Costco Headcount Analysis: Employees Worldwide and By Segment

Global workforce. Pexels Images.

This article covers Costco’s total employees worldwide and employee numbers by segment. Costco’s operating segments consist of the U.S., Canada, and International markets.

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Investors interested in Costco’s other key statistics may find more resources on these pages:

Same Store Sales

• Costco same stores sales by segment: U.S., Canada, and International,

Revenue

• Costco revenue by country: U.S., Canada, and International,
• Costco revenue sources by category: merchandise sales and membership fees,
• Costco revenue segments: foods, non-foods, fresh foods, etc.,
• Costco E-Commerce (Online) sales revenue,

Profit Margin and Debt

• Costco profit margin by country: U.S., Canada, And International,
• Costco financial position: debt due vs liquidity,

Comparison with Walmart

• Costco vs Walmart: profit margin,
• Costco vs Walmart: profit in the U.S. and International segments,
• Costco vs Walmart: total stores and average store size,

Other Statistics

• Costco total stores worldwide and in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, etc.,
• Costco total gas station numbers and gasoline revenue,

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Definitions

To help readers understand the content better, the following terms and glossaries have been provided.

Costco Employees: Costco employees are individuals who work for Costco Wholesale Corporation, a global retailer known for its membership-based warehouse stores. They encompass a range of positions, including roles in retail, logistics, customer service, management, and more.

Costco is recognized for offering competitive wages and benefits, which can include healthcare coverage, retirement plans, and paid time off for both full-time and part-time workers.

Costco employees are often praised for their professionalism and dedication, contributing to the company’s reputation for excellent customer service.

Many employees benefit from a work environment that emphasizes fair treatment, opportunities for growth, and workplace stability. The company has consistently been noted for its strong commitment to employee satisfaction and retention.

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Why are Costco’s employees concentrated mainly in the U.S.?

Costco’s employee concentration in the U.S. is largely due to the company’s origins and its significant presence in the American market. Costco was founded in the United States, and its headquarters are located in Issaquah, Washington.

The U.S. remains its largest market, with the majority of its warehouse locations situated there. This naturally leads to a higher concentration of employees in the country.

Additionally, Costco’s business model thrives on membership-based retail, which has been particularly successful in the U.S. market. The company’s expansion into international markets has been more gradual, resulting in a smaller workforce outside the U.S. compared to its domestic operations.

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Insight & Summary of Costco’s Global Workforce and Workforce By Segment

The following analysis consolidates the trends observed across Costco’s global employees and employees breakdown for the 2014–2025 period.

• Costco has maintained a highly consistent trajectory of workforce expansion, scaling its global employee base from 195,000 in 2014 to 341,000 by 2025.

• While the company achieved a robust historical growth rate — peaking at 7.5% in 2020 to support pandemic-era volume surges — headcount additions have naturally decelerated in recent periods.

• Over the last three fiscal years, worldwide employee growth averaged 3.9%, culminating in a more normalized 2.4% expansion in 2025, reflecting operational stabilization and efficiency gains at scale.

• From a geographic mix perspective, the United States remains the foundational operational hub, accounting for a commanding 65.7% of the total workforce on a three-year average basis.

• However, international markets represent the clearest vector for strategic expansion. Driven by accelerated overseas warehouse openings, the International segment achieved a field-leading average growth rate of 6.6% over the latest three periods—nearly double the U.S. domestic growth rate (3.4%).

• Consequently, the International segment’s share of the workforce mix has steadily climbed to 18.5% by 2025, underscoring a deliberate capital and operational rotation toward high-growth global territories outside of North America.

The table below combines Costco’s global headcounts and headcount breakdown by segment into a single view for the latest three fiscal years.

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Total Employees Worldwide and YoY Growth

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Employees in the U.S., Canada, and International Markets

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Percentage of Employees in the U.S., Canada, and International Markets

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Employees by Country YoY Growth

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References and Credits

1. All financial figures presented were obtained and referenced from Costco’s annual reports published on the company’s investor relations page: Costco Investor Relations.

2. Pexels Images.

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Disclosure

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist us in writing some of the text in this article. However, the data is directly obtained from original sources and meticulously cross-checked by our editors multiple times to ensure its accuracy and reliability.

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