depending on how high demand is in your area, you might be able to make $20 an hour or more walking dogs. It’s one of the most profitable summer side hustles for college students, teens or even tweens who want to make extra cash.

You can advertise your dog walking services locally or sign up with a site like Rover. Rover matches dog walkers with pet owners who don’t have free time to walk their dogs.

Create your Rover profile and get paid to play with dogs!

2. Pet sitter

Pet sitting is another fun summer side hustle for people who love cats, dogs or other animals.

Pet sitters make money caring for pets while their owners are away. This can be a great way to make money on the side if you want to get paid to play with cats or dogs all day.

If you’re interested in a summer side hustle as a pet sitter, you can create a profile on Rover to find gigs locally.

3. Clean houses

Cleaning isn’t the most glamorous of summer side hustles. But it can pay extremely well, which is a plus if you’re hoping to make a lot of money over the summer.

For example, we live near the beach and local real estate companies pay local cleaners to get rentals ready for vacationers. You can easily make $100 a day or even more to dust, wipe down counters and clean floors.

If you’re well-versed in cleaning your own house, it’s definitely a great summer side job to consider.

4. Detail cars

Car detailing is one of the best summer side hustles for people who don’t mind spending time outdoors.

Detailing involves washing cars, waxing them and cleaning up the inside. Car detailers can charge by the hour or the car and it’s possible to make up to $100 per vehicle.

You’ll need a detailing kit to get started, including a vacuum, cleaning supplies and detailing cloths. But making a small investment could be worth it if you’re able to build up a lucrative side hustle over the summer.

5. Deliver groceries with Instacart

Instacart is a godsend for people who don’t have time to do their own grocery shopping.

If you have a reliable vehicle, becoming an Instacart shopper could be one of the easiest summer side hustles to try.

As an Instacart shopper, you’ll get paid to shop for groceries and deliver them. You’ll earn an hourly rate and you can also get tips from your customers for a job well done.

You’ll need to pass a background check to sign up, but otherwise, this is a flexible gig for summer that can pay well.

Get paid to shop for groceries with Instacart!

6. Deliver food

Food delivery is one of the most popular options for summer side hustles since people are often cooking less and ordering takeout more.

College-bound high school grads who meet the age and driver’s license requirements could make good money delivering food for Uber Eats or DoorDash. Both pay an hourly rate and drivers can also collect tips for each delivery.

You’ll need a reliable car but otherwise, this could be a great summer hustle if you want to join the gig economy.

Sign up to become a dasher with DoorDash and start earning extra money!

7. Offer lawn maintenance services

Summer is when lots of people want to spend their time doing fun things–which doesn’t include yard work. So instead, they might pay others to handle yard maintenance.

This could be a great summer side hustle for high school kids who want to skip the traditional minimum-wage summer job and rev up their earning potential.

Of course, you’ll need some basic tools to start a lawn care business or side hustle. That includes a mower, weed eater and hedge trimmers.

You can find potential customers by asking friends and family for referrals, going door to door to offer your services in your neighborhood or posting on social media.

8. Clean pools

Summer is a perfect opportunity to make extra money as a pool cleaner.

Pool cleaners are responsible for cleaning debris out of pools and making sure the water has the right mix of chemicals. This could be another great option for teens who want to make money or even retirees who have experience with maintaining a pool.

9. Start a photography business

The summer months are ideal if you want to make money snapping photos of weddings, family reunions, July 4th celebrations and other special occasions.

This could be a perfect summer side hustle for you if you’ve practiced your photography skills at home taking family portraits or cute pics of your pets.

The best part is you don’t need much money to get started. Of course, you’ll need a good DSLR camera but Amazon has plenty of great deals on those.

10. Be a local tour guide

If you live in an area that gets a fair amount of tourist traffic, you could hire yourself out as a tour guide.

This could be a great part-time job if you know your local area well, including where all the lesser-known but more unique spots are.

You could try advertising your services at local businesses that tourists might frequent, like restaurants or bowling alleys. You can also ask friends and family members to spread the word that you’d be willing to show vacationers around for a fee.

