What does part-time work earn per week and per year?
At $21.25 an hour and 20 hours a week the weekly gross is $425, which is about $22,100 a year across 52 weeks.
At the $20.00 security specialist floor the same 20 hours is $400 a week and $20,800 a year, and at $30.00 an hour it is $600 a week and $31,200.
Add the differential and the top of the published set moves past $34,000 a year on 20 hours, which is above the 75th percentile for the retail sales occupation nationally.
Gross earnings for a Target part-time team member| Hours a week | At $20.75 an hour | At $21.25 an hour | At $23.65 an hour | At $30.00 an hour |
|---|
| 15 hours | $311 | $319 | $355 | $450 |
| 20 hours | $415 | $425 | $473 | $600 |
| 25 hours | $519 | $531 | $591 | $750 |
| 30 hours | $623 | $638 | $710 | $900 |
| 20 hours, annualized over 52 weeks | $21,580 | $22,100 | $24,596 | $31,200 |
| 25 hours, annualized over 52 weeks | $26,975 | $27,625 | $30,745 | $39,000 |
The two titles also carry different expectations, with the progression path described as an opportunity to grow pay based on tenure in the role rather than a promotion into a new job.
What are the two kinds of warehouse role?
Target lists two titles in the same posting, and the second one pays about $2 an hour more.
The Tucson posting sets out both. Warehouse Associate roles start at $20.75 an hour with a range to $23.25, and Warehouse Worker roles start at $22.75 an hour with a range to $26.83.
It also names the progression structure: as a progression team member there is an opportunity to grow pay based on tenure in the role, which is the mechanism
behind the second band. That is a detail most hourly job listings leave out, and it tells a part-time applicant what the top of the range represents.
The DailyPay feature is the one that changes a weekly budget rather than an annual one. Paid the next business day for hours already worked, it removes the wait for a payroll cycle that a part-time colleague is usually least able to carry.
What benefits do part-time Target team members get?
The TGT 401(k) matches contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 5 percent of eligible pay with immediate vesting, and there is a free DailyPay app that lets colleagues collect earned wages the next business day.
Health coverage comes with medical, dental and vision plans for eligible team members, plus free 24/7 virtual care and mental health support. Paid time off includes vacation time, paid national holidays, sick time and family leave.
Two benefits are unusual for a retailer. Earned wage access through the DailyPay app is free to enrol in, and the Dream to Be education assistance benefit offers tuition-free programmes. The
team member discount is 10 percent at all stores and Target.com, 20 percent off wellness products and adult owned-brand apparel, plus an extra 5 percent with a Target Circle Card.
What the Target benefits package covers| Area | What it includes | Eligibility |
|---|
| Health benefits | Medical, dental and vision, plus free 24/7 virtual care and mental health support | Hourly team members qualify at 25 hours per week |
| Retirement | TGT 401(k) matching dollar-for-dollar up to 5 percent of eligible pay | Immediate vesting |
| Cash access | DailyPay earned wage access, free to enrol in, paid the next business day | Team members control when they receive earned wages |
| Time off | Vacation, paid national holidays, sick time and family leave | Varies by position, average hours and length of service |
| Education | Dream to Be tuition-free programmes | Team members |
| Discounts | 10 percent at stores and Target.com, 20 percent off wellness and adult owned-brand products, extra 5 percent with a Circle Card | Team members |
The threshold also makes the 25 hour week a target rather than a ceiling. A colleague on 20 hours who can reach 25 gains medical, dental and vision coverage, which is worth more than the extra five hours of pay in cash.
How does the 25-hour benefits threshold work?
Target says its hourly team members, the largest group in the company, become eligible for health benefits at just 25 hours a week, which it describes as an industry-leading standard.
That threshold is the number to plan around, because it sits above the part-time schedules most students and caregivers take. On 20 hours a week the hourly rate is higher and the health benefits are not yet there.
It also explains why the company says it hires part-time staff as well as full-time. The progression from 20 hours to 25 is a small change in weekly
hours and a step change in what the job is worth, and the postings are explicit about the eligibility rules rather than leaving them to be discovered.
The Target team member part time pay therefore sits above the occupation medians for retail and warehouse work, and the 25 hour benefits threshold sits above the part-time schedules most people take.
How does Target compare with other employers?
On the entry rate, Target sits well above the retail and warehouse medians, and the benefits threshold is the most generous in the comparison.
The BLS medians for the comparable occupations are $17.02 an hour for retail salespersons, $17.44 for hand packers and packagers and $15.00 for fast food and counter workers. A Target part-time warehouse colleague at $21.25 is $3.81 above the packing median and $6.25 above the fast food median.
Against the logistics employers, Target publishes the differential on the posting while the largest operators often do not. UPS sets a $21.00 part-time start rate with no national night or Sunday premium under its 2023 to 2028 agreement, and Amazon publishes no differential figure at all.
Part-time pay compared across retail and logistics employers| Employer | Part-time rate | Differential published | Benefits threshold |
|---|
| Target, part-time warehouse | $20.75 to $23.65 to start | Yes, $2.00 to $3.50 an hour | Health benefits at 25 hours a week |
| Target, part-time security | $20.00 to $30.00 an hour | Not stated | Health benefits at 25 hours a week |
| UPS, part-time start rate | $21.00 under the 2023 to 2028 agreement | No national night or Sunday premium | Union terms apply |
| Amazon, warehouse | Published per site | No figure published | Varies by site |
| BLS retail salespersons median | $17.02 an hour | Not applicable | Occupation benchmark |
One more practical point for an applicant. The postings ask for as much open availability as possible, and the seasonal listings print the shift windows before you apply, so the schedule commitment is visible from the start.
What happens to Target part-time pay next?
Expect the part-time warehouse band to keep climbing faster than the store rate, because fulfilment capacity is where the hiring demand is.
Two forces are at work. Seasonal and holiday fulfilment volume continues to pull on part-time warehouse staffing, and the 25 hour benefits threshold gives the company a reason to keep offering enough hours to retain people who are close to qualifying.
The company frames itself as a pay leader in every market it operates in, and the part-time postings are where that claim is tested most often, because a part-time applicant can read the band before applying.
Next steps
Check the starting rate, the range, the differential and the shift windows together, because they move independently.
Photo: stevepb, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/grocery-shopping-supermarket-1232944/)
Fazlur Rahman
