Hotel & travel tipping guide
Do you tip a parking garage attendant?
Usually — tipping parking garage attendants is customary in the U.S., though not obligatory. $2–$5 per pickup is a common tipping range at attended garages, with $2 a useful reference point; monthly parkers usually add a year-end thank-you of $10–$30 or more per attendant.
Based on: The Emily Post Institute, Brick Underground
The short version
Yes — in attended garages, the New York kind where staff park every car and bring it back around, a small tip at pickup is customary. It runs lower than valet tipping because you're already paying the garage for the parking, but the person who fetched your car still expects a couple of dollars.
In attended garages — the New York kind, where staff park every car and bring it back around — a small cash tip at pickup is customary even though you're paying the garage for the parking itself. $2–$5 is the commonly cited range, a couple of dollars is what most regulars hand over, and $10 or $20 remain optional higher choices for a rush retrieval or a stacked garage. Monthly parkers typically keep the everyday tip small and give a year-end thank-you instead: $10–$30 per attendant in Emily Post's holiday guide, and $25–$75 in New York's residential garages according to Brick Underground's annual guide.
How it's normally handled
Have singles ready when you hand over your ticket; the exchange happens as the car pulls up with the next customer waiting. Tip at pickup rather than drop-off — that's the person who did the running. Monthly parkers keep the everyday tip small and give the attendants a year-end thank-you instead.
What people actually tip parking garage attendants
Typical U.S. range
$2–$5 per pickup
Most common
$2 per pickup
When to go above the range
A stacked or tandem garage where other cars had to move, a fast retrieval during a rush, bad weather, help loading bags, or an attendant who looks after your car all year.
Common mistakes when tipping parking garage attendants
- Tipping at drop-off and nothing at pickup, when the pickup is the customary moment
- Assuming the garage's fee or monthly rate includes anything for the attendants
- Skipping the year-end thank-you as a monthly parker at a residential garage
Work out your own
How much should you tip a parking garage attendant?
Enter what you actually paid and see where each option lands against the $2–$5 per pickup range — then pick the amount that feels right.
Calculate your tipFrequently asked
How much do you tip a parking garage attendant?+
In the U.S., $2–$5 per pickup is a common tipping range at attended garages, with $2 a useful reference point; monthly parkers usually add a year-end thank-you of $10–$30 or more per attendant. The typical range is $2–$5 per pickup, with $2 per pickup the most common reference point.
Is it rude not to tip a parking garage attendant?+
Tipping parking garage attendants is common and appreciated in the U.S., but it is not obligatory. A common reference is $2 per pickup.
When should you tip more than the usual range?+
A stacked or tandem garage where other cars had to move, a fast retrieval during a rush, bad weather, help loading bags, or an attendant who looks after your car all year. In those situations people commonly go above $2 per pickup.
When is the tip usually given?+
Have singles ready when you hand over your ticket; the exchange happens as the car pulls up with the next customer waiting. Tip at pickup rather than drop-off — that's the person who did the running. Monthly parkers keep the everyday tip small and give the attendants a year-end thank-you instead.
What do people most often get wrong when tipping parking garage attendants?+
Tipping at drop-off and nothing at pickup, when the pickup is the customary moment. Others include: assuming the garage's fee or monthly rate includes anything for the attendants; skipping the year-end thank-you as a monthly parker at a residential garage.
How tippos thinks about it
tippos suggests starting from how you use the garage, factoring in how the pickup went, and choosing the per-pickup amount that feels right for the person who brought your car around.
Sources
Ranges on this page come from these published guides. Sources reviewed .
- The Emily Post Institute — General Tipping Guide — Puts the attendant who returns your car at $2–$5, tipped when the car comes back — the same act in an attended garage.
- Brick Underground — Holiday Tipping Guide: How much to tip your doorman, super, porter, and other staff — Brick Underground's annual New York guide puts garage attendants at $25–$75 for the holidays, within a broad $25–$100 range that depends on the building and the service (December 2025).
- The Emily Post Institute — Holiday Tipping Guide — Lists garage attendants at $10–$30 or a small gift for the holidays, scaled to your budget and how often you use the service.