Illinois Is Now The Worst Tipping State In America

Tipping culture can be a touchy subject but Illinois takes it to a new level.

I'll admit tipping culture nowadays can get out of hand. It seems like any time someone slides an iPad in front of me, I'm about to tip for something I've never been prompted to tip for before. Whenever I'm at a restaurant or anything, I always tip 20%, even if the food sucked or the service was terrible because we all gotta make a living somewhere.

Then there's Illinois.

Illinois sure ain't having the issue of always tipping an acceptable amount. According to a recent study from USA Today, Illinois is the worst tipping state in the U.S.

The whole U.S.

It was found that, on average, Illinois residents tip 14.22%. And this is across a bunch of services, "including food delivery, restaurants, personal care and services rendered". So if a bill is $75, Illinois is going to tip about $10.

Before the rest of the Midwest starts to flex, Wisconsin isn't that good at tipping either, coming in as the 7th worst tipping state with an average of 15.78%.

Age matters too. What I'm not surprised about is that Millennials like me are the best tippers when compared to Gen Z, Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. The study also found that folks overall are tipping more than they used to or are tipping the same amount as normal.

Why People Tip

Besides good service, the other 2 reasons are the very ones that always make me tip too:

• "To ensure workers are paid a fair wage"
• "Because they’re familiar with the industry and know how demanding the work can be."

If you've ever worked with the general public, you know it can be a literal nightmare. Your waiter/waitress/whoever is helping you might just be having an off day, don't automatically assume the worst.

And Illinois: get it together.