One thing before the list. Every hourly figure below is a national median from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which means half the people in that job make more and half make less. Pay swings a lot by location, so the same job can pay well over $20 in a big city and under it in a small town. Check local job posts before you count on a number.
| Job | Median pay | What you need to start |
|---|---|---|
| Customer service rep | $21.53/hr | High school diploma, short on-the-job training |
| Delivery truck driver | $21.13/hr | High school diploma, driver’s license, short training |
| Construction laborer or helper | $22.44/hr | No diploma required, short on-the-job training |
| Pharmacy technician | $22.00/hr | High school diploma, state rules vary |
| Phlebotomist | $21.75/hr | Short certificate program (under a year) |
| Medical assistant | $21.97/hr | Certificate, or a diploma and on-the-job training |
| Painter | $23.75/hr | No formal credential, on-the-job training |
| Maintenance and repair worker | $23.84/hr | High school diploma, on-the-job training |
| Roofer | $26.65/hr | No formal credential, on-the-job training |
| Tractor-trailer truck driver | $28.19/hr | CDL training |
| Postal service worker | $28.79/hr | No formal credential, pass a written exam |
| Water treatment operator | $28.86/hr | High school diploma, long training, state license |
| Insurance sales agent | $29.94/hr | High school diploma, state license |
Jobs that pay $20 an hour with no degree
These are regular jobs with a set hourly rate. None of them needs a college degree, and none needs past experience in the field.
Customer service representative
Median pay is $21.53 an hour. You answer customers by phone or chat and sort out their problems. A high school diploma and a few weeks of training is the usual bar, and some companies let you work from home, which is why this one is first. The downside is that some days you’re the punching bag for someone’s bad week.
Delivery truck driver
Median pay is $21.13 an hour. You drive a van or small truck around a local area dropping off packages. No experience needed, just a clean license and a high school diploma. It’s a lot of steps and a lot of stairs.
Construction laborer or helper
Median pay is $22.44 an hour, and you don’t even need a diploma (some employers prefer one). You haul materials and hold tools for the crew, and you learn as you go. Hard on your body, but it’s a quick way to get a foot in the door of the trades.
Pharmacy technician
Median pay is $22.00 an hour. You help pharmacists fill prescriptions and deal with customers and insurance. Most states regulate pharmacy techs, and some want you certified, so check your state’s rules first. Some employers pay for the exam.
Phlebotomist
Median pay is $21.75 an hour for drawing blood at labs, hospitals and blood banks. You do need a short program first, but it’s usually less than a year at a community college or trade school. If needles bother you, skip it.
Medical assistant
Median pay is $21.97 an hour. Most medical assistants finish a certificate program, but some get hired with a high school diploma and learn on the job. You take vitals and handle the paperwork in a doctor’s office, so it’s a good way to test out healthcare before you pay for more school.
Painter
Median pay is $23.75 an hour. No credential needed. You learn prep, taping and spraying on the job, and once you’re good, weekend side jobs can add up.
General maintenance and repair worker
Median pay is $23.84 an hour. Apartment complexes, schools and offices all need someone who can fix a leak or swap out a light fixture without calling in a contractor. You need a diploma and you learn the rest on the job. Being handy already helps a ton.
Roofer
Median pay is $26.65 an hour with no formal credential. It’s high up and brutal in the summer. That’s exactly why it pays more than most jobs on this list.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver
Median pay is $28.19 an hour. You need a commercial driver’s license (CDL) first, and a community college CDL program runs 3 to 6 months. Long-haul means days away from home, so think about that before you sign up, especially if you’ve got kids at home.
Postal service worker
Median pay is $28.79 an hour for postal workers overall. No degree and no experience needed, but every applicant has to pass a written exam. Mail carriers walk or drive a route in every kind of weather.
Water and wastewater treatment operator
Median pay is $28.86 an hour. You run the equipment that cleans a town’s drinking water and sewage. A diploma gets you in the door, but the training is long and you usually need a state license, which a lot of new hires earn while they’re training. Not glamorous. Very steady.
