Lagos Life gives you six ways to make money and one way to lose it all. The trick is doing them in the right order. A new account cannot buy an Event Centre, and a rich account is wasting its time carrying load at Balogun.
Here is the whole map, cheapest to start first.
1. Your job (the foundation)
A job is the only income that grows with time. Every career has five ranks; each rank has three grades, and promotions come from performance, shifts worked, your career skill and (higher up) your Lagos Rep. Starting pay ranges from β¦6,600 to β¦21,000 a shift; top-rank pay goes as high as β¦99,000.
| Career | Key skill | Starting pay | Top rank pay | Shift days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music | β¦7,400 | β¦99,000 | WedβSun |
| Oil & Gas | Fitness | β¦20,000 | β¦96,000 | MonβFri |
| Aviation | Fitness | β¦19,000 | β¦95,000 | Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun |
| DJ | Music | β¦8,300 | β¦93,000 | ThuβSun |
| Product Management | Charisma | β¦20,000 | β¦92,000 | MonβFri |
| Content Creator | Charisma | β¦6,600 | β¦90,000 | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun |
| Medicine | Fitness | β¦21,000 | β¦90,000 | Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat |
| Real Estate | Charisma | β¦18,000 | β¦88,000 | MonβSat |
| Refining | Hustle | β¦14,000 | β¦88,000 | Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat |
| Broadcasting | Comedy | β¦18,000 | β¦84,000 | MonβSat |
Two things matter more than the headline pay:
- Which days you work. Music and DJ shifts run at night and include Sunday; Banking is a classic MondayβFriday. Count your shifts per week before you pick.
- Which skill pushes promotions. Pick a career whose skill you are already training. A Tech Bro in Banking is fighting their own traits.
Full details in careers and promotions.
2. Side gigs (cash between shifts)
Gigs are short activities that pay on the spot. Many scale with a skill, so the same 90 minutes pays several times more once you level up. This table shows every money-paying gig in the game at skill 0, 5 and 10:
| Gig | Where | Needs | Pay at skill 0 | at 5 | at 10 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πΌ Host a Piano Recital | Home: Grand Piano | Needs Music 5 | β¦7,500 | β¦37,500 | β¦67,500 | 1h 30m |
| π· Paid Beach Photoshoot | Elegushi Beach | Needs Photography 4 | β¦3,750 | β¦12,500 | β¦21,250 | 1h 30m |
| πΈ Freelance Gig | Home: Laptop Desk | Needs Coding 2 | β¦1,500 | β¦8,500 | β¦15,500 | 3h |
| π Write a Banger | Home: Acoustic Guitar | Needs Music 3 | β¦2,000 | β¦8,250 | β¦14,500 | 2h |
| ποΈ Perform at Comedy Night | Freedom Park | Needs Comedy 3 | β¦1,500 | β¦7,750 | β¦14,000 | 1h |
| π° Paid Skit for a Brand | Home: Ring Light & Phone Stand | Needs Comedy 3 | β¦1,750 | β¦7,375 | β¦13,000 | 1h 30m |
| π¦ Buy & Resell Goods | Balogun Market | β | β¦2,327 | β¦6,704 | β¦12,595 | 2h |
| πΌοΈ Edit & Sell Photos | Home: DSLR Camera & Tripod | Needs Photography 3 | β¦1,250 | β¦6,500 | β¦11,750 | 1h 30m |
| π€ Open Mic Performance | New Afrika Shrine | Needs Music 2 | β¦1,000 | β¦6,500 | β¦12,000 | 45 min |
| π₯ Enter the Dance Battle | Quilox | Needs Dance 3 | β¦750 | β¦6,375 | β¦12,000 | 45 min |
| π€πΎ Help at the Legal Aid Desk | Lagos High Court | Needs Charisma 3 | β¦1,250 | β¦5,625 | β¦10,000 | 1h |
| π§Ύ Freelance Gig | CcHub | Needs Coding 2 | β¦1,000 | β¦4,750 | β¦8,500 | 2h |
| ποΈ Run Instagram Shop | Home: Laptop Desk | β | β¦400 | β¦3,900 | β¦7,400 | 1h 30m |
| π¬ WhatsApp Hustle | β | β¦250 | β¦2,500 | β¦4,750 | 1h | |
| π§Ί Carry Load (Alabaru) | Balogun Market | β | β¦2,250 | β¦2,250 | β¦2,250 | 2h |