11. Teach music lessons

For many kids, summer is a time when things like school and music lessons tend to slide. They might be vacationing or just doing more fun things as a family at home.

If your skill set involves musical abilities, you could start a summer side hustle teaching music to kids (or adults) locally.

You could print up some simple business cards and leave them with your local used instrument store or let people in your social circle know that you’re offering music lessons or even singing lessons for the summer.

12. Become a tutor

Whether you believe in the summer slump or not, tutoring can be one of the best ways to make money over the summer break.

Lots of parents are willing to pay good money to teens or adults to tutor their kids in math, reading or even foreign languages over the summer to keep them at or above grade level ahead of the next school year.

This is a great summer side gig for people who want to be able to set their own schedule while making some extra income to pad their bank accounts. And you can also try online tutoring if you’d like to make money from home.

Related post: Do Teachers Get Paid in the Summer?

13. Become a camp counselor

Plenty of parents send their kids to summer camps, including day camps and overnight camps.

Summer camps routinely hire teens and young adults to act as counselors and ensure that kids are following the rules while still having fun. The average pay for summer camp counselors is around $25,000, which is a decent amount of money to make for a few months of what isn’t always hard work.

You can try the American Camp Association to find summer camp jobs near you.

14. Become a lifeguard

If you have a local community pool, you could try lifeguarding.

This is one of those summer side jobs that does require some training. But the good news is you can get certified to be a lifeguard through your local Red Cross.

Lifeguard summer jobs are usually in high demand, so you may not have trouble finding a gig. And the best thing is that you can work on your tan while making money!

15. Get paid to help people move

Summer is the busiest time of year for moves. And there are always people willing to hire movers to box up their stuff and transport it to their new home.

Becoming a mover can be hard work–you’re carrying things and it’s a pretty physical job. But you could easily make $1,000 a month with a summer side hustle as a mover.

16. Make money gardening

Gardening can be a relaxing hobby to engage in during the summer. And it can also be an easy way to make some summer cash.

For example, you can make money selling the fruits and vegetables you grow at your local farmer’s market or to friends, family members and neighbors. Depending on where you live, local restaurants might be interested in buying your fresh produce.

And you could even start a gardening blog where you share your best gardening tips! This way, you can make money from your garden all year long.

17. Rent out a spare room

Renting out a room on Airbnb or VRBO is one of the easiest summer side hustles, if you don’t mind sharing your home with strangers.

During the summer months, people are traveling more often and they might be looking for great places to stay other than hotels. This has the potential to be a lucrative side hustle, depending on the going rate for rooms in your area.

You could even turn renting out a room into a full-time job if you’re interested in rental property investing.

18. Become a flea market flipper

Flea market flipping means taking one person’s trash and turning it into someone else’s treasure.

You find items for low or no cost, then resell them for a profit. You can sell items on Facebook Marketplace, bargain groups, Craigslist, eBay or even Etsy if you’re able to score vintage finds.

There’s a little technique involved in finding the right items to flip. The easiest way to get started is to look around your house and see what kind of things you could sell for money.

If you’re interested in learning how to flip items full-time, there’s a free course you can take.

Flipper University is taught by Rob and Melissa, a couple who turned occasional flips into a full-time six-figure income. The intro course is totally free so it’s worth signing up for if you want to become a flea market flipping pro this summer.

Sign up for the FREE Flipper University workshop!

Related post: 40+ Things to Sell to Make Money (Sell Stuff for Cash Fast!)

19. Start a pressure washing side hustle

Pressure washing is a great summer side job since you can set your own hours and make decent money. For example, the team I paid to pressure wash my house last summer collected $250 for roughly an hour’s worth of work.

Residential homeowners are always looking for people to pressure wash their homes, decks and driveways. You might find potential clients in small businesses who need the exteriors of their buildings pressure washed.

This summer side hustle requires a bit of an investment upfront since you’ll need a pressure washer and hoses. But you can find those pretty cheap on Amazon and easily make back your investment fairly quickly.

