A common claim is that Americans now tip for everything, and that the rest of the world thinks it is bizarre. The fact is that the restaurant tip is high and stable, not a 20% fee on every purchase, and the odd rule is the wage. Toast card data for the second quarter of 2026 put the average tip at 19.1% in full-service restaurants and 15.8% at quick-service counters. Across restaurant types the average was 18.7%. Full-service tips have sat near 19% for two years. A tip screen at a counter is a prompt. It is not proof that every transaction is tipped like a table.

The wage is the US difference. The federal cash wage for a tipped worker is $2.13 an hour, frozen since 1991. The full federal minimum is $7.25. An employer may count up to $5.12 of tips toward that minimum, and must top up the wage if tips fall short. Seven states do not allow the credit at all. California, which pays the full minimum before tips, also has the lowest Toast average, 17.1%. Delaware, which still uses a credit, has the highest, 21.4%. A tip in a no-credit state is extra pay. A tip in a credit state is part of the wage the employer does not pay in cash.

The rest of the world is not one habit. Japan’s tourism office says tipping is not customary, and staff may try to return the money. France prints service in the price. Britain and Ireland often leave 10 to 15% if the bill has no service charge. Germany rounds up, often 5 to 10%. Canada expects about 15%. A service charge is a line on the bill. A tip is a choice on top. The split is a wage rule and a printed charge, not a global vote that tipping is bizarre.

Toast divides tip dollars by the card check. A cash tip left on the table is missing. Square’s broader restaurant series has run lower, about 15% in 2024, because it includes more counter sales. A state average is not a law. California’s lower rate sits next to a ban on the tip credit. It does not prove the ban caused the rate.

The $2.13 wage is the federal floor. States may set a higher cash wage. An employer who takes the credit must still make the worker whole at the minimum if tips are thin. A service charge on a European bill is the restaurant’s price, not a tip the server may keep.

It is settled that full-service card tips average 19.1%, that the federal tipped cash wage is $2.13, and that seven states bar the tip credit. It is not settled that Americans tip for everything, or that the rest of the world has one view. Use 19.1% for table tips. Use 15.8% for counters. Use $2.13 for the federal cash wage. Do not use 20% as a rate on every purchase.