Data report · Updated October 2026
Barber tipping statistics: 78% of haircut customers tip always or often
Survey and booking-platform data on how often Americans tip for haircuts, how much they leave and who tips least.
Most Americans tip for a haircut: 78% of people who get haircuts say they always or often tip, per Pew Research Center[1]. In Bankrate's 2025 survey, 54% always tip their stylist or barber[2]. At SQUIRE barbershops, average tips ran 20% to 23% of the cut from May 2025 to April 2026[3].
78%
Haircut customers who always or often tip (Pew, 2023)[1]
54%
Adults who always tip their hair stylist or barber (Bankrate, 2025)[2]
20–23%
Average barbershop tip by US region, May 2025 to April 2026[3]
25%
Gen Z customers who always tip their stylist or barber (2025)[2]
By Jessica Hamilton, Editor · Published · Updated · Free to reuse with credit (CC BY 4.0)
Key findings
- In Pew Research Center's 2023 survey, 65% of adults who get haircuts said they always tip and 13% said they often tip[4].
- Only sit-down restaurants get tipped more reliably than haircuts among the services Pew asked about: 92% of diners always or often tip[1].
- The share of Americans who always tip hair stylists and barbers fell from 66% in 2022 to 53% in 2023 and was 54% in 2025, per Bankrate[2].
- SQUIRE barbershops recorded average tips of 23% in the South and Midwest, 21% in the West and 20% in the Northeast[3].
- One in three people (33%) in Zenoti's 2025 survey said they tip 20% to 24% for a haircut, the most common answer[5].
- Only 25% of Gen Z customers always tip their stylist or barber, compared with 71% of baby boomers[2].
- In salon payment data published by Goldie, card-reader checkouts averaged a 12.1% tip while cash payments recorded 4.3%[6].
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What percentage of people tip their barber?
Pew Research Center surveyed 11,945 US adults from August 7 to 27, 2023, and asked how often they tip for different services[4]. Among people who get haircuts, 65% said they always tip, 13% often, 12% sometimes, 5% rarely and 5% never[4].
That puts haircuts near the top of the tipping order. About nine in ten people who eat at sit-down restaurants (92%) always or often tip, and the share for haircuts is 78%, ahead of food delivery (76%), drinks at a bar (70%) and taxis or rideshares (61%)[1]. Coffee shops (25%) and fast casual restaurants (12%) trail far behind[1].
Pew's figures count only people who use each service, so the 78% describes haircut customers rather than all adults.
Show the numbers
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Always | 65% |
| Often | 13% |
| Sometimes | 12% |
| Rarely | 5% |
| Never | 5% |
| Service | Always | Often | Sometimes | Rarely | Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant | 81% | 11% | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Haircut | 65% | 13% | 12% | 5% | 5% |
| Food delivery | 59% | 17% | 14% | 5% | 4% |
| Drink at a bar | 53% | 18% | 16% | 7% | 7% |
| Taxi or rideshare | 43% | 18% | 21% | 9% | 10% |
| Coffee shop | 12% | 12% | 27% | 23% | 25% |
| Fast casual restaurant | 7% | 5% | 17% | 25% | 45% |
Are fewer people tipping their barber than before?
Bankrate has asked US adults every year since 2021 how often they tip each type of service worker. The share who always tip hair stylists and barbers was 63% in 2021 and 66% in 2022, then fell to 53% in 2023[2]. It edged up to 55% in 2024 and slipped to 54% in 2025[2].
Hair stylists and barbers were one of only three categories that declined in 2025, along with coffee shop baristas and home repair workers[2]. Even so, they remained the second most consistently tipped group after restaurant servers, who were always tipped by 70% of diners[2].
Bankrate's 2025 survey was run online by YouGov with 2,277 US adults from April 23 to 25, 2025[2]. Pew and Bankrate ask the question differently, which is why Pew's "always" share for haircuts (65%) is higher than Bankrate's (54%).
How much do people tip for a haircut?
Booking data gives the clearest answer. SQUIRE's State of Barbershops 2026 report, based on 13.9 million appointments at more than 7,000 US barbershops from May 2025 to April 2026, lists average tips of 23% in the South and Midwest, 21% in the West and 20% in the Northeast[3].
Zenoti, a salon and barbershop software company, reports that barbershop tips run 16% to 20% of the ticket, the highest of any beauty and wellness segment in its 2026 benchmark report of calendar-year 2025 data[7].
