The 5 most and least ‘beneficiant’ tipping states

People could also be feeling “tip fatigue,” however most are nonetheless leaving gratuities for a spread of companies — and the place they dwell seems to form how a lot they offer, in accordance with a brand new report.

South Carolina tops the listing, with a mean tip price of 20.71%, making it the one state to surpass the 20% threshold, in accordance with a report from JIM, an AI-powered monetary platform for small sellers. It broke down tipping habits throughout all 50 states. 

Greater than 89,068 verified tipping transactions from 6,214 energetic retailers in 177 enterprise classes all through 2025 have been analyzed to find out the states with the very best and lowest common tip percentages, a information launch indicated.

“Tipping habits is evolving, however one factor is constant. People nonetheless gravitate towards the 15% to twenty% commonplace, no matter trade,” mentioned Ricardo Cici, chief development officer at CloudWalk, the Brazilian fintech firm behind JIM. 

“What’s altering is the place tipping exhibits up and what it means economically. We’re seeing significant tip {dollars} flowing into higher-value companies past eating places, which has actual implications for small operators who depend on quick, truthful entry to their earnings,” Cici mentioned in a press release.

Rounding out the highest 5 are Wisconsin at 19.15%, Connecticut at 18.43%, Maryland at 18.40% and Nevada at 16.88%.

On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Oregon ranks because the least beneficiant state at 13.10% — adopted by Virginia at 13.58%, New York at 13.72%, Alaska at 14.11% and Illinois at 14.37%.

The typical tip share nationally is 15.46%, falling throughout the long-standing 15% to twenty% cultural norm, in accordance with the report.

The typical tip worth is $12.44, with higher-ticket companies equivalent to automobile restore, transportation and specialised private companies typically producing bigger greenback quantities than restaurant tabs.

Barber and sweetness outlets rank among the many highest for tip share at 17%, whereas sure private companies, equivalent to tattoo and pet care suppliers, pattern even larger, the report discovered. 

In the meantime, on a regular basis classes like eating places, quick meals and transportation usually fall between 14% and 16%.

However consultants warning towards deciphering state rankings as merely a measure of generosity.

“Earlier than we label sure states as ‘extra beneficiant,’ we have to stage the taking part in discipline and perceive the wage construction behind the information,” mentioned Jessica Hart, an MBA and California-based HR guide at Hart Consulting, who specializes within the alcohol trade.

Hart, who wasn’t concerned within the evaluation, factors to the federal tipped minimal wage of $2.13 per hour, which continues to be utilized in states equivalent to South Carolina. Underneath federal regulation, employers in these states will pay employees $2.13 an hour so long as ideas convey them as much as at the least the usual minimal wage.

Different states, together with Oregon, don’t enable a tipped minimal wage in any respect, requiring employers to pay the full state minimal wage earlier than ideas.

“That distinction dramatically influences shopper habits,” Hart informed Fox Information Digital.

“When clients know — culturally or explicitly — {that a} server is incomes $2.13 per hour, tipping turns into much less of a reward for service and extra of a wage subsidy. … The visitor understands they’re serving to shut a compensation hole,” she added. “In states the place servers earn full minimal wage plus ideas, gratuity feels extra discretionary.”

California etiquette professional Lisa Mirza Grotts informed Fox Information Digital that the psychology round tipping is shifting, particularly as digital cost screens immediate clients to tip greater than ever earlier than.

“Tipping fatigue is actual — not as a result of individuals have change into much less beneficiant, however as a result of the social guidelines have blurred,” Grotts mentioned.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, gratuities helped assist employees who trusted them, Grotts mentioned. “The disaster handed, however the digital prompts remained,” she famous.

“A tip is supposed to acknowledge service — [it’s] not merely a display that swivels round requesting 25%,” Grotts mentioned. “Fairly merely, a gratuity is a voluntary thanks.”

Inflation and rising menu costs additionally play a task, consultants say. 

Even when tip percentages stay regular, larger payments imply larger remaining totals, which customers are feeling at checkout.