These Are The US States With The Best (And The Worst) Restaurant Tippers

Tipping has a strange history that may be traced back to medieval Europe. However, in the United States the practice has become much more expected, at much higher rates, than it is in most of the rest of the world. A lot of this is due to servers' wages being lower, requiring customers to pick up the slack that employers won't. But this culture is starting to fracture. More people have begun to question tipping at restaurants. At the same time, higher percentages are becoming the norm. When it comes to the biggest extremes in tipping, Delaware and California have the top and bottom rates in the nation respectively.

This data comes from the platform Toast and was calculated based on tips applied during non-cash digital transactions in Q1 of 2024, covering both full service and quick service restaurants. Delaware ranked as the state with the best tippers, at a generous average of 22.1%. All the way across the country, servers in California got the smallest tips, averaging 17.9%. Notably, the Golden State was actually much closer to the nationwide average of 18.9%. No other state even topped a 21% average tip. However, there is a big asterisk here because some states with the lowest tips have much higher tipped minimum wages.

The rules surrounding compensation are part of why the dynamics of tipping at restaurants are so fraught in America. By law, businesses whose employees rely on tips can pay a lower minimum wage, with the national rate at $2.13 per hour. (If the resulting income falls below the national minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, employers can seek credits to cover the difference.) Many states set higher rates, and some have done away with tipped minimum wages altogether. This undoubtedly influences the amount Americans want to tip. When people know employees are making better wages, they feel less pressure to give larger amounts. Toast even found that after Washington D.C. implemented a mandatory base wage for tipped employees, tipping immediately dropped.

California may have lower average tips, but its minimum wage for restaurant workers is the second highest in the country. It's one of seven states that has eliminated the tipped minimum completely. California's normal minimum wage is $16 an hour, behind only Washington state's $16.66. By contrast the more "generous" Delaware has a tipped minimum wage of only $2.23. There are protections in Delaware to make sure restaurant employees make at least the state minimum wage of $15 an hour, but only if their tips are not sufficient to get it there alone. Confused yet? You should be because this byzantine system no doubt generates frustration.