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# Counting tips
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/counting-tips/
- Published: 2026-09-18T00:43:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T00:43:57.000Z
- Author: Mukul Verma

Louisiana diners tipped an average of **18.9%** at full-service restaurants, just below the national average of 19.1%, according to 2026 data from Toast released yesterday.

**By the numbers:** Delaware diners tip the most, at 21.4%, while Californians tip the least, at 17.1%.

**Why it matters:** Tipping offers a small window into consumers’ economic confidence—and generosity.

- Nationwide tips at full-service restaurants peaked at 19.9% in the first quarter of 2021.
- Many quick-service restaurants, including sandwich shops, now pay well above minimum wage. Workers can earn up to $20 an hour, making restaurants a decent starting point for younger workers.

**How we know:** Toast provides payment services to restaurants, giving the company access to a massive trove of restaurant sales and tipping data.

**Zoom out:** Tipping prompts have spread far beyond traditional sit-down restaurants, as JR Ball noted in his take earlier this year. Read more below.

[What’s the deal with tipping?It began as a way to cheat Black workers out of money after the Civil War. It’s everywhere now.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c8/1d/c81d6c92-592f-461e-97d4-7573bc659b2b/content/images/icon/RedEye-logomark-d6e98222-7389-4d02-9f4c-63b44e95c2d4.png)RedEyeJR Ball![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c8/1d/c81d6c92-592f-461e-97d4-7573bc659b2b/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-9.25.06---PM-afaf33f2-cbbc-4f21-b719-e80e27d1378d.png)](https://www.redeyebr.com/whats-the-deal-with-tipping/)

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