What Is the Average Tip Percentage?

In the past, tipping was something you did at restaurants or out of the kindness of your heart when someone went above and beyond for you. But with the rise of tipping on payment terminals, you may now find yourself faced with the decision to tip several times a day, from the coffee shop to the food truck to the local garage where you’re getting an oil change.

While tipping can make you feel good as a show of support for professionals providing the services you need, it’s also tough to respond to every request for a tip without breaking your budget.

While tipping is expected for certain professionals, like servers, bartenders, and hair stylists, there are other instances where tipping may be unnecessary. In this article, we’ll look at the average tip percentage in restaurants and other industries to help you understand when you need to tip and how much is appropriate.

To understand tipping in the restaurant industry, you’ll need to understand how workers are paid. In some other countries, servers make a full-time salary, and it’s not customary to tip in these places. However, in the U.S., the federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour. If an employee’s tips plus the employer-provided hourly wage fails to meet the federal minimum wage requirement, the employer must make up the difference.²

As you can see, when you go to a restaurant, your tips make up most of your server’s income. For this reason, the standard for tipping at restaurants is around 20% for good service, though some people may choose to do more for outstanding service.

The easiest way to calculate a 20% tip at a restaurant is to find 10% by shifting the decimal point and then doubling the figure. For example, if you’re out to dinner with friends and your bill is $34.50, you can quickly find 10% by moving the decimal point one space to the left. So in this case, 10% of your bill would be $3.45. From there, you can double the amount to arrive at your 20% tip of $6.90.

If back-of-the-napkin math isn’t your thing, you can always pull out your phone and quickly multiply your bill by .2 to come up with the same amount, though that won’t be nearly as impressive to your friends as your mental math abilities.

While tipping at restaurants is straightforward, there are other tipping situations that you may not come across every day. In these cases, it’s best to understand average tip amounts upfront instead of figuring it out on the fly.

• How Much to Tip at Hotels
  There are several people you may want to tip in a hotel, including housekeepers who clean your room, valets who park your car, and baggage porters who bring your luggage up to your room. Different tipping customs apply to each job. For a housekeeper, you’ll want to tip daily, anywhere from $3 and $5 per day or $1 per person. The daily tips are appreciated since the same staff may not be around when you leave a big tip at the end of your stay. With a baggage porter, you can offer them a dollar or two per bag and give your valet attendant up to $5 when they bring around your vehicle. Other hotel staff that perform jobs similar to those in the restaurant industry, like room service or bartenders, should receive tips between 15% and 20%, as you would tip a server.³

• How Much to Tip at Weddings
  There are key differences in tipping at a wedding depending on if you’re hosting or simply attending. As an attendee, your tipping obligations are minimal. You may choose to tip bar staff if a tip jar is present or slip a few dollars to a valet when you retrieve your car. However, more often than not, tips are handled by the family hosting the event. There is often a laundry list of vendors doing everything from providing music and flowers to doing hair for the bridal party and serving food at the venue. Before you tip anyone, look back through your contracts and confirm if a tip was already included in the price. Many catering vendors include gratuity to cover tipping out the wait staff, bartenders, and other support staff. For vendors who do not include gratuity in the contract, tips are generally appreciated but not required. You may opt to tip 15% to 20% on some services like hair and makeup or drivers and chauffeurs, while a flat rate of several hundred dollars may be more appropriate for musicians, the florist, and wedding planner.⁴ If you’re using a wedding planner, they can help you figure out how much to budget for tips based on the average cost of a wedding and what’s appropriate for each vendor.

• How Much to Tip Delivery Drivers
  A common rule for tipping delivery drivers is to pay them 20% of your bill or $5, whichever is more.⁵ But it’s also important to assess weather conditions, the size of your delivery, and your delivery location when determining your tip. If you live in a fourth-floor walkup and there are six inches of snow on the ground, you might want to show a bit of extra appreciation for the person delivering you ten pizzas. If you’re concerned about saving money on food and grocery delivery, you can always skip the tip by picking up dinner yourself.

