Here’s How Much Money Costco Store Managers Make—It’s More Than You Think

We always knew working at Costco would be good, but not this good!

Costco regularly wins praise, both from customers who love the wholesale store and employees who love working there. Costco has been hailed by Glassdoor as one of the best places to work, with reviews citing the company’s great pay and benefits. Former employees confess the same, saying healthcare for all employees, complimentary store memberships, and free turkeys on Thanksgiving are some of the great secret perks of the superstore.

But even better is the pay. According to GOBankingRates, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek makes about $6.5 million a year. That’s not shocking, but what may be a little more surprising is how much Costco managers make. While Glassdoor reports an average base pay of $106,836, Costco managers actually make much more. According to Costco’s Executive Vice President of Administration, Pat Callans, “The average annual salary for a Costco general manager in the U.S. is currently $138,000.” If that sounds like a lot, wait for it: Once you add “bonus and stock-based compensation, a Costco GM can earn approximately triple that amount,” Callan tells Reader’s Digest. In contrast, this is how much the average Costco employee makes.

Costco employees overall seem pretty content with their pay and benefits. However, not every role working for the superstore is great—here’s what employees say is the worst job when it comes to working at Costco.

Erin Kayata
Erin Kayata joined Reader’s Digest as an assistant staff writer in March 2019, coming from the Stamford Advocate where she covered education. Prior to this, she was part of a two-year Hearst fellowship program where she covered crime and education in suburban Connecticut. She graduated from Emerson College and spent part of her undergraduate career writing for the Boston Globe. When she’s not writing articles about useful facts and pop culture, you can find Erin enjoying the local theater scene and working toward her goal of reading 50 books a year.