Why St. Louis Truck Owners Are Picking Up Hauling as a Side Hustle

By Joel McRae  |  Updated: August 2026

Two LoadUp Loaders removing a flat screen TV from a living room

St. Louis is a city with old homes, a lot of renters, and people constantly moving between the city and its suburbs. More than half of households in the city are renter-occupied, and the older neighborhoods in South City, Soulard, and The Grove turn over regularly. On top of that, families keep moving out to O’Fallon, Wentzville, and St. Charles County, leaving stuff behind on both ends of the move. There’s steady hauling work here, and right now there aren’t enough local Loaders on the LoadUp platform to handle it.

If you’ve got a truck, trailer, or cargo van and want to find junk hauling jobs in St. Louis without building a customer base from scratch, here’s how LoadUp works.

How LoadUp junk removal jobs in St. Louis work

Most gig platforms make you compete for work, either by bidding on jobs, chasing leads, or building your own customer base from nothing. LoadUp doesn’t work that way. Customers book and pay for jobs through the platform before you ever see them. By the time a job shows up in your app, the price is already set.

You browse what’s available nearby, check the details, and take what works for your day. Each listing shows you what’s being hauled, where the job is, and the exact payout before you commit. A basement cleanout in South City, a furniture haul in Kirkwood, an estate pickup in Webster Groves. No negotiating, no surprises.

LoadUp has paid out more than $62 million to Loaders across 724,000 completed jobs. Hauling jobs in St. Louis are one of the reasons we’re actively recruiting here. Estate cleanout and property turnover demand is running ahead of the Loaders available to fill it.

How much do junk haulers make in Missouri?

Loaders working five to seven jobs a week in St. Louis are often bringing in $2,000 or more. The city’s older housing stock creates a steady base of estate and property cleanout work that most markets don’t have. Brick bungalows and two-family flats across South City, Maplewood, and Webster Groves have been in the same families for decades. When they come to market, the basements and garages are always full. Those jobs pay well and show up every month.

On average, individual orders run between $55 and $200 depending on the size of the job. Smaller pickups can wrap up in under an hour. Full basement cleanouts and estate hauls sit at the higher end, and larger property cleanouts can easily reach several hundred dollars or more.

Ready to start earning in St. Louis? Become a Loader ❯

What types of hauling jobs are available in St. Louis?

Estate cleanouts and property hauls from the city’s older housing stock are the backbone of the work here. But the job mix is broader than that. Apartment move-outs in renter-heavy neighborhoods like Tower Grove, The Grove, and the Central West End keep smaller jobs steady. Washington University’s spring semester end brings a wave of student move-outs in Clayton and the Delmar Loop area. Families moving into new builds in O’Fallon, Wentzville, and Dardenne Prairie often need furniture assembly help when they get there.

You can also pick up furniture assembly jobs for customers getting settled, hourly labor gigs, and e-commerce delivery swaps through LoadUp’s retail partnerships. Those tend to go to Loaders with box trucks or larger setups.

Who this works well for

Junk hauling isn’t for everyone. The work is physical, the jobs are independent, and you need to show up reliably. But if you’re already in the trades, doing landscaping, running deliveries, or just between jobs with a truck sitting in your driveway, it’s a natural fit.

The people who do well on LoadUp in a market like St. Louis are usually the ones who are already used to working on their own. They don’t need a manager to tell them how to load a truck or handle a customer. They want to know the pay is fair, the platform works, and they can count on getting paid. That’s what LoadUp offers.

If you do handyman or assembly work, you can add furniture assembly and hourly labor jobs to the mix, which adds variety and keeps the schedule full. Loaders with box trucks or larger vehicles generally qualify for a wider range of jobs and higher-paying orders.

St. Louis traffic is generally manageable, but I-64 and I-70 both slow down during rush hour. If you’re working city and suburban jobs on the same day, plan your route so you’re not crossing the metro twice. Work South Side and South County one day, St. Charles County the next. You’ll get more done.

How to apply for junk hauling jobs in St. Louis

If you’ve got a truck and you’re already doing physical work in the St. Louis area, you likely have most of what’s required:

  • A pickup truck, cargo van, box truck, or trailer in good working condition
  • A valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance
  • A smartphone to run the LoadUp Driver App
  • A clean background check

No CDL. No prior experience in junk removal needed.

Apply online, pass your background check, and set your service radius once you’re approved. Every job needs two people, so make sure you have a helper ready before you apply.

Check the full Loader requirements before you start. Based in St. Charles County, Jefferson County, or across the river in Illinois? The LoadUp Missouri locations page can confirm coverage in your area.

Apply now and start earning Become a Loader ❯

Frequently Asked Questions

Most jobs pay between $55 and $200 per order. Estate hauls and full property cleanouts can go well beyond that. With LoadUp, you always see the exact payout before you accept a job, so you can only take jobs that are worth your time.

Yes. Estate cleanouts and property turnovers from the city's older housing stock keep jobs coming every month regardless of season. Apartment move-outs and student turnover add extra volume each spring.

LoadUp serves St. Louis city and county, including neighborhoods across South City, the Central West End, and North County, as well as suburban markets in St. Charles County and Jefferson County. You set your own service radius in the app.

Yes. Every job needs two people, a primary Loader and a registered helper. Have someone lined up before you apply.

Yes. You set your own schedule and choose which jobs to take. Most Loaders use it to fill open days between other work, not replace their main income.

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