California is the worst state for tipping, restaurant trends report shows

SAN JOSE, Calif. – California often finds itself on the top of a variety of “most expensive” lists. So when it comes to high costs for fast food, it may be no surprise that the Golden State tops that list too. 

According to a new study by online lending site NetCredit, California ranks as the number one most expensive state in the country for fast food, with prices 20.43% higher than the national average.

The findings also showed that California has seen the greatest rise in its fast food price premium. Costs have spiked almost 12% from 2023.

Furthermore, when analyzing costs by cities, six of the 10 most expensive cities for quick-service restaurants are in California, according to the research. 

Two of those cities are in the Bay Area: San Jose is the third most expensive, and San Francisco the fifth.

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Specific restaurants

The study also took a closer look at how states ranked when broken down to some of the most popular take-out chains: Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Subway, and Taco Bell.

Among the restaurants on the list, the chain with the smallest price premium compared to the national average in California was Taco Bell.

California topped the list for prices for the following restaurants. 

Pizza Hut: 29.70% higher than the national average.Popeye’s: 25.61% higher than the national average.Subway: 24.20% higher than the national average.KFC: 20.64% higher than the national average

California came in near the top when it came to prices for the other fast food chains.

Burger King: 2nd most expensive, 22.89% higher than the national average.McDonald’s: 6th most expensive, 14.78% higher than the national average.Taco Bell: 9th most expensive, 6.23% higher than the national average.

The gap was large when looking at California and comparing it to West Virginia, named the least expensive state for fast food. West Virginia’s prices for fast food were almost 10% cheaper than the national average, according to the figures from NetCredit.

Top 5 least expensive states West VirginiaGeorgiaMississippiLouisianaTennessee Top 5 most expensive states  California AlasakaWashingtonHawaiiVermont Top 10 most expensive cities  SeattleLos AngelesSan JoseSacramentoSan Francisco FresnoSan DiegoKailua, HawaiiBellevue, WashingtonFairbanks, Alaska

Dig deeper:

NetCredit conducted its research by using Grubhub food delivery company, for menus and prices of fast food chains in 260 large cities.

Researchers calculated the average national price for a set of popular items for each chain. They then compared the national average prices to those in each state, as well as comparing costs in each major city. 

NetCredit also used its data from 2023 to compare the change in price premiums. 

Big picture view:

Like other costs driven up by inflation and tariffs, the lending company said fast food has also gotten more expensive, going up 3.4% in 12 months. 

For those hoping to curb costs, experts recommended consumers pay attention to prices on the menu. 

“With takeout prices changing across the country, now is a good time to take a closer look at restaurant menus to determine how they may or may not fit into your household budget,” NetCredit said.

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