The best and worst tippers in America: Where each state ranks

Servers on the left coast are being left out. Newly released data show the two states that tip the least sit alongside the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the ones in the Ohio Valley have some of the best tippers, but not the best. They live a little further east.

By the numbers:

The First State is also first in tipping, at least relative to the price of the meal, a new Toast report finds. Delaware (22.1%) is the only state where tips amounted to more than 22% of the cost over the first three months of the year. The report was limited, though, because the payment service company only included customers who paid digitally on its platform. 

While several other states across the country broke the 20% barrier, the Ohio Valley proved very generous, as five states – Indiana (20.7%) , Kentucky (20.6%), Ohio (20.7%), Pennsylvania (20.2%), and West Virginia (21.0%) – landed in the top ten spots. 

The other side:

At the other end of the spectrum are California (17.3%) and Washington (17.8%). They were the only two states where tipping was below 18%, Toast found. The District of Columbia (17.5%) did split the pair, though, at the bottom of the list.

See how well each state tips

Dig deeper:

Toast went on to divide its results between full-service and quick-service restaurants and not surprisingly found that people would tip far more at the former than the latter. The nationwide average for tips at full-service restaurants was 19.3% in the first quarter of the year, while that number dropped to 15.8% at quick-service restaurants. 

When it comes to takeout, the percentage among those who do tip falls further to 13.7%, Toast noted.

How much to tip

There is no hard and fast rule about when to tip, and many people have grown frustrated by the number of times they are asked to leave one. However, Toast, which does work with restaurants, offers some advice, saying that a common guideline is 18-20% at full-service locations and 14-16% at quick-service spots.

Toast added that people tend to tip more at their regular haunts. Plus, the company cited a previous study of 1,500 adults who eat out at least twice a month. It found that more than three-quarters (77%) said they tip more at places they frequent. Nearly half (46%) tack on an additional 5-10% and more than a third (37%) add 10-15% more to the tip.

 

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