20. Get paid to walk

Summertime is when a lot of people think about getting in shape. So if you’re looking for one of the easiest summer side hustles, you could try getting paid to walk.

Apps like Sweatcoin will reward you with cash for meeting your walking goals. You can earn Sweatcoins for each step you take that you can swap out for actual cash.

And if you’d like a chance to make even more money by getting healthy, you can sign up for HealthyWage.

HealthyWage is a fitness app that pays you real money to lose weight. You can set an individual weight loss goal or lose weight as part of a team challenge for a chance to earn up to $10,000!

Start your first HealthyWager and get paid to lose weight!

21. Earn cashback when you shop

Earning cash back when you shop is another super simple side hustle for summer.

Cashback apps like Rakuten, Dosh, Drop and Ibotta pay you cash on qualifying purchases. For example, you can earn cash back on groceries for a summer barbecue, summer travel bookings, a new swimsuit or dinner out at your favorite restaurant.

Plus, you can earn cash bonuses for signing up and for referring new members.

22. Work for a food truck (or start one!)

The summer heat means lots of festivals and of course, street food. So you could make extra money this summer working at a food truck.

Food trucks are always hiring line cooks, cashiers and assistants. This could be a great part-time job, plus you can try some amazingly delicious food while you’re making money!

23. Babysit

For most kids, summer means a break from school. And there may be plenty of parents in your area who are interested in hiring a sitter, which may be less expensive than pricey daycare.

If you’re interested in babysitting as a summer side hustle, you can advertise your services through word of mouth, at your church or on Facebook.

You can also create a profile on Sittercity.

Sittercity is similar to Rover; only instead of matching pet owners with pet sitters or dog walkers, it matches parents who need child care.

You can also find jobs caring for seniors through Sitterycity as well.

Become a sitter with Sittercity!

24. House sit

Housesitters get paid to watch peoples’ homes while they’re away. Summer is a great time to try a house-sitting side hustle since plenty of people are traveling on vacation.

As a housesitter, you might have to do things like check the mail each day, water plants and take out the trash. But overall, this is a great low-stress side hustle option for the lazy days of summer.

If you’re interested in housesitting, you can get started with a site like Housesitters.com.

Looking for a remote gig or work-from-home job? Virtual Vocations features remote jobs and at-home jobs in over 50 categories so you can find a role that fits your skills. Create a Virtual Vocations account and start browsing listings to find your next remote job!

Best Summer Side Hustles You Can Do Online

Looking for summer side hustles you can do from the comfort of your own home (or the beach)? Here are some of the best ways to make money online this summer.

25. Teach English

Teaching English as a second language to non-native speakers could be a good use of your time over the summer. Sites like VIPKID hire stay-at-home moms, graduate students, retirees and others with English proficiency to teach students the basics.

You’ll need a bachelor’s degree to get approved to teach with VIPKID. And you’ll also need TEFL certification and at least two years of experience working with kids.

26. Become a freelance writer

Freelance writing and freelancing in general is a highly popular side hustle idea. There are 59 million people doing freelance work in the United States and some of them (myself included) earn much more than they ever could at a traditional day job.

If you’re interested in getting paid to write, you don’t need much to get started.

You’ll need a laptop, of course, and a PayPal account to get paid. If you’ve started a blog, that can be an easy way to get some initial writing samples.

From there, you can start looking for freelance writing jobs. If you’re interested in finding remote writing jobs for the summer, check out these sites:

• FlexJobs
• Virtual Vocations
• Problogger Jobs
• WritersWork

Related post: Get Paid to Write Online: 20 Awesome Websites That Pay $50 to $2000

27. Get paid to proofread

Proofreaders get paid to correct errors in written documents. That includes spelling errors, grammar errors and typos.

If you’re interested in summer side hustles that have the potential to become a full-time online business, proofreading could be a great option. There are plenty of companies that hire proofreaders to work online during the summer months and all year long.

