Californians Are The Least Generous Tippers, Study Finds

CALIFORNIA — The nation's most populous state may be home to some of the wealthiest people in the U.S., but a new report on restaurant tipping showed that Californians are tipping the lowest of all 50 states.

Amid rising inflation and COVID-19 surges, the desire to eat at restaurants has remained strong, according to a Restaurant Trends Report from Toast Inc., a point-of-sale software that restaurants and other businesses use.

Nationwide, tips were up nearly 10 percent compared to last year. In-person diners reportedly tipped 19.7 percent on average all over the country, the study showed.

In California, data revealed a different story. The average tip size was 17.5 percent, the lowest of all 50 states, the report showed. So, despite Californians appetite for dining out, a high cost of living could be prompting diners to leave less than 20 percent.

The state has one of the nation's highest minimum cash wage laws for tipped employees — meaning that they could be taking home more income than service workers in other states. But inflation is likely plaguing the state's industry workers more than others as rents continue to climb in California.

READ MORE: CA Home Sales Continue To Plummet As Rents Spike

Data from Toast's report revealed that Indiana was the most generous state for tipping during the second quarter, with an average tip of 21 percent.

Consumer prices rose 8.5 percent year over year, the Labor Department reported earlier this month. The cost of eating food at a restaurant rose 7.6% year over year in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During quarter two, data revealed that full-restaurant sales during the quarter recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Despite these hardships imposed by inflation across the nation, "restaurants are seeing strong demand and generosity from consumers with consistent tips and increased growth," according to the report.