Surveys tell a similar story. In Zenoti's 2025 survey of 900 Americans, the most common haircut tip was 20% to 24% (33% of respondents), followed by 10% to 14% (23%) and 15% to 19% (22%)[5]. Only 7% said they tip 25% or more (4% plus 3%, menhaircuts.net calculation)[5]. On a $43 cut, SQUIRE's national average price, a 20% tip is $8.60 (menhaircuts.net calculation)[3].
Show the numbers
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 5% | 5% |
| 6–9% | 8% |
| 10–14% | 23% |
| 15–19% | 22% |
| 20–24% | 33% |
| 25–29% | 4% |
| 30%+ | 3% |
What is the average barber tip in each region?
SQUIRE's regional figures show a narrow band. Southern and Midwestern barbershop clients tipped the most at an average of 23%, Western clients 21% and Northeastern clients 20%[3].
Because the Northeast and South share the same $40 average cut price in SQUIRE's data, the regional tip gap is the main difference in what clients pay there: about $8.00 on a $40 cut in the Northeast against $9.20 in the South (menhaircuts.net calculation)[3]. Midwestern shops have the lowest prices at $35 but the joint-highest tip rate[3].
Show the numbers
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| South | 23% |
| Midwest | 23% |
| West | 21% |
| Northeast | 20% |
Do men tip barbers less than women tip stylists?
Yes, by Bankrate's measure. Its 2024 tipping survey (fielded April 29 to May 1, 2024) found the widest gender gap at hair salons and barbershops, where 62% of women and 45% of men always tip[8].
The gap is smaller when people describe how much they tip. In Zenoti's 2025 survey, 41% of women and 38% of men said they typically tip 20% or more for a haircut[5]. Women were also more likely than men to say they had felt pushed to tip more than they wanted, 56% against 43%[5].
Which generations tip their barber the least?
Younger customers tip far less often. In Bankrate's 2025 survey, 25% of Gen Z and 45% of millennials who use the service always tip their stylist or barber, compared with 67% of Gen X and 71% of baby boomers[2].
Zenoti's survey found the same pattern in tip size. Nearly half of baby boomers (47%) said they typically tip 20% or more for a haircut, against 33% of Gen Z[5]. Some younger customers skip tips on principle: 32% of Gen Z said they do so, compared with 7% of baby boomers[5].
Do people tip less when they pay cash?
Tip screens change behavior. Goldie, a salon booking app, published average tip rates by payment method from US salon transactions covering May to August, in an August 2026 analysis. In-person card readers averaged 12.1%, card on file 10.3%, tap to pay 9.9%, payment links 8.8%, online prepayment 8.6% and cash 4.3%[6]. Goldie notes that cash tips handed over directly may not show up in its records, so the cash figure is a floor[6].
These averages include clients who left nothing, which is why they sit below the 15% to 20% norm. They also cover all salon services, not only men's haircuts.
Barbers and stylists still prefer cash. In Zenoti's survey of 100 stylists, 72% named cash as their top choice for receiving tips, and 19% named card[5]. Customers are wary of prompts: 38% of Americans told Bankrate they are annoyed by pre-entered tip screens, and 27% said they tip less or not at all when shown one, while 11% tip more[2].
| Payment method | Average tip |
|---|---|
| Card reader (in person) | 12.1% |
| Card on file | 10.3% |
| Tap to pay | 9.9% |
| Payment link | 8.8% |
| Online prepayment | 8.6% |
| Other | 5.9% |
| Cash | 4.3% |
| Buy now, pay later | 4.3% |
How much do tips matter to barbers and stylists?
In Zenoti's 2025 survey of 100 stylists, one in five said tips make up 20% of their annual income, and 67% said most clients do not realize how much they rely on tips[5]. More than half (55%) said they would prefer higher service prices to depending on tips, and 56% said tipping culture has gotten worse over the past five years[5].
Customers see it differently. Nearly half of Americans in the same survey (47%) believed salon and spa workers rely heavily or entirely on tips, and 80% said haircuts deserve a tip[5]. In Bankrate's survey, 41% of Americans said tipping culture has gotten out of control[2].
How much should you tip your barber in 2026?
Etiquette guides usually say 15% to 20%; StyleSeat, for example, advises tipping a barber 15% to 20% per appointment[9]. What clients actually leave at barbershops that track it is at or slightly above the top of that range: 20% to 23% in SQUIRE's data and 16% to 20% in Zenoti's[3][7].