You don’t necessarily need a degree to get started with proofreading or even much experience. If you’d like to learn more about how to make money proofreading, there’s a free course you can sign up for.

Proofread Anywhere was created by Caitlin Pyle, who’s a proofreading expert. You can sign up for her free intro course to proofreading to decide if it’s the right summer side job for you.

Want to get paid to proofread?

Sign up for a FREE webinar to learn how to make money proofreading online!

Learn more

28. Try online transcription jobs

Transcription could be one of the best summer side hustles for people who are skilled at typing.

Companies hire stay-at-home moms, students and other people who are fast typers to turn audio files into written documents. Similar to proofreading, you don’t need a degree to land online transcription jobs.

Janet at Transcribe Anywhere has a free webinar for aspiring transcriptionists. Enroll in this free class to learn how to get paid to type online.

Want to get paid to type?

Learn how to become an online transcriptionist in this free mini-course!

enroll now!

29. Offer virtual assistant services

Virtual assistants help other people to run their businesses.

Summer can be a great time to explore a VA side hustle since this is when lots of people are going on vacation and companies may be short-staffed.

Some of the things you might do as a virtual assistant include:

• Managing emails
• Scheduling posts on social media platforms
• Writing sales copy
• Creating or managing databases
• Doing search engine optimization research (if your client is a blogger)

Becoming a VA is a great opportunity to learn some new skills while perfecting your existing ones. And you could make extra money to pay off student loans, build your emergency savings or fund another financial goal.

Gina Horkey is an authority on how to make money as a VA. If you’d like to learn more about this side hustle, check out her course, Fully Booked VA.

This comprehensive course walks you through everything you need to know to become a successful virtual assistant. Some of her past grads are making $10,000+ every month so it can definitely offer a solid return on your investment.

30. Become a social media manager

Social media managers work with businesses and bloggers to manage social media accounts.

To be a social media manager, you’ll need a good understanding of how different social media platforms work. But this can be a great, low-cost side hustle to start for summer since all you really need to get going is a laptop.

31. Sell feet pics

If part of your summer beauty routine involves pampering your feet, you could make money selling feet pics online.

Selling feet pics is a legit side hustle and there are people making thousands selling photos of feet to interested buyers. Some of the best sites for selling feet pictures include:

• Instafeet
• FeetFinder
• Feetify

You could even sell foot pics on Etsy or Instagram!

If you’re interested in this side hustle for summer, here’s a complete guide to selling feet pics online without getting scammed.

32. Teach kids on Outschool

Outschool is an online learning platform for kids in K-12. We use this resource a lot in our house as homeschoolers and there are plenty of parents who rely on Outschool to keep kids entertained and learning over the summer.

You don’t need to have a degree or be a certified teacher to teach on Outschool. You do need a laptop with reliable internet and a subject that you’re passionate about.

Some Outschool teachers are making a few hundred dollars a month but others are making $10,000 a month or more.

Read this Outschool review to learn how you can make money teaching kids online.

Interested in making money as an online teacher? Outschool is a great way for stay-at-home moms, single moms, working moms, and retirees to make extra money, no teaching degree is required! Apply to become an Outschool teacher and make $50+ an hour!

33. Create an online course

Teaching on Outschool is an active way to make money over the summer since you’re leading live classes via Zoom. If you’d like to teach but earn passive income instead, you could try creating an online course.

Sites like Teachable and Thinkific make it easy to upload evergreen classes on just about any topic. So if you’re an expert in how to grow succulents or how to digitally edit photos, you’ve probably got great material for a class.

Pro tip: If you’re interested in selling online courses, get a free 30-day trial with Teachable!

34. Join online focus groups

Focus groups review products or services and share their opinions with the company that organized the group. This is a form of market research that businesses use to test products or services before they’re made available to the public.

Joining an online focus group could be one of the most profitable summer side hustles that doesn’t require much time. Respondent, for example, pays $100+ an hour to its focus group participants.

There is some initial screening involved but if you pass, this could be an easy way to make money over the summer.

