6 Incredible Perks of Being a Costco Employee (2023)

FAQs

What are the perks of being a Costco employee? ›

The top 11 benefits on our list include health insurance, 401K plans, paid time off, dental insurance, vision insurance, education, sick pay, parental leave, paid breaks, and life insurance. They'll even cover the cost of your Costco membership fee.

Costco employees get free membership cards for themselves and their friends and family. “We get four free membership cards (including mine) with 2% cash back annually,” one long-time Costo cashier wrote on Quora. “[These] cards can be given to any family members or any friend of your choice.

Costco pays its employees well, with hourly wages above the federal minimum wage and above many other retailers. Though Costco has many fine attributes as a company, the stock may be expensive for some investors given its high price-to-earnings ratio.

Costco offers bonuses for employees after five years. As a Costco employee of five years or more, you can get an average of $4,000 in bonuses every year. Every six months, Costco gives out a bonus of up to $3,500.

According to Careerbliss, the vice president of retail sales make the most money at Costco at $201,000 annually. The average salary of a Costco wholesale manager is $73,752, which is 17% more than the national average. Costco cashiers are among the lowest-paid employees making $25,000 to $34,000 per year.

Costco Wholesale pays $37,025 a year, on average, or $17.8 an hour. Costco Wholesale pays the lowest earners $30,000 a year, while the top 10 percent are paid over $45,000.

How Often Do Costco Employees Get a Raise? The company gives full-time workers two raises per year and one raise per year to part-time workers.

Costco offers bonuses for employees after five years. As a Costco employee of five years or more, you can get an average of $4,000 in bonuses every year.

Do Costco employees get discounts on gas? No. Costco employees do not receive discounts on Costco purchases. However, they receive many other benefits, such as free membership and memberships for friends and family members, as well as generous healthcare and retirement benefits.

Great environment, friendly coworkers, opportunities to learn. Management is easy to talk to and willing to listen. They do their best to be flexible with your life outside of work as well. Costco is a great company and they take care of their employees in terms of pay and benefits.

What are the pros and cons of working at Costco? ›

Pros: Benefits are fantastic as is the high starting wage, you'll find that you'll get along with most of your coworkers and managers. Cons: There are a few times as with any company that you will disagree with how management deals with certain situations or with people. Hard work. Very busy, dynamic, stimulating.

Costco's most popular product is its toilet paper. Costco sells over a billion rolls a year. Costco's $4.99 rotisserie chicken is also popular, and it sells hundreds of millions of chickens every year. Costco's bacon, hot dog and soda combo, and its gas round out the top five.

Costco's PTO and Vacation policy typically gives 20-30 days off a year with 94% of employees expected to be work free while out of office. Paid Time Off is Costco's 2nd most important benefit besides Healthcare when ranked by employees, with 25% of employees saying it is the most important benefit.

Costco offers bonuses for employees after five years.

As a Costco employee of five years or more, you can get an average of $4,000 in bonuses every year. Every six months, Costco gives out a bonus of up to $3,500.

The easiest job at Costco is front end assistant. Many people agree that this entry-level position is the easiest, as all you have to do is greet customers and help them find what they're looking for.

Does Costco give yearly raises? If you work full-time, after your first year, you are guaranteed to go up $2 per hour per year in pay regardless of 'clerk' or 'assistant' level position in the warehouse.

Costco operates on a time-and-a-half pay structure on Sundays. That means each hour an employee works they earn 50% more. No matter how many hours an employee works during the week, they earn more per hour when working on a Sunday.

One Reddit user and Costco employee says it can be difficult working as a frontend cashier at the store and having to push its programs. Supervisor positions can also be difficult because you're “babysitting” employees and people are often upset with you.

Like most retail jobs, working hours are outside the typical working weekdays with weekends off. That being said, full-time employees cannot be made to work over 40 hours per week and there are few opportunities for overtime.

Is it easy to get hired at Costco? ›

It is not too hard to land a job at Costco, especially at the entry level. You can land a high-paying job without a high school diploma at Costco. The entire hiring process takes about two weeks and involves two to three interviews, a drug test, and possibly an orientation week.

Multiple Yearly Bonuses

According to Costco's website, "we provide twice-yearly Extra Checks (bonuses) for long-tenured hourly employees."

2. Generous 401(k) Match. Costco offers a 50% match on your 401(k) contributions up to a maximum of $500 per year.

Does Costco have a hiring bonus? Based on feedback from 31 Costco employees about sign on bonuses, 91% said “I didn't receive a signing bonus.”In the case of employees at Costco who did receive a bonus the most common sign on bonus received was $1 - $1,000.

Although Costco employees don't get discounts on items in each store, all employees do get four free memberships, one for themselves and three for people of their choosing.

