How Illinois tipping compares to rest of Midwest
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Among Midwesterners, Illinoisans dish out the smallest tips, according to second-quarter 2024 data gathered from 120,000 restaurants using Toast ordering systems.
Why it matters: Hourly wages aren't the primary source of income for most servers, with tips often accounting for more than half their wages.
- But as tipped minimum wages increase in Chicago and other cities and states, the restaurant world is watching to see whether consumers change their tipping practices.
By the numbers: The data suggests that Midwestern states with the highest tipped minimum wage see only slightly lower tipping rates.
- Illinois diners tipped an average of 15.6% at quick-service (fast-food) restaurants and 19.5% at full-service restaurants, with a combined average of 19%, according to Toast data.
- But Illinois' hourly tipped minimum wage ($8.40) towers above that of most Midwestern states.
The outlier: Minnesota pays a bifurcated $8.85 to $10.85 tipped minimum wage based on the size of the business, with average combined tips that match ours at 19%.
Zoom out: Toast data suggests that the Midwest tips slightly more generously than the rest of the country, with a national average of 18.8%.
- Nationally, the average full-service tip was 19.3%, and quick-service was 15.9%.
- Tips for all dine-in transactions averaged 19% in that period; takeout averaged 13.7%.
- Caveat: Cash tips are not included in these analyses.
What we're watching: Whether the city's increasing tipped minimum wage — now $11.02 per hour and scheduled to match the regular minimum wage ($16.20) over five years — affects tips.
- Promises from both major presidential candidates to stop taxing tips could also affect the calculus of wages to tips, if the proposals ever become law.
The ask: Please take our latest tipping survey.