MEET THE USA’S TOP 10 HIGHEST-EARNING YOUTUBERS OF 2025
YouTube has transformed dramatically since its debut, now serving as a lucrative platform where digital creators can forge full-fledged careers. By 2025, American YouTubers have reached new heights in earnings, leveraging creative content, consistent audience engagement, and diversified income streams to achieve multi-million dollar revenues. Today, income on YouTube is not limited to ad revenue; creators regularly build their brands through merchandise, sponsorships, memberships, and even the use of emerging technologies like AR and VR. If you’re aiming to succeed as a creator, understanding how today’s top earners thrive can help shape your strategy for the evolving landscape of digital entertainment. This comprehensive overview explores the highest-earning YouTubers in the USA for 2025, focusing on their unique niches, revenue models, and the strategies driving their remarkable success.
Determining YouTube earnings has become more intricate as methods of monetization continue to expand. The top creators now rely on an array of income sources: ad revenue, sponsored content, merchandise lines, exclusive memberships, affiliate sales, and increasingly, partnerships with major brands. In 2025, exclusive videos, live streams, and YouTube Shorts are proving crucial for those seeking greater reach and engagement. Accurate earnings are estimated using data from trusted industry reports, creator disclosures, and in-depth market analyses. Together, these methods provide a detailed look at which creators are setting the benchmark for YouTube income in 2025 and how you might adopt similar strategies.
HOW THE BIGGEST YOUTUBERS IN AMERICA MAKE THEIR MONEY
The mechanics of YouTube income have shifted significantly over recent years. Many of the highest-earning YouTubers now diversify their revenue using:
- Google AdSense for video ads
- Brand collaborations and exclusive sponsorships
- Sales of merchandise and branded products
- Channel memberships and super chats during live streams
- Affiliate marketing and product placement
Short-form content like YouTube Shorts, as well as experiments with VR and AR, are also contributing greatly to creator growth. These varied income sources help reduce risk and maximize overall earnings for the most successful channels.
PROFILE HIGHLIGHTS: USA’S TOP 10 HIGHEST-EARNING YOUTUBERS OF 2025
10. Preston Arsement (PrestonPlayz) – ≈ $16 million
A steady cadence of kid-safe Minecraft videos, private game servers and branded plushies keeps Preston comfortably inside the creator elite, even without mainstream headlines.
He initially focused on making Call of Duty gameplay videos, but he rose to stardom with his creative Minecraft videos. He now plays Roblox and Fortnite too, and he also does collaboration videos with other gamer Youtubers within the likes of Vikkstar123 and Lachlan.
9. Logan Paul – ≈ $21 million
YouTube vlogs are now mostly highlight reels for WWE cameos, the Impaulsive podcast and PRIME drink launches, but the channel’s 23 million subs still fuel eight-figure reach.
Along with his brother, Jake Paul, the pair used to be a huge hit at Vine with their comedy sketches. Before Vine was shut down forever, the duo have successfully transitioned to making videos on YouTube which catapulted them to popularity with a massive following.
8. Dude Perfect – ≈ $22 million
Arena tours, Nerf-licensed toys and a newly opened $5 million Texas headquarters show how the trick-shot quintet is transforming from YouTube channel to sports-entertainment franchise.
Their first viral video was uploaded on YouTube on April 9, 2009 which was just a video of the group at Tyler Toney’s house while performing tricks. This video launched them to instant fame as within a week, it has already garnered over 200,000 views and was even featured on Good Morning America. From then on, it’s been nothing but up for the group.
7. Unspeakable – ≈ $28.5 million
Nathan Graham’s high-energy Minecraft antics feed a plush-and-slime merch empire, while a lucrative Spotter back-catalog deal gave his 2025 earnings a one-time jolt.
The channel’s first video was uploaded in October 2012, but it rose in popularity on October 2016 with the video “How Much TNT Does It Take to Blow Up This House!?”. The popularity he earned here paved way to multiple collaborations with the likes of PrestonPlayz, John Travolta, and many more.