Insurance sales agent
Median pay is $29.94 an hour, the highest on this list. You need a state license and you’ll be selling, which means commissions and quotas at a lot of agencies. Great if you can sell. Rough if you can’t.
Big employers that post $20+ pay
Some employers post their pay, so you’re not guessing.
Amazon says average pay for its U.S. warehouse and transportation workers is more than $23 an hour. That’s an average across a huge network, so what a new hire gets in your area could be lower. Look up the exact rate on the job post before you apply.
DataAnnotation
Best for: remote work from your laptop
- What it is
- A remote contract gig training AI chatbots.
- What you do
- Review AI answers, check them for accuracy, rate them and rewrite prompts, on your own schedule.
- How much it pays
- Its site lists general work at up to $50 an hour, and higher rates for experts like coders and language specialists.
- The catch
- You have to apply and qualify first. “Up to” means the top of the range, and the site doesn’t say how often general work is available.
Worth it? Only if you write well and pay attention to detail. It’s one of the few work-from-home gigs that can beat $20 an hour.
Can delivery apps pay $20 an hour?
Sometimes. But be careful with anyone who promises it.
Amazon Flex is the only big delivery app that publishes an hourly range. DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart and Shipt pay per order plus tips, and none of them publishes an average hourly. Your real number depends on how busy your area is, which orders you take and what you spend on gas, since you’re an independent contractor covering your own car costs.
The upside is you can start fast, pick your hours and stack these around a regular job. If you’re comparing the two biggest food apps, our DoorDash vs Uber Eats breakdown goes deeper, and there’s more in app-based gigs.
Amazon Flex
Best for: the clearest hourly pay of any delivery app
- What it is
- Delivering Amazon packages in your own car, in blocks you schedule.
- What you do
- Reserve delivery blocks up to a week ahead or grab same-day offers, then run the route.
- How much it pays
- Amazon says most delivery partners earn $18 to $25 an hour, with a guaranteed minimum of $15 to $19 per scheduled hour depending on location and demand, plus 100% of tips. You pick which weekdays you get paid, and cashing out to your bank is free.
- The catch
- You must be 21 or older with a 4-door midsize sedan or bigger, and blocks can be hard to get in some areas.
Worth it? Yes if you’re 21+, have the car, and Flex runs blocks near you. It’s the closest thing to a real hourly wage in the delivery world.
DoorDash
Best for: delivering on your own schedule, even by bike
- What it is
- Delivering restaurant, grocery and convenience store orders as an independent contractor.
- What you do
- Accept offers in the Dasher app and deliver by car, scooter, motorcycle, or bike in some cities.
- How much it pays
- Base pay runs $2 to $10+ per offer, plus promotions like Peak Pay and 100% of your tips. DoorDash doesn’t publish an hourly average. Weekly direct deposit usually shows up by Wednesday night, or use Fast Pay once a day for $1.99.
- The catch
- Some offers pay as little as $2 base, and gas and wear on your car are on you. You need to be 18 or older (19 in some states, 21 in California).
Worth it? Only if your area is busy at lunch and dinner and you’re picky about which offers you take.
Want the short list instead?
What's paying right now, with the catch. One email on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Uber Eats
Best for: seeing the fare before you accept
- What it is
- Delivering food, groceries and packages through the Uber Driver app.
- What you do
- Accept delivery requests by car, scooter, bike or on foot, depending on your city.
- How much it pays
- Base fare plus promotions plus 100% of tips, and you see the fare before you take the trip. No average hourly is published. Pay hits your bank weekly, or cash out up to 6 times a day with Instant Pay for $1.25 each time.
- The catch
- Earnings depend heavily on how busy your city is, and Instant Pay costs you unless you have the Uber Pro Card.
Worth it? Yes if you live in a busy metro and want to judge every trip before you accept it.
Instacart
Best for: people who like grocery runs
- What it is
- Shopping for and delivering grocery orders as a full-service shopper.
- What you do
- Pick batches in the Shopper app, shop the list and drop it off.