| π Report a Crime | Eko Police Division, Garki Police Division | β | β¦2,000 | β¦2,000 | β¦2,000 | 30 min |
| πΈ Shoot Matric & Convocation Photos | University of Lagos | Needs Photography 2 | β¦500 | β¦2,000 | β¦3,500 | 1h |
| π¨πΎβπ« Tutor 100L Students | University of Lagos | For 300L students and up (or graduates) | β¦600 | β¦1,850 | β¦3,100 | 1h |
| π½οΈ Help at the Buka | Amala Shitta | β | β¦1,750 | β¦1,750 | β¦1,750 | 1h 30m |
| βοΈ Barb & Braid in the Hall | University of Lagos | β | β¦350 | β¦1,200 | β¦2,050 | 1h |
| π© Fry Puff-puff to Sell | University of Lagos | β | β¦250 | β¦1,150 | β¦2,050 | 1h |
| β¨οΈ Type Coursemates' Assignments | University of Lagos | β | β¦300 | β¦1,050 | β¦1,800 | 1h |
| π± Sell Recharge Cards & Data | University of Lagos | β | β¦200 | β¦1,000 | β¦1,800 | 1h |
| π½οΈ Help Mama B Serve | University of Lagos | β | β¦650 | β¦650 | β¦650 | 1h 30m |
How to use this table:
- Skill-free gigs (Help at the Buka, Carry Load, Report a Crime, campus hustles) are for your first days.
- Home gigs need a furniture item. The β¦18,000 laptop unlocks Freelance Gig and Run Instagram Shop; a guitar unlocks Write a Banger; a ring light unlocks Paid Skit for a Brand; a camera unlocks Edit & Sell Photos.
- Venue gigs with a skill gate pay the most per minute: Paid Beach Photoshoot at Elegushi (Photography 4), Comedy Night at Freedom Park (Comedy 3), Open Mic at the Afrika Shrine (Music 2) and the Dance Battle at Quilox (Dance 3, β¦500 entry).
After a gig the same spot needs a cooldown before you can repeat it. Players measure roughly 20 real minutes, so plan a loop: Freelance at home, Buka in Surulere, Balogun on the Island, back home.
3. CcHub: the pitch that made early millionaires
At CcHub in Yaba, Pitch Your Startup on the event stage becomes available at Coding 5 and Charisma 3. It does not pay a fixed amount: investors write cheques, and the size depends on your skills and luck. Players report cheques from about β¦100,000 up to around β¦1,000,000. That single activity is why so many players became rich in launch week.
Getting there takes a few days of Hack on Side Project (Coding Γ1.6, free) and Gist with Founders or the Spoken Word open mic at Freedom Park for Charisma. The CcHub guide has the full route.
4. Businesses (money while you sleep)
Phone β Invest sells businesses that pay out every evening, whether you log in or not. Each has a small chance of a bad day where it loses money instead. Here is the expected profit after costs and bad days:
| Business | Price | Daily income range | Running cost/day | Expected profit/day | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| πΆ Recharge & Data Kiosk | β¦150k | β¦2,500 β β¦5,000 | β¦1,800 | β¦1,555 | 97 days |
| π₯€ Zobo & Chapman Stand | β¦300k | β¦5,000 β β¦9,000 | β¦3,200 | β¦3,070 | 98 days |
| π§ POS Stand | β¦500k | β¦5,000 β β¦11,500 | β¦2,000 | β¦5,175 | 97 days |
| π Buka (Mama Put) | β¦2.5M | β¦30,000 β β¦61,000 | β¦18,000 | β¦22,800 | 110 days |
| π Barbing Salon | β¦6M | β¦66,000 β β¦133,000 | β¦40,000 | β¦51,340 | 117 days |
| 𧽠Car Wash | β¦15M | β¦167,000 β β¦309,000 | β¦105,000 | β¦114,760 | 131 days |
| πͺ Event Centre | β¦60M | β¦585,000 β β¦1,171,000 | β¦430,000 | β¦371,200 | 162 days |
| πͺ© Quilox Share (5%) | β¦250M | β¦1,795,000 β β¦3,585,000 | β¦1,150,000 | β¦1,328,800 | 189 days |
| π Mack Haulage Trailer | β¦18M | β¦117,000 β β¦209,000 | β¦30,000 | β¦114,760 | 157 days |
The cheap ones (Kiosk, Zobo, POS) take about two to three months of game time to pay back. That sounds slow, but they cost nothing to run once bought and they keep paying long after. Stack them early. The business guide shows when to jump to the Buka and the Barbing Salon.
