- Americans tip 16.4% of the check, on average, according to a study from Square.
- But people in states that vote for Republican candidates leave bigger tips on average than in Democratic-voting states.
- High-income blue states like California and Massachusetts tip below the national average.
In this hyper-partisan environment, it seems like nothing avoids the political conversation – and tipping is no different.
States that have recently voted more Republican have also tended to have higher average tips than those in more liberal states.
Americans tip 16.4% of a check, on average, according to a study from Square that measured credit and debit card transactions from over two million vendors in July 2017 to find how much people tip in each US state.
Business Insider compared the average tip in every state to the Cook Partisan Voter Index (PVI), which uses the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections to determine how red or blue the state is, compared to the national average.
On the graph, a state with a PVI of Republican +10 shows that the state is on average 10% more likely to vote Republican than the nation as a whole. A score of -10 is equivalent to a 10% margin for Democrats. The relationship between PVI and tipping has a R-squared value of .506, meaning that there is a moderate correlation between a state's election results and its propensity to tip servers.
It's worth noting that Square's data looked at state populations as a whole, and that this analysis doesn't tell us about how individual voters and tippers behave. That is, even though red states tended to have higher average tips, we can't say whether or not Republican voters individually tip better than Democratic voters.
People also tip differently depending on where they live. According to Square's research, five of the ten states that tip less than 16% are in the Northeast.
The state with the lowest tip average, Hawaii, paid 14.8% of the check, while the place with the highest tip average, Idaho, paid out 17.4%.
Below, see the average tip amount for every state, as well as where it falls on the partisan voter index.
Hawaii
Average tip amount: 14.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 18% more Democratic
Washington, DC
Average tip amount: 14.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 43% more Democratic
Massachusetts
Average tip amount: 15.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 12% more Democratic
California
Average tip amount: 15.2% Political leaning compared to US average: 12% more Democratic
Rhode Island
Average tip amount: 15.3% Political leaning compared to US average: 10% more Democratic
New Jersey
Average tip amount: 15.5% Political leaning compared to US average: 7% more Democratic
New York
Average tip amount: 15.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 12% more Democratic
Connecticut
Average tip amount: 15.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 6% more Democratic
Maryland
Average tip amount: 15.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 12% more Democratic
Tennessee
Average tip amount: 15.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 14% more Republican
Vermont
Average tip amount: 16.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 5% more Democratic
Maine
Average tip amount: 16.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 3% more Democratic
Minnesota
Average tip amount: 16.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 1% more Democratic
Virginia
Average tip amount: 16.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 1% more Democratic
South Dakota
Average tip amount: 16.1% Political leaning compared to US average: 14% more Republican
Washington
Average tip amount: 16.3% Political leaning compared to US average: 7% more Democratic
Montana
Average tip amount: 16.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 11% more Republican
Illinois
Average tip amount: 16.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 7% more Democratic
Georgia
Average tip amount: 16.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 5% more Republican
Florida
Average tip amount: 16.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 2% more Republican
Oregon
Average tip amount: 16.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 5% more Democratic
Wisconsin
Average tip amount: 16.5% Political leaning compared to US average: Even
Alabama
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 14% more Republican
Nevada
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 1% more Democratic
Louisiana
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 11% more Republican
Utah
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 20% more Republican
Missouri
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 9% more Republican
Colorado
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 1% more Democratic
Texas
Average tip amount: 16.6% Political leaning compared to US average: 8% more Republican
New Hampshire
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: Even
Nebraska
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: 14% more Republican
South Carolina
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: 8% more Republican
Ohio
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: 3% more Republican
Pennsylvania
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: Even
North Carolina
Average tip amount: 16.7% Political leaning compared to US average: 3% more Republican
North Dakota
Average tip amount: 16.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 17% more Republican
Wyoming
Average tip amount: 16.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 25% more Republican
Kansas
Average tip amount: 16.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 13% more Republican
Oklahoma
Average tip amount: 16.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 20% more Republican
Michigan
Average tip amount: 16.8% Political leaning compared to US average: 1% more Democratic
Arkansas
Average tip amount: 16.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 15% more Republican
New Mexico
Average tip amount: 16.9% Political leaning compared to US average: 3% more Democratic
Mississippi
Average tip amount: 17.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 9% more Republican
Iowa
Average tip amount: 17.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 3% more Republican
Kentucky
Average tip amount: 17.0% Political leaning compared to US average: 15% more Republican
Alaska
Average tip amount: 17.1% Political leaning compared to US average: 9% more Republican
Indiana
Average tip amount: 17.1% Political leaning compared to US average: 9% more Republican
Delaware
Average tip amount: 17.2% Political leaning compared to US average: 6% more Democratic
West Virginia
Average tip amount: 17.3% Political leaning compared to US average: 19% more Republican
Arizona
Average tip amount: 17.3% Political leaning compared to US average: 5% more Republican
Idaho
Average tip amount: 17.4% Political leaning compared to US average: 19% more Republican