It’s been a few months since my first anniversary as a Dasher. Since then, I took on another part-time job and haven’t been dashing as much. With the new calendar year, I usually reflect and note lessons learned that might be helpful for future reference.
2024 Individual Stats*
The following statistics are pulled from about 1400 rows of data covering a full calendar year.
Based on my preferences and settings, the data includes alcohol and pizza deliveries but excludes “shop and deliver” (w/Red Card) and “cash on delivery”.
| Miles Driven | 23,165 |
| Deliveries | 2,185 |
| Gross Earnings | $21,185 |
| Base Pay | $9,208 |
| Tips | $11,571 |
| Deliveries with No Tips | 159 |
| Catering/Large Orders | 40 |
| Active Time | 765 hours |
| Dash Time | 1,416 hours |
| Earnings per Mile Driven | $0.91 |
| Average Earnings per Active Delivery Hour | $27.69 |
| Average Earnings per Hours Dashing | $14.96 |
| Average Earnings per Delivery | $9.70 |
| Dashing Per Offer | 60% |
| Dashing By Time | 40% |
| Average earnings per delivery (per offer) | $9.17 |
| Average earnings per delivery (by time) | $9.65 |
* rounded numbers
Trend Analysis Using Perplexity AI
Based on the data from November 9, 2023, through January 3, 2025, here are the updated trends over time:
Overall Performance Trends
- Earnings per delivery: There’s a gradual upward trend over time. Early entries show averages around $7-$8 per delivery, while later entries often exceed $10 per delivery.
- Earnings per mile: This metric shows improvement, with later entries frequently surpassing $1 per mile compared to earlier entries often below $0.70 per mile.
- Earnings per active hour: Remains relatively stable, typically ranging between $20-$30 per active hour. Occasional spikes occur, such as $42.33 per active hour on December 16, 2023.
- Earnings per dash hour: Shows consistent improvement. Early entries often show $10-$12 per dash hour, while later entries frequently exceed $15 per dash hour.
- Miles per delivery: Remains relatively consistent throughout the period, typically ranging from 10-20 miles per delivery.
Strategy and Efficiency Trends
- Payment method: There’s a noticeable shift towards the “by time” payment method in later entries, suggesting the dasher found this method more profitable over time.
- Scheduling: The dasher becomes more strategic with scheduling (or timing when and when not to dash), noting that certain time slots (e.g., 7-7:30 AM) are consistently less profitable. *Note* as a Top/Platinum Dasher, I could dash anytime without having to schedule. I rarely scheduled dashes unless I was testing whether or not it made a difference.
- Order selection: The dasher becomes more selective with orders, often declining low-paying or far-distance orders to maximize efficiency.
- Time management: There’s an increasing trend of using unscheduled “Dash Now” opportunities to supplement income, especially during typically busy periods.
- Customer knowledge: The dasher starts recognizing regular customers and their ordering patterns, which could lead to more efficient deliveries.
These trends suggest an overall improvement in efficiency and earnings over time, with the dasher adapting strategies based on experience and local patterns.
Contextual Notes
- Primary Delivery Area: FL: JAX Southside.
I live in Ponte Vedra (Nocatee) and mainly limit deliveries within 9 miles of my home. This is the southeast corner of the zone. My deliveries often exit the zone into the St. Augustine and JAX Beaches zones. - In my area around Ponte Vedra and Jacksonville, the Top Dasher program switched to the tiered rewards system (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) around the beginning of May 2024 and I maintained Top Dasher or Platinum status for most of the calendar year.
- Around September 2024, DoorDash introduced “zone exit bonuses” for deliveries sent outside the starting zone. This is currently only offered when dashing by time. It appears to be a pilot program still as I’ve seen it change from a flat $2 per delivery to now ranging between $1 and $3 depending on distance/depth into another zone.
- Many Dashers only dash per offer but I spent about 40% of my total dash hours dashing by time.
- DashLink was offered sometime during 2024. I have not tested this option. It doesn’t seem worth it based on my initial research and personal circumstances.
- Over the first year, I adjusted my strategy and approach as I became more comfortable and as I got a better sense of what was working well (and what wasn’t) in my area.