A data analysis by Len Sherman, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, indicates that Uber pay rates vary significantly across U.S. cities, with some estimated earnings falling below the federal minimum wage. The study, which reviewed 1.8 million trip offers between March 2025 and March 2026, found that after accounting for driving costs like gasoline and maintenance, drivers in six of the 16 cities studied earned less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
The data was collected by GigU, an app that assists drivers in evaluating ride offers. The analysis included both accepted trips and declined offers, the latter of which Sherman noted are often lower-paying. Sherman stated that his calculations aimed to provide a realistic view of driver earnings, while Uber has previously stated that its drivers earn more than $30 per hour during "engaged" time, which includes driving to a passenger and the trip itself.
In Orlando, the analysis showed a median offer of $19.30 per active hour before expenses, which dropped to an estimated $3.18 per hour after costs. In contrast, Los Angeles saw a median pay offer of $46 per hour before expenses. Boston recorded the highest estimated pay after expenses at $21.87 per hour, a figure influenced by Massachusetts law requiring a minimum of $34.48 per active hour. Sherman noted that pay tended to be higher in cities with local minimum pay laws and lower in tourist hubs like Las Vegas and Orlando, where high driver competition exists.
An Uber spokesperson described the analysis as "riddled with flaws," stating it overrepresented rejected offers and excluded tips, promotional payments, and mandatory minimum wage adjustments in states like California and Massachusetts. The company said its actual pay per engaged hour is "on average more than 25% higher" than Sherman’s figures. Uber declined to provide its own specific data on average trip lengths or trips-per-hour but disagreed with the estimates Sherman used for those variables.
The scale of this issue is reflected in the 1.8 million trip offers analyzed over a 12-month period, highlighting a disparity where drivers in some cities earn nearly seven times more than those in others after expenses. Renters and low-income workers who rely on ride-hailing as a primary source of income would notice these differences in their ability to pay monthly bills or maintain their vehicles. The findings also highlight the impact of state-level labor regulations; in Massachusetts, drivers receive a higher rate due to a $34.48 hourly minimum, whereas drivers in states without such protections are subject to market rates that Sherman’s data suggests are much lower.
The study sets a precedent for how third-party data is used to challenge corporate earnings claims and may influence future policy debates regarding gig worker status and compensation. While Uber disputes the methodology, the friction between the company’s "engaged hour" metrics and the researcher's "working hour" estimates underscores an ongoing legal and economic debate over how waiting time should be compensated. As of October 2026, no new federal legislation has been passed to address these disparities, but the data continues to be a point of contention between labor researchers and ride-hailing platforms. Drivers will continue to see pay fluctuate based on city-specific competition and local legislation.