SEATTLE, Wash. — Washington restaurant-goers are among the worst tippers in the United States, according to a new study from Toast.
The study, which collected transactions from nearly 171,000 locations using the Toast POS system in Q1 2026, breaks down into two main categories: full-service restaurants and quick-service restaurants.
While full-service restaurant tips average out at about 19.3% in the entire country, the average quick-service tip is sitting at 15.8%.
In Washington, the average full-service restaurant tip is 18.2%, while the average quick-service tip is 15.7%.
By averaging the total amount of tips and dividing it by the Gross Processing Volume, the average Washington restaurant tip is 17.8% -- just barely above D.C. at 17.5% and California at 17.3%, according to the study.
On the opposite end, the states with the highest average tip are Delaware (22.1%), West Virginia (21.0%), and New Hampshire (20.9%).
As for major changes in tipping behavior, Toast notes that tipping has “stayed relatively stable over the past two years.”
©2026 Cox Media Group
