Americans and Tipping in 2024

Perhaps to no great shock, given those aforementioned global economic events, tipping culture has seen a marginal decline in 2023 when compared to the years prior, according to 1 report. As personal budgets constrict, it’s only natural that these discretionary, supplementary additions to a bill are the first areas to feel a knock-on effect.

The greatest fall comes in an area where tipping is often an expectation rather than a luxury — servers at sit-down restaurants. Figures suggest a drop from 75% (2021) and 73% (2022) to just 65% of patrons tipping their waiters in 2023. It’s these kinds of roles that often see workers paid lower rates, so the downturn in tipping rates could have a significant impact heading forward when it comes to staff turnover.

As many as 17% of Americans are believed to be tipping less when asked to do so at checkout or when paying. This peaceful protest comes as 54% say they feel more pressured to tip when faced with the option on a tablet or iPad. “Tipflation” may begin to level out if this pushback continues on the part of the American public.

True to form, older generations tend to have more disposable income to hand out. As many as 96% of diners and 84% of those served in a bar or pub will tip if they are 65 or older. They’re also the most likely to give money to hotel staff, with as many as 64% saying they would hand over a cash tip for any help received during their stay.

Ultimately, a tip is something that is given for service rendered. As such, it’s probably not a huge surprise that good service is still the primary motivation for tipping. 56% of Americans said this was the driving factor for them. Despite representing over half of respondents, those from the U.S. actually ranked lowest in this category. Danish tippers were top, with 71% of people from the Scandinavian nation saying this was their primary reason for handing over extra money.

A lot of Americans also seem to have a sense of duty to support service workers. A healthy 24% of those asked said that they tip to help staff who aren’t being paid as much as they should be. This represented the highest response in the category for any country, with Italy and France coming in at a close second, with 23%.

While tipping rates are high for dine-in restaurants and delivery services, the same cannot be said of coffee shops and takeout where you have to collect the food yourself. Only 31% of people think it’s necessary to tip someone in a coffee shop, while even less (21%) would give a tip when traveling to pick up food they’ve ordered.

While a lot of professions that offer an intricate service tend to do well when it comes to their tips, housekeepers at hotels are not so lucky. Just 41.4% of guests say that they leave anything behind for the people who tidy up their rooms. This is largely owing to the disconnect between these members of staff and their customers. It’s rare that you cross paths with a housekeeper as a hotel guest, leaving most feeling less obliged to offer them a tip.

Surprisingly, as many as 12% of Americans feel they aren’t being asked to tip enough. More understandably, it’s those who’ve held a job in the past that involved tips who feel that we need to tip more. As many as 19% of those who fell into the category had this belief, while just 8% of those who’ve never worked tipping jobs felt the same way.

The U.S. stood out as an anomaly when it came to its top tipping percentage, with Denmark the next most likely to tip at 20%, with just 3% of respondents saying they would. In fact, while as many as 59% of Americans were happy to tip over 10%, the next closest nation in this regard was again Denmark, where just 16% of Danes were willing to part with more than 10% of the total bill.

Personal budget — as in, the amount an individual has to allocate to their dining or shopping experience — also has a huge say regarding what affects someone’s tip rate and size. 56% of people consider this when weighing how much they want to tip. Other hugely influential factors include the complexity of the service rendered (49%) and how long a person had to wait for what they’d ordered (43%).

Interestingly, the same percentage of people said that the impact of economic inflation has also decreased the amount they were likely to tip. 27% said they’ve given more since this period, while 37% said their tipping habits hadn’t changed since 2021.

When quizzed about their attitudes towards tipping, many Americans felt largely negative emotions. The most popular response given was that they felt pressured, with as many as 31% of those surveyed saying this. Other common answers were overwhelmed (26%), embarrassed (23%), guilty (23%), and confused (20%).

Much like mechanics, those who work in home repairs can expect to be tipped far less frequently than service workers in other roles. As many as 48% of people in professions like cable installers, plumbers, and electricians will never receive a tip, with just 10% saying they will always tip tradespeople. The next least likely to get a tip were furniture appliance and delivery workers, to whom 38% of people said they would never give extra cash.

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Minnesota nice,” you’ll know it applies to the friendly demeanor associated with those who live in the Midwest. This stereotype seems to exist for a reason, with those living in this part of the country being the most generous when it comes to a lot of tipping habits. They were found to give the most when at a restaurant (77% of respondents) as well as to hairdressers (61%) and food delivery drivers (57%).

While there’s a lot of divide between locations and generations, one thing that does seem fairly consistent across the board is that nearly a third of all Americans think tipping culture has gotten a little out of hand. A notable exception is Gen Z (those born from 1997 to 2013), where just 22% of respondents feel like they’re being asked to tip too much.

Despite the practice being a staple part of most dining experiences during everyone’s lifetime, as many as 15% of people say they don’t know how much to tip or when it is or isn’t appropriate. Changing standards have left many people unsure about where they stand or what’s expected of them when they head out for a meal or receive a service.

Finder’s survey also found that women were considerably better tippers than men. 55% of women said they gave a tip in every instance it was asked, while just 39% of men could say the same thing. 11% of men also said they rarely or never tipped, whereas 5% of women were in the same category.

Despite tipping less, men tend to feel more obliged to leave a tip when met with a tablet device at a checkout kiosk. 34% of men said that being asked to tip this way put a lot of pressure on them, while just 25% of women felt the same way. Men (46%) are also more likely to stick to the suggested tip amount compared to women (32%).

At the other end of the spectrum, Idaho was found to be the state with the lowest tip percentage. The figure sat at just 16.71% on average, which was just ahead of Minnesota (17.21%), North Dakota (17.22%), Utah (17.25%), and South Dakota (17.29%). The numbers show that while Midwesterners tend to be more reliable tippers in terms of consistency, they’re less likely to give much. 

When a survey was carried out to find what exact scenario coupled with generation was most likely to garner a tip, it was found that offering a free item to Gen X would get the best results. Close behind in second and third positions were 2 millennial examples – the server flirting with them and the server being physically attractive.