6. Markiplier – ≈ $32 million
Mark Fischbach’s interactive film projects (In Space with Markiplier), charity live-streams and limited-edition apparel drops help a 37-million-subscriber gaming channel morph into a full-fledged studio.
Fun Fact: Fischbach first registered his YouTube account with name Markiplier just to do comedy sketches. The name is a mix of Mark and multiplier, as his first goal was to portray multiple characters in his comedy sketches.
5. Ryan Kaji – ≈ $35 million
Now twelve, Ryan fronts STEM toys in Walmart, educational books and an upcoming animated series, proving that family-friendly IP can outlast the kindergarten years.
Since his rise to fame in 2015, Ryan Kaji has had multiple franchises and even his own Nickelodeon show “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate” which is one of the highest rated TV show for kids ages 2 to 5 years old. It even earned an Emmy nomination!
4. Rhett & Link – ≈ $36 million
Good Mythical Morning still uploads five days a week, but subscription fan club Mythical Society, Mythical Kitchen spinoffs, and a growing snack line keep revenue climbing.
They have their own production company, Mythical Entertainment, that offers much more content including the Mythical Kitchen, Good Mythical Evening, Mythical Show, and a number of podcasts centered on different topics weekly.
3. Jake Paul – ≈ $50 million
The boxer-vlogger’s Netflix pay-per-view with Mike Tyson and his equity in PRIME Hydration dwarf Adsense payouts, but YouTube remains the marketing hub that drives every sale.
He rose to stardom with his brother but individually, his popularity skyrocketed due to a rap music video that he uploaded on May 30, 2017. Fun fact: He also took acting and improv classes in 2015 which later on helped him bag the role of “Dirk” in the Disney show “Bizaardvark”.
2. Dhar Mann – ≈ $56 million
Filming four-minute morality plays inside his own Los Angeles sound-stage complex, Dhar Mann pairs Adsense views with branded “Dhar Mann Studios” merch and a touring fan-expo series, pushing his take to the mid-50-million range.
Aside from creating videos with moral lessons on YouTube, Dhar Mann has also found multiple businesses including Dhar Mann Studios and LiveGlam, a cosmetics subscription company.
MrBeast: AMERICA’S HIGHEST-EARNING YOUTUBER OF 2025
Jimmy Donaldson’s empire now spans five language-dubbed channels, Amazon Prime’s Beast Games, and a booming Feastables snack line. Brand integrations regularly top seven figures, letting him bankroll ever-larger stunts while still giving millions to charity.
FunFact: Not only is he the highest earning YouTuber of 2025, he also holds a Guinness World Record! That’s right, he also holds the Guinness World Record for most trees planted in a single day. It was a collective effort brought by his #teamtrees where people can either donate money or plant trees themselves. The goal was to plant 20,000,000 trees but they were able to plant 24,396,136 trees which is way beyond the goal.
THE FUTURE OF EARNING ON YOUTUBE
As 2025 progresses, you can expect YouTube to continue evolving, with short-form videos, live streams, and new technological integrations shaping what it means to be a successful creator. Strategic brand partnerships, exclusive content, and adapting to platform algorithm changes will play a crucial role in maximizing income. The top earners exemplify the advantage of consistent engagement, creative content, and leveraging multiple monetization avenues. If you’re considering building your own YouTube channel, it pays to study how these leading YouTubers sustain and grow their digital businesses.
- Diversify early. Every name above layers ads with physical products, live events or equity deals to smooth algorithm swings.
- Think global. MrBeast’s Spanish- and Hindi-dubbed channels show that high-quality localization can 3-5× ad revenue.
- Own your IP. Whether it’s Ryan’s toy line or Dhar Mann’s studio app, direct-to-fan products protect margins when CPMs dip.
- Shorts & live streams matter. Real-time Super-Chat money and Shorts’ fresh revenue-share model are now baseline income streams, not experiments.
Study how these ten juggle authenticity with business acumen, and you’ll have a clearer roadmap for turning watch-time into long-term wealth on YouTube’s ever-evolving stage. By combining authenticity, versatility, and innovation, you can carve out your path toward YouTube success.
