Survey: Fewer Americans Are Planning To Tip This Holiday Season

Image by GettyImages; Illustration by Bankrate

If you’re rethinking whether to spread the holiday cheer by tipping this year, you might not be alone. Fewer Americans are planning to tip their service providers this holiday season compared to last year — from their housekeepers, trash collectors and gardeners to mail carriers, teachers and childcare providers.

More than half of U.S. adults (56%) say they usually give bigger tips when they receive better service, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Holiday Tipping Survey. Still, about 2 in 5 (38%) say that they simply feel obligated to tip — regardless of the service received.

Tipping is slightly down from last year

For many, the holiday season is the time to show appreciation, including giving tips or gifts to workers that care for their children or homes. Here’s how many Americans who use each service are planning to tip service providers in the following categories this year:

• Housekeeper: 56%
• Childcare provider: 47%
• Teacher: 47%
• Landscaper/gardener/snow remover: 37%
• Mail carrier: 27%
• Trash/recycling collector: 21%

These figures are slightly down compared to last year. The percentage of people planning to tip their childcare providers has seen the most significant drop (from 55% to 47%) followed by teachers (53% to 47%).

“Most people do care about these important community members but they are also feeling their own financial stress, anxiety and budget shortfalls,” says Bobbi Rebell, a certified financial planner and consumer finance expert at Badcredit.org. “That can overshadow generosity, which can be considered optional. Unfortunately, a good part of the holidays has become about making tough choices in order to avoid creating spending hangovers.”

The tipping amounts from 2024 to 2025 are mostly flat or slightly down. But the category of landscapers, gardeners and snow removers as well as that of trash/recycling collectors are exceptions. Among people planning to tip providers in the landscaping category, the median tip jumped from $30 in 2024 to $50 in 2025, a 67% increase. While smaller, the median tip amount rose from $20 in 2024 to $25 in 2025, a 25% increase, in the trash/recycling collectors category.   

“Among holiday tippers, amounts are holding pretty steady this year. It seems that if you’re still giving a holiday tip, you’re probably giving roughly what you gave last year,” Rossman says. “But there are noticeable drops in the frequency of holiday tipping. For example, significantly fewer Americans are planning to tip childcare providers and teachers in 2025 versus 2024. A sizable share of Americans are cutting back by giving nothing at all this year.”

Better service is the main tipping driver

When it comes to the sentiment around tipping, most Americans (56%) say they typically leave better tips when they receive better service. Still, for many people it’s not the quality of service that determines whether they will tip. Thirty-eight percent of survey respondents say they often feel obligated to leave a tip regardless of the service they receive. At the same time, only 16% expect the person they’re tipping to notice how much they have given them.

One thing most people agree on is that the ability to leave a tip isn’t an indication of status or affluence. Just 7% of respondents say that tipping is a sign that someone is financially successful.

Young people are more likely to tip out of obligation

For some people, tipping is more a product of social expectations than a way to reward good service. Such sentiment is especially common among younger people. 

The survey found that 44% of Gen Zers (ages 18-28) and 42% of millennials (ages 29-44) say they often feel obligated to tip compared to 38% of Gen Xers (ages 45-60) and 29% of baby boomers (ages 61-79). 

“Younger consumers have grown up in a culture where tipping prompts are in more places than ever,” Rebell says. “That said, feeling obligated is not the same as having the means to be as generous as you want to be or as generous as you feel pressure to be. The social pressure is real.”

How to budget for tips this holiday season

If you’re worried about showing appreciation to the workers in your community this holiday season, there are steps you can take to ensure you do it without putting yourself under financial strain:

• Factor the tip into the price: Rebell recommends making spending decisions based on the total cost of the item or service, including the tip. This will help you budget more accurately.
• Pool resources from the community: For example, neighbors can pool tips for the mail carrier or trash collector, and parents can chip in to buy a gift for their kid’s teacher.
• Consider other ways to show appreciation: Cash tips aren’t the only way to let those working in your community know they’re valued. You can pick up some gift cards or baked goods instead or write a thank you card if your budget is tight this holiday season.

“Holiday tipping plays out in a few different ways. Sometimes it’s a once-a-year gesture of thanks to a service provider who has helped you throughout the year,” Rossman says. “Maybe it’s as simple as leaving some snacks or drinks out for a delivery driver. Holiday tipping demonstrates appreciation and can also help secure better service next year.”

• Methodology
  

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  This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc panel of individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 2,445 U.S. adults, of whom 1,895 plan to tip in at least one of the polled categories of service providers this holiday season. Fieldwork was undertaken between Oct. 27-29, 2025. The survey was carried out online and meets rigorous quality standards. It gathered a non-probability-based sample and employed demographic quotas and weights to better align the survey sample with the broader U.S. population.