Are You Tipping Enough for Takeout and Delivery? Here’s How Much the Average American Gives
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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To tip or not to tip? And how much to tip, at that? These are some of the most pressing contemporary etiquette questions, confronting you every time you gaze down at a cash register or take the food out of your delivery driver’s hand.
Being a generous tipper is considered a sign of overall good character, while people who are stingier with their tips are seen as miserly, or less kind. However, with the plethora of services and providers who are asking for tips these days, the standards of how much to tip can feel confusing.
GOBankingRates took a look at some of the trends and studies around tipping to offer some helpful insights.
How Much To Tip
When USA Today conducted its own studies and surveys about the state of tipping in America, the publication found that there was a baseline number for tipping: 18% is average.
Digging deeper into the same studies, the publication found that millennials are some of the most generous tippers, averaging 18.88% with baby boomers tipping 17.92%, the next highest rate. Gen X and Gen Z are in the middle ground, tipping at 17.53% and 17.88%, respectively. The silent generation brings up the rear, tipping just $15.16% on average.
Who To Tip
Traditionally, people expect that they’ll tip for a sit-down meal or a home delivery. Over the past few years, though, it may have seemed like all forms of service providers are asking for tips. So, who should you plan on tipping?
In its own exploration of the issue, the Pew Research Center found that there were certain settings where Americans absolutely plan on tipping. Sitting down at a restaurant to dine, a net 92% of Americans expect to offer a tip, while a 76% of people said that they planned to tip food delivery drivers.
Hairstylists also count among the service professionals that Americans tip, with 78% of survey respondents saying that they will plan to tip when getting a haircut. A net average of 70% of respondents also regularly tip their local bartenders. About 61% of respondents who use rideshares or taxis will tip their drivers.
However, only 25% of respondents will tip at a coffee shop and 12% will tip at a fast food restaurant.
Tipping Fatigue Is Real
If you’ve felt the added pressure to tip lately, you’re far from alone. According to USA Today, about 40% of survey respondents said that they felt guilted into tipping, or tipping more, than they would have wanted to, normally.
About 27% of respondents said they “strongly agree” with the sentiment “I feel societal pressure to tip more,” while 40% agreed with it.
The USA Today report put it bluntly: “More than half of those we surveyed said that too many places are asking for tips, while 48% report that they’re downright tired of being asked to tip.”
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