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Over half of Americans have negative view of tipping

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June 22, 2023

A good number of Americans, 66%, have a negative view of tipping, and nearly one in three think the tipping culture is out of control.

Those are top findings from a Bankrate survey conducted by YouGov Plc that polled 2,437 U.S. adults on tipping. The one thing most Americans may agree with is that they dislike some aspect of tipping, according to a press release on the findings.

The survey revealed Gen Z and male customers tip the least, and nearly two in three diners always tip at a sit-down restaurant.

Those polled believe businesses should pay employees better rather than relying so much on tips (41%), 32% are annoyed about pre-entered tip screens and 15% are confused about who and how much to tip.

Nearly the same percentage, 16%, are willing to pay more if tipping was eliminated.

Yet nearly half, 44%, haven't stopped tipping for everyday services, according to the survey.

In fact many are still tipping well. Nearly one in two (44%) who dine at sit-down restaurants typically tip at least 20%.

Tipping can be a positive emotion, too: 35% feel good when they leave a generous tip. In contrast to those who have been tipping less since the pandemic, 14% are tipping more since COVID-19.

Additional insights include:

• 65% who dine at sit-down restaurants always tip their server. But that figure is down year-over-year: 73% who dine at sit-down restaurants always tipped in 2022, compared to 75% in 2021 and 77% in 2019.
• Women more frequently tip for most services.
• Baby Boomers (ages 59-77) tip the most frequently of any generation for most services.
• Servers and waitstaff at sit-down restaurants are most likely (65%) to always receive a tip from customers of any tipped service.
• Additionally, 50% of those who use food delivery services, such as meals from restaurants or groceries delivered through apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash, will always tip.
• Midwesterners are 16 percentage points more likely to always tip at a sit-down restaurant than Southerners or Westerners.

"Inflation and general economic unease seem to be making Americans stingier with their tipping habits, yet we're confronted with more invitations to tip than ever," Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman said in the release. "It's a fascinating issue with few clear answers. There is one apparent certainty, though: Tipping doesn't seem likely to leave American society anytime soon."