Finding the best gig jobs near you will take a little research. There is no national list of gig jobs by zip code or any other easy way of knowing what’s available. Below we’ll list the most popular gig jobs that operate in nearly every area. You’ll have to check each platform’s website to see if the gig is available in your town or city.
In case you’ve already tried, one of the worst places to find gig jobs are the national job search sites like Indeed or Monster. Many of their “job postings” are generated by software that uses the same job title and description for every zip code in the country. The listing just targets your zip code, even if the job isn’t available in your area. Once you’re interested in a job and they have you hooked, then you read the fine print and find out it’s not actually available where you live. We once ran across a job posting for owner-operator truck drivers. The same job posting was listed in over 7,000 zip codes.
The best way to find gig jobs near you is to check the most common platforms. Listed below are the most well know gig jobs in the U.S.
- Amazon Flex
- DoorDash
- Grubhub
- Instacart
- Lyft
- Postmates
- Roadie
- Spark
- Uber
- Uber Eats
- UPS Seasonal Support Driver
Amazon Flex is not available in all areas. You’ll pick up packages from an Amazon warehouse and deliver them to the customers. The only way to tell if Amazon Flex is available in your area is to check the page of Amazon Flex Delivery Locations.
DoorDash is one of the best known gig jobs in the U.S. If DoorDash isn’t available in your area, you should be able to find tons of deliveries in a nearby area. The easiest way to find out if DoorDash is hiring in your area is to visit the DoorDash website and enter your address. If they offer delivery to your address then they’re hiring DoorDash drivers.
Grubhub is another well known food delivery platform but nowhere near as popular as DoorDash. Visit the Grubhub website and enter your address. If delivery is available, then Grubhub might be hiring in your area. We say might be hiring because Grubhub doesn’t flood the market with delivery drivers like DoorDash does. If you apply to Grubhub, you might be placed on a waiting list.
Instacart is primarily grocery delivery. You’ll shop for up to three different customers and then deliver the orders in whichever order Instacart shows. Instacart also delivers from several other retail stores such as CVS, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Roche Bros, Petco, PetSmart, Price Rite and Walgreens.
The Instacart Shoppers page has a search box where you can enter your zip code to see which stores are available in your area but the search wasn’t working at the time of this writing. We’ve never heard of Instacart having a waitlist but there may be one if your area is currently oversaturated with shoppers.
Lyft is always hiring new drivers. Lyft is rideshare so you’ll need a decent vehicle to transport passengers to their destinations. To see if Lyft is hiring drivers in your area, the Lyft website recommends downloading the Lyft passenger app then entering your address like you were attempting to book a ride. You can also visit the List of Cities in Which Lyft Operates.
Postmates was bought by Uber in 2020. Postmates still operates on its own platform and is usually hiring new drivers in all areas. Postmates is most popular with college students. Postmates maintains an extensive list of cities in which it is available. If Postmates delivers to your area, most likely it’s hiring new drivers. Visit the Postmates Locations page to check it out.
Roadie is a package delivery service that is available almost everywhere. Since UPS acquired Roadie in 2021, the delivery area has expanded considerably. Roadie now claims that it delivers to 97% of the households in the U.S. If you’re in an extremely rural area, Roadie might be the only gig job available. Roadie delivers everywhere so even if you live in the middle of nowhere, there will probably be deliveries available from stores in a nearby town or city. The cool thing about Roadie is they’ll hire you as a delivery driver even if there are no stores in your area that deliver with Roadie. We point this out because other gigs won’t hire drivers in areas where they don’t deliver but Roadie does. To get started, visit Roadie Driver Sign-Up.
Spark is owned by Walmart. Most of the deliveries will be groceries from Walmart but the platform also delivers for several major retailers such as Home Depot, GameStop, and Sally Beauty. In some areas of the country it’s nearly impossible to be hired without first going on a waiting list. Unfortunately, Spark doesn’t tell you if there’s a waiting list until after you apply to become a delivery driver. To get started , visit the Spark Driver website.
Uber is eager to hire new drivers. Uber completes over 3 times more passenger trips every year in the U.S. than Lyft. If you’re debating between Uber and Lyft, this might be your deciding factor. Uber handles over 3/4 of the rideshare trips in the United States. While some areas may be better for Lyft, the vast majority of passengers in the country take an Uber. For more information or to get started, visit the Drive With Uber website.
Uber Eats is not available everywhere Uber offers passenger trips. For food deliveries, Uber Eats is above and beyond DoorDash. We consider Uber Eats to be a premium food delivery service, whereas DoorDash would be the economy choice. Uber uses the same sign-up for Uber Eats drivers as it does for Uber passenger drivers. To find out if Uber Eats is hiring in your area, visit the Uber Eats home page and enter your address. If delivery is available to your address, then Uber Eats is hiring delivery drivers.
UPS Seasonal Support Driver is a cool job but it doesn’t last very long. As a Seasonal Support Driver you’ll deliver packages for UPS using your own vehicle. The length of the season depends on the contract UPS has with the Teamsters local union. In most areas you can only work six weeks starting around Black Friday until December 26. It’s a short season but the pay is awesome. To see if UPS is hiring Seasonal Support Drivers in your area, visit the UPS Jobs website.
UPS Seasonal Support Driver is a union job. Temporarily you’ll become a UPS employee and a member of the local Teamsters union. Why do we point this out? The pay is insane! You receive overtime if you work more than 8 hours in a single day. You don’t have to put in 40 hours like most regular jobs. If you work 12 hours on Monday, the last four hours are overtime! In most areas, Saturday is all overtime. If you work 10 hours on Saturday, it’s all overtime! The pay in most areas is $26/hour plus mileage. Overtime is $39 an hour. If you work 10 hours on Saturday, you’ll earn $390 plus mileage.
