The Art of Tipping: Indiana and Kentucky Lead as Top Tipping States in America

We've all been there. It's the end of the night; you are settling your tab at the bar, but how much should you tip?  According to a recent study, those of us that live in Kentucky and Indiana, are more likely to tip well... like really well. 

How Much Do You Tip?

For many years before getting into the world of radio and digital media, I worked in bars and restaurants as both a server and a bartender. It can be a really great job, and incredibly lucrative... if your customers tip you well. It can also be really frustrating when they don't. I have a long-held opinion that if you cannot afford to tip, then you cannot afford to go out to eat or drink.

So what makes a good tip? How much should you be leaving behind for your server or bartender? 20+ years ago, ten to fifteen percent of your total bill was socially acceptable. Now, it seems that the average "acceptable" minimum tip amount is more like twenty percent.

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How American's Tip on Average

In a survey of more than 2,200 American drinkers, UpgradePoints discovered some inciteful information about tipping practices. When it comes to settling a bar tab, forty percent of the American drinkers surveyed tip their bartender twenty percent. Forty-one percent tip fifteen percent or less of their bill, and seven percent of those who were surveyed prefer to leave an eighteen percent tip.

Nine percent of American drinkers are big tippers, dropping twenty-five percent or more on a tip but what about that remaining three percent? Those folks should probably just do bartenders everywhere a favor, and just stay home because that three percent doesn't tip at all.

Kentucky & Indiana Are Big Tippers

There are a small handful of states that were not included in the survey from UpgradePoints because of "a low pool of survey respondents." Using the responses they collected, they were able to determine which states tip their bartenders the best, and Kentucky and Indiana are at the top of the list.

In Kentucky, twenty-two percent of drinkers tip their bartenders twenty-five percent or more. For Indiana, it was sixteen percent of drinkers who are leaving big tips. Tennessee actually made the list of states that tip the least with 21.6% of drinkers tipping 10 percent or less. If you are thinking about slinging drinks for a living, Kentucky and Indiana are going to be the place to do it to maximize your tip money.

[Source: UpgradePoints.com]