Our guide on how much to tip your barber covers the practical side, such as tipping shop owners and tipping on discounted cuts. For what the cut itself costs, see our 2026 haircut price guide.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of people tip their barber?
What is the average tip for a barber?
How much should I tip on a $40 haircut?
Do Gen Z customers tip barbers?
Do men or women tip hair stylists more?
Is barber tipping declining?
Do barbers prefer cash tips?
Methodology and limitations
Tipping frequency comes from Pew Research Center's August 2023 survey (report and topline questionnaire) and Bankrate's annual tipping surveys run by YouGov (2025 press release with the 2021 to 2025 trend; the gender figures come from Bankrate's survey article and refer to its 2024 survey). Tip amounts come from SQUIRE's State of Barbershops 2026 report (May 2025 to April 2026 platform data), Zenoti's 2026 barbershop benchmarks (calendar-year 2025 data) and Zenoti's 2025 survey of 900 Americans and 100 stylists. Payment-method tips come from Goldie's August 2026 salon payment analysis. Dollar tips on example prices are menhaircuts.net calculations. All sources were opened and checked on October 15, 2026.
Limitations
Pew's data are from 2023 and Bankrate's latest published trend is from April 2025; neither asks how much people tip for a haircut. SQUIRE, Zenoti and Goldie report data from businesses that use their software, which may differ from cash-heavy shops, and Goldie's figures cover all salon services and record cash tips only when they are entered. Zenoti's guest survey has an unusual age mix (3% baby boomers), so its generational findings rest on small groups. Bankrate's gender figures appear in its survey article without a separate year label. Surveys measure what people say they do, not receipts.
Every figure on this page links to its source. Numbers are reported as published; any menhaircuts.net calculation is labelled and shows its inputs. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it.
Sources
- Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape, Pew Research Center (2023). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 63% of Americans Have a Negative View About Tipping, with 41% Saying Tipping Culture Has Gotten Out of Control (press release, June 4, 2025), Bankrate (2025). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- The State of Barbershops 2026: SQUIRE Barber Trends & Insights Report, SQUIRE (2026). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Tipping culture survey topline questionnaire, August 7 to 27, 2023, Pew Research Center (2023). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- The state of tipping in salons: survey data revealed, Zenoti (2025). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- How Much Do Clients Tip at a Salon? What the Data Actually Says, Goldie (2026). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Salon & Barbershop Metrics: KPIs to Track + Software (2026), Zenoti (2026). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Survey: 'Out of control,' 'Pay employees better' and other things Americans say about tipping, Bankrate (2025). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Men's Haircut Prices: How Much Will It Cost You?, StyleSeat (2026). Accessed October 15, 2026.
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This report, its charts and its infographic are free to reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Credit menhaircuts.net with a link to this page.
Cite this report (APA)
Hamilton, J. (2026, October 15). Barber Tipping Statistics 2026: Who Tips and How Much. menhaircuts.net. https://menhaircuts.net/stats/barber-tipping-statistics/
Link to this report
<a href="https://menhaircuts.net/stats/barber-tipping-statistics/">Barber Tipping Statistics 2026: Who Tips and How Much</a> (menhaircuts.net, CC BY 4.0)Share the headline number
78%: Haircut customers who always or often tip (Pew, 2023) (Pew Research Center, via menhaircuts.net/stats/barber-tipping-statistics/)
Download the charts and infographic
- How often haircut customers tip, 2023 (PNG)
- Share of customers who always tip their hair stylist or barber (PNG)
- Typical tip people leave for a haircut, 2025 survey (PNG)
- Average barbershop tip by region, May 2025 to April 2026 (PNG)
- Share who always tip their hair stylist or barber, by generation, 2025 (PNG)
- Infographic: Barber Tipping Statistics 2026 (PNG, 1000 x 1500)
Related data
- $29Average men's haircut in the US, StyleSeat stylist data (page updated 2026)Men's Haircut Prices by State 2026
- $43Average barbershop haircut, SQUIRE data May 2025 to April 2026Barbershop vs Salon vs Chain Prices 2026
- $21,130Lifetime haircut cost at $43 a cut, 7 cuts a year and a 20% tip (menhaircuts.net calculation)Lifetime Cost of Men's Haircuts 2026
- 75,800Barber jobs in the US, 2025 (including self-employed)Barber Industry Statistics 2026
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