• How Much to Tip a Tour Guide
  If you’re a budget-conscious traveler, you’re likely always looking for ways to save a few bucks while elevating your travel experience. While you may be getting free airport lounge access with a credit card or staying for free with a hotel credit card, skipping tips for your tour guides isn’t one area where you can save. Some tour guides may tell you upfront that tips are not expected, but many guides will appreciate your generosity nonetheless. When deciding your tip amount, consider the tour length, the service provided, and whether the tour met or exceeded your expectations. If you’re traveling with others, you may choose to tip a guide from $5 to $10 per person for a tour that lasts a couple of hours, while you may want to tip $10 to $20 per person for all-day or multi-day tours.⁶

• How Much to Tip a Dog Walker
  With many people returning to offices for work, dog walking is a profession that’s alive and well. If you have someone come to let out your dog daily, you may be unsure about tipping and whether you need to tip every single day. While many dog walkers don’t expect tips, they are appreciated for going above and beyond. When you think about tipping, consider how long the dog walker has been with you (you might want to give a holiday bonus for a walker that’s been consistent for a few months), any behavioral issues with your pet (if your pet struggles to warm up to new people but the dog walker made an instant bond, that could be worth a tip), whether your pet needs extra care (having to give medication or dealing with a pet’s illness is more responsibility than just a walk and could be worth more), and booking conditions (you might want to give a tip if your walker came through last minute or agreed to keep a regular walking schedule during a busy holiday time.)⁷

• How Much to Tip a Babysitter
  Any parent understands that a date night costs more than just the dinner bill since you’ll also need to budget for childcare. How much to tip a babysitter depends on how many children they’re watching, how long you’re gone, and any special circumstances or additional responsibilities they cover, like driving children to activities. Though tipping a babysitter is not required, it can be your way to express appreciation for a job well done and may help forge an ongoing relationship.

• How Much to Tip a Hairstylist
  Your hair is an important part of your look and depending on what you have done to your hair while you’re at the salon, you may be spending hours every few months with your stylist. The hair salon is a place where tips are both expected and appreciated. A good guideline is to give your hairdresser up to 20% if you’re happy with the service. Keep in mind that you can always tip more if you’re a bit particular about your haircut or if you spend more time at the salon getting color in addition to your cut.⁸

When, how, and how much to tip will vary widely depending on the country and local customs. Before you travel abroad, it’s important to look up tipping customs so you don’t inadvertently offend locals by tipping too extravagantly or too little.

In the U.S., tipping etiquette mandates that you tip at restaurants, with 15% generally being the minimum amount to tip without being offensive. You’ll also want to tip bartenders, taxi drivers (which extends to rideshare services), and hair stylists.

Tipping can become a grey area in situations where you mostly serve yourself. Despite tips appearing on many payment terminals, don’t feel like you need to tip at a cafe or fast food restaurant where you don’t have table service. At these locations, it’s generally accepted that you won’t tip unless you want to show extra appreciation for the staff.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 95% of Americans consider quality of service either a major or minor factor when leaving a tip, with only 5% of respondents saying it doesn’t play a factor.⁹ So, if you’re part of the 95% that believes service is a measure of how much to tip, how should you respond with your wallet if you get poor service?

If you’re in a situation where tipping is required, like at a restaurant or the hair salon, you’ll still want to leave a tip even if the service is poor, but it’s okay to reduce your tip to a level that feels commensurate with the service. So, instead of tipping 25% for a personable server who got to know you and brought the order accurately and quickly, you might opt to leave 10% for the server who forgot to put in someone’s meal and took a long time delivering the check.

If you ask someone in a job who receives tips, they may say cash is preferred since they’ll receive that money instantly at the end of their shift. Credit card transactions, on the other hand, take time to process and may be added to a check that the employee will receive at a later date.

When deciding whether to leave cash or tip on a card, you’ll also want to understand where the money goes. Some businesses may take a portion of tips left on cards, so giving cash could mean more money in the employee’s pocket.

When you have cash on hand, using it to tip will almost certainly be appreciated. But leaving a tip on a card is better than no tip at all.