How Much Do You Tip?
The answer to that question may lie in what state you live in and how old you are. A poll presented in USA Today set out to determine who were the best and worst tippers in the country. And this is what they found—starting with the best...
American Average
Before we get into the best and worst tipping states, we should probably point out that the national average tip percentage is 17.94%.
10: Georgia
Maybe it's all those delicious peaches that make people so happy to tip a little more than most. The average patron in Georgia leaves a
Paul Brennan, Wikimedia Commons
9: Connecticut
In Connecticut, the average tip left is 19.14%.
8: Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is the 8th best tipping state in the country. Residents there tend to leave 19.64% on average.
Paul Vasiliades, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
7: Colorado
Maybe it's that fresh mountain air, but folks in Colorado leave 19.85% on average.
Isarra, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
6: Washington
One of only six states to average over 20%—Washington state residents leave an average tip of 20.23% on their bills.
Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
5: Rhode Island
It might be the smallest state in the union—but people there leave the 5th highest average tip: 20.50%.
Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
4: Arizona
Is warm weather good for tipping? Well, as you'll see, three of the top four best tipping
Melikamp, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
3: Florida
This one might seem surprising when we get to the age groups that are the best and worst tippers, but Florida comes in strong with 21.68%.
UrbanTallahassee, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
2: Missouri
Only one state leaves better tips than the 22.05% Missouri residents do. And that would be...
Stephen Edmonds, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
1: California
The third warm-weather state in the top four—Californians are the best tippers, leaving an average of 22.69% of their bill.
salewskia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Generations
Before we dive into the 10 worst-tipping states, let's see how things broke down by age group. What generation do you think has the best tippers? You may be surprised.
5: Silent Generation
Born between 1928 and 1945, these older Americans don't have the same attitude towards tipping as maybe the younger folks do. The Silent Generation tends to average 15.16% tips.
4: Generation X
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X isn't too far behind the others, but they are the second worst tippers, averaging 17.53%.
ANTONI SHKRABA production, Pexels
3: Generation Z
The Zoomers, as they are sometimes called, were born between 1997 to 2012—and when it comes to tipping, they average 17.88%.
2: Baby Boomers
Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964—and while they still fall just under the national average, they are the second-best tipping generation, at 17.92%.
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1: Millennials
Say what you will about Millennials. But what you can't say about these folks, born between 1981 and 1996, is that they are bad tippers. At
And now on to the 10 worst tipping states...
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10: Utah
Utah is home to the great Sundance Film Festival and to some not-so-great tippers who leave an average of 16.23% extra.
Invictus323, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
9: West Virginia
John Denver talked about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River, but didn't mention the bad tippers in West Virginia who only leave 16.16%.
Carol M. Highsmith, Wikimedia Commons
8: North Dakota
For comparison's sake—South Dakota comes in just above the national average at 17.95%, while their neighbors to the north are only tipping 16.05%.
Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
7: Wisconsin
Our first state below 16% is Wisconsin, which tips an average of 15.78%.
college.library, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
6: Oklahoma
It looks like people in "The Sooner State" would sooner not leave a great tip. The state average is 15.51%.
Lillie-Beth Brinkman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
5: Tennessee
They have some great music in the state, but when it comes to tippers. ..not so much. The average Tennessean tips
4: New Mexico
They might be 45th in population-density—but New Mexico is 4th when it comes to the worst tippers in America. We're talking 15.32%.
Debernardi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
3: South Carolina
North Carolina is also below the national average, but their 17.79% is still over 2% better than South Carolina, which sits at 15.13%.
Akhenaton06, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
2: Mississippi
Only two states average under 15% tipping—and one of those states is Mississippi at 14.98%. But they aren't the lowest. ..
CHUCK KELLY, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
1: Illinois
With an average tip of 14.22%, Illinois easily takes the top/bottom spot on this list.
Bert Kaufmann, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
More Than They Used To
Looking at the country as a whole, there are some other interesting things this survey discovered...
Like the fact that 15.15% of people are tipping "a lot more" than they used to. And 37.29% are tipping "a little more". Do the math and that's just over 52% of Americans who say they are tipping more than they used to these days.
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Less Than They Used To
Despite some financial belt-tightening, only 2.53% of Americans say they are tipping "a lot less" than they used to—and only 7.52% answered "a little less". And if you're curious: 37.5% answered "the same amount".
How does income play into these numbers you ask? That's a great question...
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Less Than $30,000
The numbers show that people whose annual income is under $30,000 tip the least—15.04%.
$31,000 To $60,000
Folks who fall into the $31,000 to $60,000 yearly income range are tipping an average of 16.32%.
$61,000 To $90,000
It's once we hit the $61,000 to $90,000 range that we find ourselves above the national average—coming in at 18.45%.
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$91,000 To $120,000
Those making around $100,000 are tipping at an average rate of 19.16%.
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$120,000+
It would seem to make sense that the people with the most money are also leaving the biggest tips—and that is what appears to be happening as the $120,000+ crowd are tipping an average of 20.66%.
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