Here’s a tip on how U.S. diners are leaving gratuity.

Answer:

Full-service: 19.3%
Quick-service: 15.8%

Questions:

• How do you approach tipping? How do you feel about it?
• Have you ever worked at a job where you were paid tips? What was that experience like?
• What factors do you think impact how much people tip?
• This data only includes people who paid with a card or electronic payment. Do you think it would differ if it included cash tips? Why or why not?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the Numbers: (Toast)

Toast’s Q1 2026 data puts the average restaurant tip at “19.3% at full-service restaurants (FSRs) and 15.8% at quick-service restaurants (QSRs).” The striking thing is how little it moves: “Tipping has stayed relatively stable over the past two years. Full-service tips have hovered between 19.1% and 19.4%, while quick-service tips have held near 15.8–16.0%.” Where you eat matters more than when — Delaware tips the most at 22.1% and California the least at 17.3%. One caveat worth sharing with students, and the basis for the last discussion question: “All Toast tipping data reflects card and digital payment transactions only. Cash tips are not captured in this dataset.”

On the subject of tips, can you make any as an Uber driver? Try this Uber driver simulation in the NGPF Arcade and find out.

About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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