How Do Your Tipping Habits Compare to the Average American?

Tipping has become one of the most confusing and frustrating parts of eating out in America. With all types of restaurants, from fast food to fine dining, now featuring digital kiosks and seemingly every business asking for a 25% tip, the entire process can be overwhelming. And stretching your restaurant budget means devising an effective tipping strategy.

But where should you start? Many people want to know how their tipping habits compare to the rest of the country. Toast, a leading restaurant point-of-sale platform, has compiled data from restaurants on the platform where a tip was added to the order via a card or digital payment.

Here's how much most Americans tip, as compiled by Toast.

The average tip percentage for diners at full-service restaurants was 19.4% in Q1 of 2025, a slight uptick from the 19.3% recorded in Q4 of 2024. This aligns with the data from the past few years, and there has been little to no change in the trend since the pandemic high of 19.9% in 2020.

The tip percentage is slightly lower at quick-serve and fast food restaurants, with an average of 15.8% in Q1 of 2025, the same as in Q4 2024.

This reflects a similar trend in the industry, where customers are less inclined to tip the staff at these establishments. As quick-service restaurants have become more commonplace, tipping has grown along with them.

While it's optional, many places encourage tipping as a way to give workers an additional boost to what are usually relatively modest wages.

Delaware leads the nation in total tip percentage, at a whopping 22.1%, which is well above the national average and an increase from Q4 of 2024, when the average tipping percentage was 21.9%. The First State is also well above the traditional 20% tip.

Which state tips the worst? California has the lowest total tip percentage at 17.3%, which is well below the national average but the same for the state in Q3 and Q4 of 2024.

This may not be surprising considering the Golden State's policies towards minimum wage. The state has set the minimum wage at $16.50 per hour for all workers, excluding tips.

This means that people in the service industry can make additional wages via tips on top of the state-mandated hourly salary. So, diners may be less likely to offer up a significant gratuity.

Broadly speaking, Americans fall into three categories:

• Tipping 20% or above puts you in the top tier nationally.
• Tipping 15–18% places you squarely in the "average American" range.
• Below 15%? You fall into the lower half of tippers, often below your state's average.

Take a look at your own tipping habits and see where you stand. If you're right in line with the national average, you're in a solid spot. If you're well below that percentage, think about why that might be.

Whether it's your stance on tipping or what you perceive as poor service that is not worthy of a high tip, there are many factors that contribute to how much you should tip.

According to the Toast data, along with common tipping etiquette in America, you can broadly tip like this, depending on the type of service:

• Full‑service restaurant: 18–20%, more for exceptional service.
• Quick‑service restaurant: 10–15% if a tip prompt is present.
• Delivery drivers: $3–$5 minimum or 15–20% of the order.
• Baristas/takeout staff: $1–$2 per drink ordered.

"Tip Creep," also known as "Tipflation," has increased the amount of tips Americans are expected to give while purchasing food from restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores.

The widespread presence of digital kiosks has created more opportunities for businesses to solicit tips. This has caused a "tip fatigue" to set in among Americans, who are starting to tip less. This is reflected in the data, which shows the national average is below the customary 20% tip.

Beyond just restaurants, now coffee shops, grocery self-checkouts, food trucks, salons, barber shops, and essentially any type of service that has a digital checkout.

While real wage growth has become stagnant and inflation has devalued the dollar considerably in the past decade, tips have tried to fill the gap for service workers.

You should always try to give a tip, especially for good service. This is because most states have very low minimum wages and expect that tips will cover the difference for workers. Without tipping, most workers in the service industry would not make nearly enough to make ends meet.

While there has been a lot of fuss made over the tipping culture in America recently, most people still tip around 20% at full-service restaurants, in line with traditional gratuity etiquette.

So, you don't have to feel bad if you're not tipping too far above that. Leaving large tips all the time is a surprising financial mistake that many people make. As long as you're within that 20%, you'll be in line with the average American.

While tip fatigue is indeed a real thing, diners are still the most generous when it counts, particularly in states with lower minimum wage. If you were wondering, it turns out Sunday is the best day for tips for servers. However, there's plenty of weekend generosity, whether it's brunch or a late meal on Saturday night.