California has the worst tippers in the US. People blame high taxes and costly dining

Some Californians claim that everything is already so expensive no one can afford to tip extra | Representative Image

New Delhi: Californians are the lowest tippers in America, found a new survey that looked at tipping habits across the country’s 50 states.

The study, conducted by restaurant technology company Toast, found that the average restaurant tip across the US in 2026 was around 18.8 per cent across all types of dining setups. But in California, the average tip was about 17.1 per cent per transaction. This rose to 17.6 per cent for sit-down restaurants but fell to 14.8 per cent for counter-service restaurants.

Delaware had the highest overall average tip at 22.1 per cent. Its average was 22.5 per cent at full-service restaurants (FSR) and 18.8 per cent at quick-service restaurants (QSR). Washington ranked third-to-last in the list with an overall average tip of 17.6 per cent.

Tipping expert William Michael Lynn, who has studied tipping behavior for more than 40 years and is a professor emeritus of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University, told the California Post in August that anti-tipping sentiment is growing across the country.

“People’s attitudes towards tipping have gotten worse. They’ve started to dislike it more and more,” Lynn told California Post.

Tipping habits have remained relatively steady over the past two years. Full-service restaurants averaged tips of 19.3 per cent, while quick-service restaurants averaged 15.8 per cent.

Takeout orders had the lowest average tip, at 13.7 per cent. This may reflect the fact that customers tend to tip less when there is little or no personal interaction or table service.

The figures are based on aggregated card and digital tipping transactions from restaurants using Toast’s platform and do not include cash tips. The company serves roughly 180,000 restaurant locations as of June 30, 2026, and updates its data every quarter.

Why no tip?

Once the study’s findings made their way into the news, people began trying to explain why California was becoming worse at tipping. The reasons were mostly high taxes and costly dining.

“Everything is already so expensive that no one can afford to tip extra. Not to mention food workers are making more than a lot of other jobs offered in the state”, said a user on Instagram.

“Restaurants in CA have been adding service charges, on top of the prices needed to support the mandated $20 HR minimum wage in CA,” added another user.