DoorDash drivers are reporting higher than average earnings recently. Is it a fluke? Is it here to stay? Does it indicate the beginning of a very busy spring/summer season?
Even though restaurants are opening up to allow in-person dining, people could still be relying on DoorDash to deliver food for parties, relaxed evenings or just a special treat without the hassle of getting dressed up and going out.
High DoorDash Earnings Reported by Delivery Drivers
Below are some examples of the higher than average earnings drivers are reporting on Reddit.
This person is seeing peak pay that is higher than a typical order would pay. Peak pay is added to the order total as a bonus for working during a busy time.
Above, we have a Dasher who earned a grand total of $936.93 for a week of driving. They were online for 39 hours and 4 minutes and active for 23 hours and 25 minutes. Previous weeks showed similar high earnings.
The original poster of this thread said that he typically works from 8-10 am, 11-2 pm and 4:30-7:30 pm and drives in the San Diego east-side area.
These earnings don’t include any guaranteed earnings adjustment that happens on a bi-weekly basis for drivers in California since the passing of Prop 22. Drivers are guaranteed a minimum earnings of 120% of the minimum wage in the city they accept orders in plus $0.30 per mile. If they do not earn at least that much before tips, they will get an adjustment to their earnings to make up the difference.
Another poster on this thread shared his earnings in the same week in Sacramento:
They were online for 59 hours and 11 minutes and earned a total of $1,165.25.
Another Dasher posted his highest earnings for one day and was proud to share it with the DoorDash community on Reddit.
They completed a total of 11 deliveries in a little over 5 hours for a total earnings of $104.43. This would average to be about $20 an hour before expenses. This person drives in Arkansas where the minimum wage is $11.
Another Dasher shared a similar story. They typically make about $100 in 8 hours, but this time they made $180.09 in 8 hours with a total of 17 deliveries completed. They live in the Oswego, Illinois area, which is a suburb that’s about an hour and a half outside of Chicago.
Within this thread, others were sharing their earnings stories. One driver from South Dakota said they worked about 3.5 hours and earned $110 with 6 double deliveries in a row.
Another said they made a grand total of $427 in 9 hours across multiple apps. When asked, they specified it was earned through DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.
In a final thread on Reddit, a Dasher reported earning $104 for 3.4 hours of work and titled the post “Can I have more nights like this?”
This poster dashes near the University of Notre Dame campus and with tracking their miles using Stride, they showed that the earnings from this night of dashing was 38.97 miles.
What Do All These High Earnings Mean for DoorDash Drivers?
It could mean that the momentum gained during the pandemic is around to stay. Even with restaurants opening up, customers may be continuing to order from home. Whether that’s because they don’t feel comfortable going out yet, or because they just enjoy the convenience of not having to leave the house is hard to guess.
The hope is that these higher earnings are here to stay, but only time will tell!
Are you driving for DoorDash? If so, what have earnings been like in your city? Not a DoorDash driver yet? You can sign up here!
-Paula @ RSG
