Average Cost of a Restaurant Meal in the US

A casual sit-down meal in the US typically costs $18 to $35 per person -- one entree and a drink, before tax and tip -- according to Toast industry data and Square restaurant benchmarks. Fine dining starts at $75 per person and routinely exceeds $150. Alcohol, appetizers, and gratuity can add 35 to 50 percent to any tier.

What a Meal Costs, by Restaurant Tier

The clearest way to set realistic expectations is to anchor on tier before location, time of day, or menu. Restaurant pricing in the US has always sorted itself into recognizable bands, and understanding where a given spot falls tells you most of what you need to know before you see the menu.

Ranges drawn from Toast's State of the Restaurant Industry report and Square restaurant industry benchmarks. Figures are per person, before tax and tip, and reflect national averages -- individual market prices vary significantly.

The tier jump from casual to upscale-casual is where many diners are surprised mid-meal: adding a cocktail or a glass of wine at a $$$ restaurant can push a solo diner's bill from $50 toward $80 before tax and tip arrive.

For a complete breakdown of what the dollar-sign ratings actually signal, see our guide on Restaurant Price Tiers Explained: What $ to $$$$ Really Means.

What Drives Your Check Beyond the Entree

The per-person ranges above cover one entree and a non-alcoholic drink. The gap between that baseline and what you actually pay at the end of the meal can be wide. Here is where the money goes.

Drinks and Alcohol

Alcohol is the single largest variable on most restaurant checks. A single cocktail at a casual sit-down restaurant typically runs $12 to $16. A glass of wine at an upscale-casual restaurant averages $14 to $20, per Square restaurant industry data. Over the course of a dinner for two with two drinks each, the beverage total can easily match or exceed the food subtotal. Craft cocktails, premium spirits, and by-the-bottle wine at fine dining establishments add even faster.

Non-alcoholic beverages are a smaller but still real line item. Soft drinks, sparkling water, juice, and specialty coffee each typically run $3 to $7 at sit-down restaurants. The spread matters when you are budgeting a larger group.

Appetizers and Dessert

Appetizers and starters typically add $10 to $18 per person at casual restaurants and $16 to $30 at upscale-casual spots, per Toast industry data. Dessert, when ordered, adds another $9 to $16 at most sit-down tiers. Neither is obligatory -- but a table that orders both can easily see per-person costs climb by $25 to $40 before a drink is poured.

Tax and Tip

Sales tax on restaurant meals ranges from zero in states with no sales tax to roughly 10 percent in high-tax cities (some localities add city tax on top of state tax). Tax is unavoidable and non-negotiable -- budget for 5 to 10 percent on top of the subtotal.

Tip is the other consistent add-on at full-service restaurants. The Emily Post Institute standard is 15 to 20 percent of the pre-tax subtotal, with most diners landing on 18 to 20 percent for solid service. On a $45-per-person check, that adds $8 to $9 per person. For a full walkthrough of when and how much to tip in every situation, see How Much to Tip at a Restaurant.

Surcharges Some Restaurants Now Add

A growing number of restaurants -- particularly in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York -- add service charges, kitchen appreciation fees, or health-and-wellness surcharges to every check, typically 3 to 5 percent for health coverage contributions, according to the National Restaurant Association's commentary on the trend. These are separate from the tip and non-negotiable. The charge is usually disclosed on the menu or at the bottom of the bill. Budget for it when dining in major metros.

How the Trend Line Has Moved: Eating Out Now Costs More Than It Did

The cost of a restaurant meal has risen meaningfully over the past several years -- faster, in fact, than groceries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics food-away-from-home CPI rose approximately 4 to 5 percent annually between 2022 and 2024, outpacing both the food-at-home CPI and the broader Consumer Price Index during the same period. The BLS tracks restaurant prices separately from grocery prices, and the gap has been consistent and pronounced.

The National Restaurant Association attributes the divergence to restaurant-specific cost pressures: labor represents 30 to 35 percent of restaurant operating costs, and wage increases -- particularly minimum wage legislation in California, New York, and other states -- have moved restaurant labor costs faster than any other operating expense. Food commodity prices and commercial rent in densely populated cities compound the effect.

The practical implication: the casual dinner that cost $25 per person in 2019 often costs $32 to $36 per person today at the same type of restaurant, even if the menu has not changed materially.

The Monthly Math: What Dining Out Actually Costs Over Time

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey provides the most reliable household-level data on restaurant spending. The most recent available survey data shows that American consumer units (roughly equivalent to households) spend approximately $3,500 to $4,000 per year on food away from home on average -- a figure that encompasses all dining occasions from fast food to fine dining, from all household members.

That annual figure works out to roughly $290 to $335 per month per household. For a single person, the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey reports food-away-from-home spending of approximately $2,500 to $3,200 per year, or $210 to $270 per month. These are national averages -- actual spending varies substantially by income level, household size, and geography. A single professional in a major coastal city who eats out frequently can spend well above that range.

A useful personal benchmark: if you eat out for lunch three times a week (averaging $14 per meal at fast-casual) and dinner twice a week (averaging $30 per person at casual sit-down), your baseline before drinks, appetizers, and tip is roughly $228 to $250 per month. Add beverages and tip and the real monthly total climbs to $320 to $380 for a moderate dining-out frequency.

How City Affects Every Number in This Guide

Geography is the variable that overrides everything else on this page. The same category of restaurant -- call it a $$ casual American spot -- does not cost the same in Omaha as it does in Manhattan. According to the National Restaurant Association, commercial rents and labor costs in high-cost metros translate directly and predictably into menu prices.

A casual sit-down dinner in the US heartland -- Midwest, mid-South, inland Southeast -- typically lands in the $18 to $28 per-person range for an entree and a non-alcoholic drink. The same category of restaurant in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, or Washington D.C. typically runs $30 to $45 per person for the same order. The dollar-sign tier system adjusts to local norms: a $$ restaurant in San Francisco already prices at what would be considered $$$ in Des Moines.

This matters most for travelers. A budget that felt comfortable in your home market can look different when you land in a city with a different baseline. Checking a current menu before you choose a restaurant -- rather than relying on a dollar-sign tier from a year-old review -- is the most reliable calibration.

For a detailed look at how dine-in costs compare to what you pay for the same meal delivered to your door, see Dine-In vs Takeout vs Delivery: What You Actually Pay.

Putting It Together

The average restaurant meal in the US covers a wide range -- from $8 at a fast-food counter to well past $150 at a fine-dining destination -- and the all-in number you pay is reliably higher than the entree price suggests. Drinks and alcohol are the biggest swing factor at casual and upscale-casual tiers. Tax and tip are consistent add-ons at full-service restaurants, typically adding 25 to 30 percent to the food subtotal. And the food-away-from-home CPI, per BLS data, confirms that eating out has become measurably more expensive over the past several years.

The most useful habit when budgeting a meal out: look at the current menu, estimate an entree plus whatever you plan to drink, then add 30 to 35 percent for tax, tip, and the possibility of an appetizer. That math gives you a reliable floor for what the evening will actually cost.

None of these figures are meant to discourage dining out -- they are meant to help you plan without surprises. Knowing that a $$$ restaurant in a major city typically runs $50 to $80 per person all-in lets you budget a group dinner accurately, pick the right tier for the occasion, and walk away without sticker shock. The National Restaurant Association reports that Americans make more than 50 billion restaurant visits per year; most of those visits go smoothly because diners had a reasonable sense of what to expect before they sat down.