Watch the weekly economy news on your phone too. Owambe Season pushes Event Centre income up 25% and Buka income up 20%; Fuel Scarcity cuts haulage to 70%.
5. Land (store of value, not income)
Land does not pay you anything until you sell it. It grows every week and compounds:
| Plot | Price | Weekly growth | Omo-onile risk | Break-even | Value after 12 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| π± Imota, Ikorodu | β¦250k | 2.5% | 40% | 3 wks | β¦336k |
| π΄ Ikorodu | β¦1.5M | 2.5% | 35% | 3 wks | β¦2.02M |
| π³ Epe | β¦2.5M | 3.75% | 30% | 2 wks | β¦3.89M |
| ποΈ Ibeju-Lekki | β¦4M | 5% | 20% | 2 wks | β¦7.18M |
| ποΈ Lekki Phase 2 | β¦15M | 3.13% | 5% | 2 wks | β¦21.7M |
| ποΈ Banana Island | β¦150M | 1.88% | 0% | 3 wks | β¦187M |
Cheap plots grow fastest, but they also carry the highest omo-onile risk (the local land grabbers who demand a fee). Selling costs 5%, so short flips lose money. Treat land as where spare cash goes once your businesses are running.
6. Rentals and player services
Once you own extra homes, you can rent them out to other players for a weekly rent you set within a band. Separately, other players hire people through the Hustle app and chat: decorators, cooks, DJs, drivers, bodyguards, photographers and tutors all get paid by other players. Good decorators charge serious money; the decor guide explains how to get started.
What about crime?
Crime exists and it pays sometimes, but look at the catch rates:
| Crime | Where | Loot | Caught | Fine | Cell time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| π¨ Spray Graffiti on the Wallminor | Freedom Park | Just fun | 30% | β¦20,000 | 20 min |
| π₯·πΎ Sneak into the VIP Sectionminor | Quilox | Just fun | 40% | β¦40,000 | 25 min |
| π Pickpocket a Traderpetty | Balogun Market | β¦3,000 β β¦15,000 | 45% | β¦60,000 | 30 min |
| π Shoplift at the Supermarketpetty | The Palms | β¦8,000 β β¦30,000 | 50% | β¦150,000 | 35 min |
| π₯ Fight the Agberoserious | Oga Sunday Viewing Centre | Just fun | 35% | β¦250,000 | 40 min |
| π Sell Fake Designer Bagsserious | Balogun Market | β¦30,000 β β¦120,000 | 40% | β¦600,000 | 45 min |
| π» Hack an ATMmajor | CcHub | β¦1,000,000 β β¦5,000,000 | 70% | β¦20,000,000 | 1h |
Hacking an ATM pays β¦1Mββ¦5M but you are caught 70% of the time, and the β¦20M fine is far bigger than the average win. Pickpocketing and shoplifting are small and still risky. A police record also raises the odds that EFCC opens a file on your money later. Read staying out of jail and EFCC before you try anything.
A simple plan by stage
| Stage | Cash on hand | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1β3 | Under β¦100k | Job + Buka + Balogun + Report a Crime. Buy a laptop. |
| Week 1 | β¦100kββ¦500k | Freelance and Instagram shop at home. Kiosk, then POS Stand. |
| Week 2β3 | β¦500kββ¦3M | Train Coding to 5 and Charisma to 3, start pitching. Buy the Buka. |
| Month 1+ | β¦5M+ | Barbing Salon, Car Wash, a haulage trailer. Start buying land. |
| Late game | β¦60M+ | Event Centre, Quilox share, rentals. Watch the EFCC thresholds. |
Mistakes that keep players broke
- Upgrading home or car before income is steady. Lekki rent is nearly three times Yaba's.
- Betting at the Viewing Centre or spinning slots. They pay back less than you put in.
- Buying land with your last naira. You cannot eat land.
- Accepting "investment" offers from strangers in chat. If it pays 5Γ in an hour, it is a scam.
Questions players ask
Numbers come from the live game build and may change after updates.