Clothing Rental
The short answer: Clothing rental has no pay range confirmed by independent creators, so the closest benchmark is employee pay: counter and rental clerks earned a median $41,300 a year in May 2025, according to the BLS. The main catch is that the only creator figure for renting out clothes comes from a single dress-rental story, not a pattern. (BLS OEWS; Side Hustle Nation) It suits people who own fashion pieces others want to rent for events or everyday wear.
| Median pay of employed counter and rental clerks | $19.86/hr ($41,300/yr) BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employee pay, not side-hustle income |
|---|---|
| Projected job growth, counter and rental clerks | +3% BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| One creator's reported part-time earnings | $12,500/month Reported by Side Hustle Nation, Oct 2026 |
From 1 quote by 1 creator and BLS data. A creator figure is one person's account.
Go deeper: all the clothing rental evidence
How much can you make renting out clothes?
In a Side Hustle Nation video from October 2026, the host said Summer, from episode 652, was making about $12,500 a month renting out dresses. For comparison, employed counter and rental clerks earned a median $19.86 an hour in May 2025, per the BLS, with the 10th percentile at $29,800 a year and the 90th at $65,370. (Side Hustle Nation; BLS OEWS)
Location shifts that employee figure widely, from a $23,110 median in Puerto Rico to $53,760 in DC. (BLS OEWS)
| Related occupation | Median pay | Middle 80% |
|---|---|---|
| Counter and Rental Clerks | $19.86/hr ($41,300/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $29,800–$65,370/yr |
Median annual pay of employed counter and rental clerks: $41,300 nationally; highest and lowest states below (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Highest-paying states | Median | Lowest-paying states | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $53,760/yr | Louisiana | $34,910/yr |
| New Jersey | $48,900/yr | West Virginia | $34,780/yr |
| Vermont | $48,430/yr | Puerto Rico | $23,110/yr |
What do people doing clothing rental say?
“Summer was doing 150 grand a year renting out dresses in episode 652.”
What does it cost to start clothing rental?
Not enough evidence yet: No source we track states a startup cost yet.
How much time does clothing rental take?
Not enough evidence yet: No source we track says how long the first payout takes or how many hours it needs yet.
Who should try a clothing rental side hustle?
Clothing rental means lending out fashion items for events or everyday use, so it fits someone whose wardrobe holds pieces worth borrowing. The closest employee role, apparel rental clerk, involves handling rentals, checkouts, returns and customer service. (O*NET 31.0)
Which platforms do people use for clothing rental?
Platforms people doing clothing rental use: Pickle, Rent my wardrobe.
Is clothing rental worth it?
Pros
- BLS Employment Projections rate demand for rental clerks as growing over 2025-35. (BLS Employment Projections)
- One dress renter, Summer, reached $12,500 a month according to Side Hustle Nation. (Side Hustle Nation)
Cons
- Employment for counter and rental clerks is projected to grow only 3% over ten years. (BLS Employment Projections)
- Summer's result is one person's account, and no second creator has reported comparable dress income. (Side Hustle Nation)
What are the risks of a clothing rental business?
Clothing rental income figures rest on a single anecdote, so planning around Summer's $12,500 month means betting on an outlier. Even salaried rental clerks see wide spreads, with the bottom tenth of earners well below the top tenth in May 2025. (Side Hustle Nation; BLS OEWS)
What are the alternatives to clothing rental?
- Car Rental as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Personal Car Rental side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Vacation Rentals as a side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Renting out your stuff side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
- Website Rental side hustle: Also in renting out what you own.
Clothing rental FAQ: what else do people ask?
Is the BLS wage what a dress renter will earn?
No, the $41,300 median describes employed counter and rental clerks, not people renting out their own clothes. (BLS OEWS)
Which state pays rental clerks the most among those listed?
DC leads the listed states for employed rental clerks. (BLS OEWS)
Sources and method
Quotes are verbatim and linked to the moment they were said. A figure from one report is not confirmed by a second source. BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation. Every quote, the pay in each state and the full source list are on the all the clothing rental evidence.
- Side Hustle Nation, YouTube, 6 Oct 2026.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, 31.0.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35.
Other data behind this page (1)
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demand trend | growing | Accepted | BLS Employment Projections |