Average Tip by State — 2026 Data
Updated 2026-05-23 · Original data analysis
Average restaurant tip percentage varies meaningfully across U.S. states. We aggregated public point-of-sale benchmarks and survey data to produce a state-by-state view of the 2026 tipping landscape.
The headline
Across the U.S. in 2026, the average sit-down restaurant tip is roughly 19.4%. The most generous states cluster in the Mountain West and the South; the lowest averages are in the Northeast and parts of the West Coast. The gap between top and bottom is about 3 percentage points — meaningful, but smaller than online debate suggests.
Top 10 most-generous states (avg. restaurant tip)
| Rank | State | Avg. tip % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 21.5% |
| 2 | Idaho | 21.1% |
| 3 | Montana | 20.9% |
| 4 | Alaska | 20.7% |
| 5 | Tennessee | 20.6% |
| 6 | South Dakota | 20.5% |
| 7 | Arkansas | 20.4% |
| 8 | West Virginia | 20.3% |
| 9 | Kentucky | 20.2% |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 20.1% |
Regional patterns
- Mountain West & Plains consistently above 20%.
- South tips moderately to strongly, varying by metro area.
- Northeast metros with strong restaurant culture tend toward 18–19%.
- West Coast (CA, OR, WA) averages 18–19% — some attribute this to higher minimum wages for tipped staff.
Methodology
We compile public point-of-sale benchmarks from major payment processors, restaurant-industry reports, and our own 2026 reader survey (n=4,800). Tip percentages are averages of restaurant transactions in each state during Q1–Q2 2026, normalized to pre-tax bill basis.