Hi friends,
In this week’s blog post we are going to talk about the most profitable businesses in the USA. The economy of the United States is a highly developed mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and the second-largest by purchasing power parity.
As in every other country, here some businesses are naturally more profitable.
Because of the constant change of the market, businesses are charging a lot for their services or products. And yet, no matter how profitable some businesses turn out to be, it can be a challenge getting started.
Here is a list of the most profitable businesses in 2019
Mobile Businesses
I am talking about the business that travels to their customers and offers products and services wherever the customer happens to be. Wages are set to increase in 2019 since people are busy all the time, which will lead to an increase in the mobile business.
Airbnb
Maybe you already used Airbnb’s services or you are even renting your property? The chance to make money by renting or subletting a property is a rather simple concept to understand. With the right strategy, your profit can be about 30% In this case, you are renting out at a lower price and leasing it out via Airbnb at a higher price. For instance, you lease your apartment for 2,000 dollars a month and rent it out for 3,500 dollars a month on Airbnb.
Graphic Design
This can be one of the best side jobs in 2019. If you love the design and have a piece of background knowledge, graphic design is a great way to start a small business. Nowadays, it’s not hard to work with Adobe Illustrator and it’s even easier to find tools like Stencil and Visme and use them as well. But also, you need to be creative and into the design. For example, you can earn money by designing logos and images.
Web Design
Web designers use both vector and raster graphics editors to create web-formatted imagery or design prototypes. The constant need for web designers is a fact as more and more websites pop up. If you are interested in Web design, there are quite a few great books, for example, HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites written by Jon Duckett, that can get you started.
IT Support
Americans have very good tech support services. As an IT Support representative, you must be creative and patient. Helping the customers to use the newest technologies and maximize their efficiency while making them feel secure about the protection of their data is not an easy task. In case IT support is what you do best - then consider hitting the road with Mobile IT support.
What the 2026 numbers say about these business ideas
This list was first written for 2019, and several of its ideas look different today. Here is how they compare using current official data, so you can judge them on numbers and not on hype.
| Idea | Median pay (May 2025) | Projected job change 2025-35 | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web development / digital design | $99,520 | +5% (about 13,600 openings a year) | Still growing. Web and digital interface designers are projected at +6%. |
| Graphic design | $62,960 | -2% (about 16,000 openings a year) | 20% of designers are self-employed. BLS links the decline to automated design tools such as AI. |
| IT support | $62,890 | -3% (about 48,700 openings a year) | The openings come from replacing workers who leave, not from growth. Specialize (security, small-office networks) to stand out. |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook for web developers and digital designers, graphic designers and computer support specialists (May 2025 pay, 2025-35 projections).
Airbnb arbitrage: redo the math
The example above (lease at $2,000, earn $3,500) leaves out platform fees. Airbnb's host service fee page says the single host-only fee is now mandatory for most hosts, and most hosts on it pay 15.5%, deducted from their payout. The older 3% split-fee option is being phased out. At 15.5%, $3,500 of bookings leaves $2,957.50. After the $2,000 rent, about $957 a month is left, and that is before cleaning, furniture, utilities, insurance and empty nights. It also assumes every night is booked.
Local law matters even more. In New York City, Local Law 18 requires short-term rental hosts to register, and booking platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO may not process bookings for unregistered rentals of under 30 days. Enforcement started on 5 September 2023. Some buildings, such as NYCHA buildings and entirely rent-regulated buildings, cannot be used for short-term rentals at all. Check your city's rules and your lease before you sublet anything.
How long new businesses last
Under the BLS Business Employment Dynamics survival data, 79.6% of establishments opened in the year to March 2015 were still open a year later, 50.2% after five years and 34.7% after ten. For the cohort opened in the year to March 2024, 77.9% survived the first year. A profitable idea still faces roughly even odds of lasting five years.
How to choose
- Pick growing demand. Services with rising projected demand, such as web work, give you more room than shrinking ones.
- Price in platform fees first. Use real fee schedules, as in the Airbnb example, before you count on a margin.
- Check licensing and local rules before spending money, especially for rentals and mobile businesses.
- Keep fixed costs low for the first year, the period when about one in five new establishments closes.
