Costco state premiums on top of the published pay range| State group | Premium on the starting rate | Premium at the top of scale |
|---|
| Alaska, Connecticut, DC, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Washington | $5 an hour | $5 an hour |
| California, New Jersey, Nevada, New York | $6 an hour | $6 an hour |
| Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, South Carolina | $9 an hour for licensed optician | $9 an hour |
What benefits do Costco employees get?
Costco employees get medical, dental, and vision coverage with low premiums, a 401(k), an employee stock purchase plan, and paid time off, and coverage usually starts after 60 days.
Health benefits take effect on the first of the month after 60 days of continuous service for most hourly employees (Costco Careers benefits, 2026).
The list is longer than most retailers manage. Spouses, children, and domestic partners are eligible for the same coverage, and employees can add a hearing aid program, a pharmacy program, an employee assistance program, and a health care reimbursement account.
Costco also runs a college student retention program, which lets employees hold their tenure and keep progressing toward the next step while they earn a degree. Employees can take one paid floating holiday for a day that matters to them.
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage with low premiums and copays
- 401(k) plan with employer matching and discretionary contributions
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Paid sick time, paid vacation, eight paid holidays, and one floating holiday
- Paid bonding leave, adoption assistance, and dependent care assistance
Costco benefits and who qualifies in 2026| Benefit | Details | Eligibility |
|---|
| Health, dental, and vision | Low out-of-pocket premiums and copays, family coverage available | Full-time and eligible part-time employees after 60 days of service |
| 401(k) and stock purchase plan | Employer matching plus discretionary contributions | Eligible employees |
| Paid vacation | Starts at 3 days after 6 months, up to 6 weeks at 30 years | Full-time and part-time employees |
| Paid holidays | Eight paid holidays plus one paid floating holiday | Employees |
| Leave and assistance | Paid bonding leave, adoption assistance, dependent care assistance | Eligible employees |
How much vacation does a Costco employee earn?
Paid vacation starts at 3 days after six months and reaches 6 weeks after 30 years of service. The schedule is written into the collective bargaining agreement, which covers the unionized part of the workforce while Costco applies similar terms broadly.
Vacation hours are prorated if you work less than 2,000 hours in a year, so part-time employees accrue on the same scale but in smaller amounts.
Pay periods are bi-weekly, and vacation requests are bid on a schedule posted each year, which means popular time off is claimed by seniority rather than by whoever asks first.
Nobody is entitled to prorated vacation before six months of service, and the department schedule is posted each December so bids are settled by seniority before the year begins.
Costco paid vacation schedule by service| Time with Costco | Vacation | Hours |
|---|
| 6 months | 3 days | 24 |
| 1 year | 1 week | 40 |
| 2 to 5 years | 2 weeks | 80 |
| 5 to 10 years | 3 weeks | 120 |
| 10 to 15 years | 4 weeks | 160 |
| 15 to 30 years | 5 weeks | 200 |
| 30 years and above | 6 weeks | 240 |
The schedule comes from the Costco Teamsters agreement for 2025 to 2028, which also sets bi-weekly pay periods and a $2.00 an hour premium for lead positions (Costco Teamsters agreement, 2026).
What extra pay can Costco employees earn?
Beyond the hourly scale, Costco pays premiums for specialist work, Sunday shifts, and leadership steps. The published ranges add $3 an hour for certified pharmacy technicians, $4 an hour for immunization-certified pharmacy technicians, and $2 an hour for logistics delivery drivers.
Lead positions carry $2.00 an hour above the top clerk rate, and Costco employees also describe Sunday premium pay as part of the package. Forklift operators pick up a $1 an hour premium when running the forklift, and depot truck drivers start higher at $31.00 an hour.
Overtime still applies on top of all of this for hours worked past 40 in a week.
The Sunday premium is one reason weekend schedules often pay better, and the specialist premiums appear on the same published pay document as the base scale, so you can read them before you sign.
How does Costco pay compare with other retailers?
Costco pays the most at the entry point of any major US retailer, and the gap widens with tenure. Costco's floor of $20.00 an hour compares with a $15.81 national median hourly wage for cashiers and $17.95 for stockers and order fillers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
The comparison with other large chains is closer. Walmart's 2026 overnight postings ran $15 to $21 an hour, Target's published band for hourly team members runs $15 to $24 depending on role and location, and Amazon states that core operations employees start at a minimum of $20 an hour.
UPS sits high for a different reason. Its package handlers reached $23.50 an hour after the August 2026 contract increase, but that figure assumes union scale and tenure (Teamsters Contract, 2026).
Federal wage figures exclude shift differentials and overtime, so the Costco range, which already folds specialist premiums into the listed rates, is the better comparison when you are reading an actual offer.
Costco pay against other US retail and logistics employers| Employer or role | Pay benchmark |
|---|
| Costco new hire | $20.00 an hour floor, $21.00 for clerks (Costco pay ranges, 2026) |
| Costco average hourly rate | About $31 an hour across US and Canadian warehouses |
| Amazon core operations | $20 an hour minimum start (Amazon Newsroom, October 2026) |
| Walmart overnight stockers | $15 to $21 an hour (Walmart Postings, 2026) |
| Target team members | $15 to $24 an hour band (Target Pay Facts, 2026) |
| UPS package handler | $23.50 an hour after the August 2026 raise |
| BLS cashier median | $15.81 an hour (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025) |
How do you get hired at Costco, and what comes next?
Apply through Costco Careers, and look for the progression steps and promotion rules in the agreement once you are inside. Costco runs about 640 warehouses in the US and about 115 in Canada, and it hires seasonal staff ahead of the holiday season.
The agreement sets out clear routes upward. A Service Assistant who accumulates 800 hours in the Service Clerk bracket can be promoted to Service Clerk, and moving to a higher classification keeps the hours already banked toward the next progression step.
Holiday hiring is the busiest hiring window, and each Costco Careers listing shows the position, the warehouse, and the pay range that applies there, so the number you apply against is on the page.
Ask about the lead role when you have tenure. Lead positions pay $2.00 an hour above the top clerk rate, and openings are posted with a job description and qualifications.
Pay ranges, premiums, and benefit terms change with each agreement and vary by warehouse and state. Check Costco's current published pay ranges and the benefits summary for your location before you apply.
Next steps
Compare the published range for the exact position and warehouse, not the headline company number.
Photo: 2857440, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/hamburg-speicherstadt-channel-4570577/)
Fazlur Rahman
