The best and worst tippers in Chicago

The mobile credit card payment app thingamajig Square just released tipping data from every single Chi business that uses the service and has tipping enabled (so, restaurants, barbers, car washes, taxis, etc.).

We sifted through three million transactions across 25,000 businesses (all sorted by zip code) and plotted out just how ruthlessly thrifty/obscenely generous every neighborhood is, in the map above.

Click here to enlarge it, or just check out some of the highlights below:

  • Overall, Chicago is the nation’s most generous big city with the highest percentage of tippers overall (63%), compared to totally inferior cities like New York (58%), LA (55%), and Atlanta (51%, lowest overall).
  • Businesses in the 60606 zip code, the Western portion of the Loop, are most likely to receive a tip (65%).
  • Spots in the 60628 zip code -- encompassing the Roseland, Roosmoor, and Pullman neighborhoods -- super wish they weren't/are least likely to be tipped (22%).


Sean Cooley is Thrillist's Chicago Editor, and judges his self-worth based on how many expired yogurts are in the fridge. Follow him @SeanCooley.