How Can You Become A DoorDash Driver And What Can You Expect To Earn?

Google Trends data shows a worrying sign about the economy. Enter the search term, "side hustle" and you'll see a notable spike this year. The term has indexed higher in 2026 than at any time since early 2023. In fact, it's notably more elevated than in 2023, as is the term "become a Dasher."  Indeed's Hiring Lab — the recruiting company's think tank arm – shows that among folks with multiple jobs, "delivery driver" tops the list of the most popular titles people use to describe their employment. Indeed also says lots of folks with multiple gigs are just doubling up in the same industry. Meaning, they describe their first role and their second role identically, such as driving for both DoorDash and Lyft, say. And so, a lot of us here in America, where July 2026 stats showed 23,000 jobs lost — when the expectation was that the economy would instead add about 80,000 jobs – need the extra dough from a side hustle.

Well, the good news is that becoming a DoorDash driver doesn't look that difficult. In most states, you have to be at least 18, but 21 in California, and 19 in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. You also have to own a non-jailbroken Android or iPhone. If you want to drive rather than pedal your deliveries — which is also an option, depending on where you'll work — you need a valid driver's license and valid personal auto insurance. As for what it pays, that depends on where you live. In Phoenix, according to Indeed, that's a decent $27.22 per hour – 43% over the national average, which is just $16.24 an hour.

Let's say you happen to live in Seattle and want to drive for DoorDash there. And, yeah, we know that John Oliver already warned that these apps are bad for everyone, but you need the job. The good news is that Seattle has a very high minimum wage of $21.30, and the city added a floor in the form of fees for delivery workers. Yes, that's led to some delivery backlash in Seattle, and some restaurants cannot afford to subscribe to app services, but according to Indeed, the average DoorDash driver in Seattle still makes about $20.89 an hour across their entire shift.

In New York, which also has a high minimum wage of $21.44 an hour, Indeed says the average Dasher will make about $25 per hour. The issue, however, is that both Seattle and New York are very expensive places to live. The site Payscale, which studies salaries, shows Seattle is 45% more expensive than the national average. But it could be worse: New York City is 139% pricier than the rest of the nation. You could Dash in Nashville, instead, where you're at just 2% higher than the national average cost of living — but you'll earn merely 13 bucks an hour there, according to Indeed.

The service, Workstream, which provides backend payroll support and software to restaurants, notes that the minimum wage in Nashville of just $7.25 hasn't budged since 2009 while a living wage in the city is $15.50. For comparison, you'd also struggle with that DoorDash rate of $21 an hour in Seattle, where Workstream says you need at least $26.59 per hour to make ends meet.

We doubt you clicked on this story because you're thrilled by the idea of delivering slowly softening french fries to gamers too busy to put down their consoles to feed themselves. Indeed's Hiring Lab data shows exactly what you'd expect about the motivation behind the rise in gig work and everyone's curiosity about driving to make some extra cash. First, gig work is more flexible than other part-time positions, so you can squeeze in a few extra hours when your regular post lets you off. Hiring Lab shows that the number of people who listed a gig platform as an employer has risen from just .5% in 2018 to 1.3% in 2025. That doesn't sound like much, but it's a 260% increase and means that employers like Uber and DoorDash are coming to dominate the gig economy. Hiring Lab also says what you already know: Gig work is necessary because standard salaries aren't keeping pace with inflation.

Separately, a 2025 Goldman Sachs analysis found that gig work is increasingly necessary to make up for lost hours or weaker compensation, and a fifth of gig workers take on the extra hours because they were laid off or took a pay cut in their primary jobs. And, as you'd also guess, fully half of gig workers drive to scratch out more cash on top of their current 9-to-5s. But there's peril afoot for these side hustles — and we don't mean the risk of getting shot while engaged in a delivery. DoorDash is a major investor in Rivian's e-bike and drone spin-off, called Also, and you've surely seen drone food scooters in cities like Los Angeles already. Which means, as predicted, the end could be nigh for these jobs, too because: robots.