To purchase Costco health insurance, you must be a Costco member. From here, you have access to buy Costco health insurance through well-known providers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield or Oscar. By being a Costco member, you will have access to additional discounts or benefits on some of these plans.

Beyond the company's paid time off and employee vacation policies, Costco guarantees its staff seven paid holidays off, including the big ones of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. There's also a floating paid holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day that can be taken before or after the day itself.

Employees who hit 25 years at Costco can get a sheet cake with the Costco logo on it. "The cake thing is really rare because it's not every day an employee hits 25 years with the company," said the cashier assistant who is about to hit two years with a Costco in California.

You'll get 4% back on eligible gasoline purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. You'll also earn 3% on restaurants and eligible travel purchases, including Costco Travel.

“Tell us about yourself”, “why do you want to work for Costco?” and “how would you handle an angry customer” are some of the common Costco interview questions. Profile-based Costco interview questions can be more technical and relate to everyday duties that entail the position.

What is the lowest pay at Costco? ›

Hourly pay at Costco Wholesale Company ranges from an average of $13.41 to $28.89 an hour. Costco Wholesale Company employees with the job title Warehouse Supervisor make the most with an average hourly rate of $24.12, while employees with the title Front End Clerk make the least with an average hourly rate of $14.83.

Costco is a great company to work for, great pay, great benefits, and great coworkers. It gets a bit difficult and stressful once you step into a leadership role. They are supposed to guide you in the right direction and help you progress in your career. But the support is hit or miss.

It's something that you probably buy every month.

Read up on these secrets behind the famous Costco staple. It's actually something that you constantly need to buy but probably hate spending money on. That's right, Costco's best-selling item is toilet paper. They sell more than a billion rolls every year.

This is because of its low prices, unique and large selection of products, free samples, cheap food, and clever shopping hacks. That doesn't mean everyone would rather be shopping at Costco, as stores like Publix and Wegmans also have extremely devoted customers.

How many hours do you work a week at Costco? Part timers will generally work 5-8 hours a day (25 hour/week minimum), and full timers are guaranteed 40hrs a week (8 hour days).

On the employee's anniversary, if they have been paid for 2,000 hours or more the prior anniversary year, then they will be eligible for 8 hours of personal floating holiday time. If they were paid for less than 2,000 hours, then their available personal floating holiday time is prorated accordingly.

Costco 401K Retirement Plan is a single-employer corporate pension based in Issaquah, Washington. Established in 1995, the defined contribution plan provides retirement, death, and disability benefits to eligible employees of Costco Wholesale. The assets are managed by the executive management team.

Beyond the company's paid time off and vacation policies for employees, Costco guarantees its staff seven paid holidays off, including the big ones of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. There's also a floating paid holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.

Orientation is two days long, you watch videos in an office.

How long are Costco breaks? ›

In an 8 hour day, two paid 15 minute breaks(one after two hours, and one after six hours), and one 30 minute unpaid lunch break(after 4 hours). Part time, a paid 15 minute break after two hours, and an unpaid lunch break after four hours.

But from what we've researched — Costco employees have some pretty stand-out perks. And it's more than just a competitive paycheck. They get a free Costco membership, a free turkey during Thanksgiving, time-and-a-half pay on Sundays, and more.

Afternoons, Tuesday - Thursday is a sweet spot to shop if you have time during the weekday.

3. Does Costco Offer an Employee Discount? No, employees pay the same price as everyone else.

Overall working for Costco is really good. The positive atmosphere and the boost of moral the employees get periodically is quite nice. Opportunities for job growth are satisfactory. The benefits are the best part as they help me pay for many medical issues that I am burdened with.

Multiple Yearly Bonuses

According to Costco's website, "we provide twice-yearly Extra Checks (bonuses) for long-tenured hourly employees."

Costco's PTO and Vacation policy typically gives 20-30 days off a year with 94% of employees expected to be work free while out of office. Paid Time Off is Costco's 2nd most important benefit besides Healthcare when ranked by employees, with 25% of employees saying it is the most important benefit.

How many hours do Costco employees get? Like most workplaces, average shifts for all permanent employees at Costco are 8 hours long. However, some part-time Costco employees report being scheduled for 5-hour shifts regularly.

According to data from Glassdoor, Costco employees rated the company a 4 out of 5, putting it well ahead of competitors like Sam's Club and Target (TGT). Longtime CEO Craig Jelinek earned an approval rating of 85% from its staff, surpassing Amazon's (AMZN) Andy Jassy and Walmart's (WMT) Doug McMillon.

2. Generous 401(k) Match. Costco offers a 50% match on your 401(k) contributions up to a maximum of $500 per year.

How much is a Costco bonus? ›

Costco Executive Members receive a 2% Reward on qualified purchases (see calculation of 2% Reward below). Reward is capped at and will not exceed $1,000 for any 12-month period.