Apply to become a focus group participant with Respondent.io.

Companies are willing to pay good money to everyday people for their opinions by taking surveys. Taking surveys may not be the most lucrative of summer side hustles but it can be an easy way to make extra cash.

The key is choosing reputable survey sites that pay well. If you want to get started taking surveys for money, here are some of the best sites to try:

• Survey Junkie (earn up to $50 per survey!)
• InboxDollars (earn a $5 bonus!)
• InboxPays
• Branded Surveys
• Swagbucks (get a $5 bonus!)
• Opinion Inn (get a $10 sign up bonus!)
• Opinion Outpost
• Zap Surveys

Related post:15 Best Survey Sites for Making Quick and Easy Money

36. Offer graphic design services

There are lots of ways to put graphic design skills to work with summer side hustles.

For example, you get paid to design business cards or logos. Or you might help small businesses design brochures or digital products.

Fiverr can be a great place to get started if you’re looking for graphic design gigs. You can also try FlexJobs for higher-paying remote graphic design jobs.

And if you’re looking for a great design tool, check out all of the features offered with Canva.

Related post: How to Make Money With Canva (9 Easy Ways)

37. Sell low content books on Amazon KDP

Low content books can be a great way to earn passive income.

A low-content book is a book that has low or no content on the inside. So you might create a camping planner or a summer bucket list journal for kids to sell.

Amazon KDP is probably the most popular spot for selling low-content books. All you have to do is create an account, upload your books and Amazon handles the printing and shipping.

This is an easy way to generate passive income over the summer or any time. And if you need a tool for creating your low content books, check out Canva.

38. Start an Etsy shop

Starting an Etsy shop could be a perfect summer side hustle if you’re creative and love to make things.

I set up an Etsy shop for my teen daughter in March (sellers under 18 need a parent’s approval) and she’s already made a decent amount of money selling handmade crafts.

Getting started on Etsy is pretty simple–the most important thing is having something to sell that people want to buy.

Browsing Etsy can be a great way to get ideas for things you can make. You can also check out this list of 20+ easy things to make and sell for money.

39. Create and sell digital products

Selling digital products is a popular online side hustle you can start in the summer or any time of year.

Digital products include things like:

• Planners
• Calendars
• Journals
• Notebooks
• Budgeting printables
• Home organization printables
• Coloring sheets and activity pages for kids
• Recipe books

You can create digital products using a tool like Canva, then sell them online. Some of the best places to sell digital products include Etsy, Shopify, Amazon KDP and your own blog or website.

40. Start a blog

If you have time to spare, summer could be a great time to start a blog.

Blogs can be an excellent way to make passive income. Some of the best ways to make money blogging include:

• Affiliate marketing
• Ads
• Sponsored posts
• Digital products
• Offering a service

You don’t need to invest much money in starting a blog, since companies like NameHero offer affordable hosting plans.

If you’re interested in blogging as a side hustle, check out this beginner’s guide to starting a blog.

Looking for a remote gig or work-from-home job? Virtual Vocations features remote jobs and at-home jobs in over 50 categories so you can find a role that fits your skills. Create a Virtual Vocations account and start browsing listings to find your next remote job!

Bottom Line: Summer Side Hustles Can Make You Money!

Starting a side hustle in summer can be a great way to make money on your own terms while working a flexible schedule. Some summer side hustles don’t take much time or effort either, which can leave you with plenty of time to get out and have one.

Here’s one last thing to note before you go: money earned from summer side hustles is considered taxable income by the IRS. So be sure to keep good records of the extra cash you’re making.

Need more ideas on how to make extra money? Read these posts next:

• 28 Profitable Side Hustles for Introverts (Make Money, No Talking Required!)
• 27 Best Side Hustles for Women (Make Extra Money Now)
• How to Make $10000 a Month (10 Legitimate Ways)
• How to Make an Extra 1000 a Month (50 Ways That Really Work!)
• 50+ Flexible Side Hustles for Moms Who Want to Make Extra Money

What are your favorite summer side hustles?