- How much it pays
- Each batch pays based on distance, how many items, how heavy they are and expected shopping time, plus 100% of tips. No typical hourly is published. Direct deposit lands weekly, Wednesday to Friday, or cash out instantly for a small charge.
- The catch
- You need to be 18+ with access to a vehicle, and pay rules change by city.
Worth it? Only if your stores stay busy and big orders with good tips show up often.
Shipt
Best for: shopping gigs near Target stores
- What it is
- Target-owned Shipt’s gig for personal shoppers and package delivery drivers.
- What you do
- Shop and deliver grocery and household orders, or run package delivery routes.
- How much it pays
- Each order pays based on estimated time and effort, plus bonuses and 100% of tips. No pay figures are published. Direct deposit every Friday, and Instant Pay 3 times a day once you’ve had your first weekly payout.
- The catch
- You need to be 18+ with a driver’s license, auto insurance and a reliable car, and Instant Pay isn’t available until after your first weekly payout.
Worth it? Yes if you’ve got a Target nearby and want a weekly check you can plan around.
Jobs people say pay $20 an hour that usually don’t
Bartending gets pitched as easy $20 an hour money. The median for bartenders is $16.51 an hour, and that’s with tips included. A busy bar can beat that, but most bartenders don’t.
Security guards are in the same spot, with a median of $18.29 an hour (that figure includes casino surveillance officers). And paid surveys? Fine for a few bucks in your spare time. They won’t get you anywhere near $20 an hour.
Can you live on $20 an hour?
Do the math first. Forty hours a week at $20 is $800 a week, or $41,600 a year before taxes.
Whether that works depends almost entirely on rent where you live. In a lot of towns it’s a decent living. In a big expensive city, it’s tight, and you’ll probably want a side gig on top. That’s where the best weekend jobs come in, or check what’s paying right now for app-based extra cash.
Want a bigger target? Here are jobs that pay $30 an hour, and if you’re thinking monthly, these jobs that pay $5,000 a month. More ideas live under freelancers.
Next step
Pick two jobs from the table, search them with your city name on any job board, and compare the posted pay to the medians above before you apply.
FAQ
What jobs pay $20 an hour with no experience?
Customer service reps, delivery truck drivers, construction laborers, pharmacy techs, painters and maintenance workers all have national median wages above $20 an hour and need no past experience. Postal workers and insurance agents pay more but need an exam or a license.
How much is $20 an hour a year?
At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, $20 an hour is $41,600 a year before taxes.
Can you make $20 an hour with DoorDash or Uber Eats?
Some drivers do in busy areas, but neither company publishes an hourly average. DoorDash base pay runs $2 to $10+ per offer plus tips. Amazon Flex is the only big delivery app that publishes a range: $18 to $25 an hour for most delivery partners, per Amazon.
Are there work from home jobs that pay $20 an hour?
Yes. Customer service pays a median of $21.53 an hour, and some companies let reps work from home. AI training gigs like DataAnnotation list general work at up to $50 an hour, but you have to qualify first.
Sources (21)
Pay figures are national medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (May 2025 wage data), or what each company states on its own pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Customer Service Representatives. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Delivery Truck Drivers and Driver/Sales Workers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction Laborers and Helpers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pharmacy Technicians. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Phlebotomists. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical Assistants. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Painters, Construction and Maintenance. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. General Maintenance and Repair Workers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roofers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Postal Service Workers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insurance Sales Agents. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bartenders. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Security Guards and Gambling Surveillance Officers. bls.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Amazon. Amazon is investing over $1 billion to raise pay and lower health care costs for US fulfillment and transportation employees. aboutamazon.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- DataAnnotation. Home page and pay rates. dataannotation.tech. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Amazon Flex. Frequently Asked Questions. flex.amazon.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- DoorDash. How is Dasher pay calculated? help.doordash.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Uber. Instant Pay and Deliver with Uber. uber.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Instacart. Shopper earnings. Shipt. How do shoppers get paid? Accessed October 22, 2026.
That's the breakdown. Want the next one?
Every Sunday: what's paying that week, what got cut, what to skip.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
