What Happened

A Cash App study reported a sharp rise in Americans earning money from more than one source, with freelance, contract, side-business and multiple-job income all part of the trend. Cash App is backed by Block Inc., the company behind the app. The number of Americans with multiple income streams is now 51 million, compared with 41 million two years ago.

Measured from 2024, the number of people generating independent income alongside traditional earnings rose 30%. The work described includes freelancing, entrepreneurship, content creation, side businesses and multiple jobs. Within Cash App's customer base, 57% generate income through various means rather than relying only on one conventional pay stream.

The generational skew is a central part of the report. Gen Z, defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, accounts for 44% of modern earners. The article identifies Gen Z as leading the rise in multiple-income work. It frames younger workers as placing greater value on flexibility in how they earn.

One quoted line summarized the shift this way: “Younger generations are opting for more flexibility.” The same quote added that this means “the shape of the labour market has changed.” The practical change described is not only that more people are taking on extra work, but that independent income is increasingly being combined with traditional earnings.

Why It Matters

For Greater Vancouver real-estate readers, the useful signal is not that U.S. side hustles directly set local home prices. The signal is that household income is becoming less linear. Buyers, renters and investors increasingly have to think about income quality, documentation and stability, not just the headline amount a household says it earns.

That matters because housing decisions are still filtered through formal systems: mortgage qualification, rental applications, strata affordability, debt servicing, insurance and tax records. A household with a salary plus freelance or side-business income may feel more capable of carrying housing costs, but lenders and landlords often care about how regular, provable and durable that income is. The rise from 41 million to 51 million people with multiple income streams points to a broader behavioural shift: more earners are trying to patch together flexibility, resilience or upside through several channels.

For Gen Z, the issue is especially relevant. If younger earners are a large part of the modern-earning cohort and are more likely to use multiple income streams, then first-time buyer planning may become more complex. A buyer may have more income sources than a previous generation, but also more variability in how that income appears on paper.

Local Vancouver / Burnaby Context

BurnabyHouse readers should view this as an income-structure story rather than a direct U.S.-to-Vancouver market forecast. In Burnaby, Vancouver and the wider Greater Vancouver market, the practical housing question is often whether a household can show stable income, pass financing tests, compete for rental housing, and keep carrying costs manageable. Multiple-income work can help a household build a down payment or absorb monthly costs, but it can also create friction if income is irregular, recently started or difficult to verify.

Local context also sits inside a supply-focused provincial policy environment, including tools such as the BC Housing Supply Act. That matters because income-side adaptation and housing-supply policy are two separate levers. More people taking on side work may help some households cope with high costs, but it does not by itself create more homes, shorten approvals, lower construction costs or resolve land constraints.

For Vancouver and Burnaby buyers, the more immediate lesson is behavioural. Younger households may be more comfortable with flexible work, online earnings, contract income or small-business income than older cohorts. That can support demand at the margin, especially for households that successfully document their earnings. But it can also widen the gap between perceived affordability and lender-recognized affordability.

For sellers and landlords, this shift suggests that income review may become more nuanced. A strong applicant may not look like a single employer, single paycheque profile. The better question becomes whether the income is recurring, taxable, documented and likely to continue.

Market Impact

The market impact is likely to show up less as a sudden price move and more as a change in buyer and renter profiles. More households may rely on blended income: employment income, contract income, platform income, content income, small-business income or a second job. That can expand the number of people who feel ready to enter the housing market, but it does not guarantee that lenders will treat every dollar the same way.

For the condo market, especially entry-level and investor-owned units, the multiple-income trend could support demand from younger households trying to bridge affordability gaps. But variable income also increases sensitivity to job-market changes and business-cycle risk. A buyer using several earnings streams may be more resilient if one stream drops, or more exposed if all streams depend on discretionary consumer spending.

For rental housing, landlords and property managers may see more applicants whose income comes from several sources. That can be positive when documentation is strong, but it can slow approvals when earnings are inconsistent. For investors, the key is not assuming that side-hustle income automatically translates into rent growth or purchase capacity; the conversion from income to housing demand depends on verification, savings, credit and confidence.

Investor / Buyer Takeaway

- Buyers with multiple income streams should organize tax records, contracts, invoices, bank deposits and employment documents before seeking mortgage advice.

- First-time buyers should distinguish between income they can spend and income a lender is likely to recognize for qualification purposes.

- Sellers should expect some younger buyers to have less conventional employment profiles, which may affect financing timelines and subject-removal confidence.

- Investors should watch whether blended-income renters can document recurring income, rather than relying only on stated monthly earnings.

- Households using side work to stretch affordability should stress-test what happens if one income stream slows or disappears.

Builder / Developer Perspective

For builders and developers, the direct construction impact is limited because the reported change is about labour-market income patterns, not zoning, fees, land assembly or permitting. Still, buyer qualification matters to project absorption. If more younger buyers depend on contract, freelance or side-business income, pre-sale campaigns and lender relationships may need to account for more complicated income files.

This is particularly relevant for entry-level product, compact units and investor-oriented units where the buyer pool may include younger earners and households combining several sources of income. Developers cannot treat side-hustle growth as a substitute for affordability, but it may influence how projects are marketed, how purchasers are screened, and how financing risk is managed before completion.

Risk Factors

- Financing risk: variable or recently established income may be harder to use in mortgage qualification than steady employment income.

- Tax risk: side-business, freelance and content income need proper reporting and documentation if households want it recognized later.

- Cash-flow risk: a household carrying housing costs with several earnings streams may be vulnerable if one stream slows.

- Rental-screening risk: landlords may require more evidence when income comes from multiple sources rather than one employer.

- Investor risk: assuming that more side hustles automatically mean stronger rent or resale demand can lead to overconfidence.

BurnabyHouse Insight

The bigger takeaway for Burnaby and Vancouver readers is that affordability pressure is not only changing what people buy; it is changing how people earn. A growing multiple-income workforce may create more determined buyers and renters, especially among younger households, but it also makes the housing file messier. In this market, income flexibility is useful only when it can survive verification, taxation, financing review and a realistic stress test.