Costco Stores Worldwide and Locations Breakdown By Country

Brazilian coffee. Pexels Images.

This article outlines Costco’s global warehouse distribution, with a breakdown by country. While the majority of Costco’s stores are situated in the U.S., the company has significantly expanded its international footprint.

Today, Costco operates warehouses in several key countries, including China, reflecting its growth and adaptability in the global market.

Let’s look at the numbers!

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

Same Store Sales

• Costco comparable and same store sales by segment,

Revenue

• Costco revenue by category: foods, non-foods, fresh foods, etc.,
• Costco revenue by category: merchandise sales and membership fees,
• Costco revenue by region: U.S., Canada, and International,

Other Revenue Streams

• Costco gas station numbers and gasoline revenue,
• Costco e-commerce revenue and e-commerce comparable sales,

Profit Margin & Financial Standing

• Costco profit margin breakdown: 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 headcount analysis: total employees and employee by region,

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Definitions

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

Warehouses: Costco’s warehouses are large, membership-based retail facilities operated by Costco Wholesale Corporation. They function as warehouse clubs, offering members a wide variety of products at wholesale prices. These warehouses are characterized by their bulk-item offerings, minimalistic layout, and efficient operations, which allow Costco to maintain competitive pricing.

Products sold at Costco warehouses range from groceries and household goods to electronics, furniture, and even services like optical care and travel booking. The company focuses on high-quality items, including its own private-label brand, Kirkland Signature, to ensure customer satisfaction. Unlike traditional retail stores, Costco emphasizes a no-frills shopping experience, helping them maintain low costs and pass on savings to their members.

Average Warehouse Space: Costco’s average warehouse space is approximately 145,000 to 146,000 square feet. This size reflects Costco’s focus on efficiency and bulk sales, allowing them to stock a wide variety of products while maintaining a streamlined shopping experience.

The warehouses are designed with an industrial layout, featuring concrete floors and towering steel shelves to maximize storage and minimize operational costs. Some Costco warehouses are even larger, with certain locations exceeding 230,000 square feet, while smaller ones may be around 80,000 square feet. This variation depends on the specific market and customer demand in the area

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Why are Costco’s warehouses located mainly in the U.S.?

Costco’s warehouses are predominantly located in the U.S. due to several strategic and market-driven factors:

• Home Market Advantage: Costco was founded in the U.S., and its headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington. This gives the company a strong foundation and deep understanding of the domestic market, allowing it to cater effectively to U.S. consumers.

• Large Consumer Base: The U.S. has a vast population with a high demand for bulk purchasing, which aligns perfectly with Costco’s warehouse club model. American consumers are accustomed to shopping in bulk for cost savings, making the U.S. an ideal market for Costco’s business strategy.




• Established Infrastructure: Costco has a well-developed supply chain and distribution network in the U.S., which supports efficient operations and cost management. This infrastructure makes it easier to expand and maintain a large number of warehouses domestically.

• Membership Model Success: The membership-based model has been highly successful in the U.S., with millions of loyal members driving consistent revenue. This success encourages Costco to continue focusing on its home market.

• Economic and Cultural Fit: The U.S. economy and consumer culture are well-suited to Costco’s value-oriented approach, which emphasizes quality products at competitive prices.

While the U.S. remains Costco’s primary market, the company has been expanding internationally to tap into new growth opportunities. Countries like China, Japan, and Canada are becoming increasingly important as Costco diversifies its global presence.

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Insight & Summary of Costco’s Store Locations

The following analysis consolidates the trends observed across Costco’s warehouses worldwide for the 2014–2025 period.

• Costco’s global warehouse count expanded from 663 locations in 2014 to 914 in 2025, a 38% increase over eleven years, achieved through a measured and consistent pace of annual openings ranging from 1.7% to 4.2% growth per year. Notably, average warehouse size has remained essentially static at 144,000 to 147,000 square feet throughout the period — reflecting Costco’s deliberate standardization of its physical format and its preference for operational consistency over architectural evolution. This combination of steady unit growth and format discipline is characteristic of a business that scales through replication rather than reinvention.

• The United States has maintained an unwavering dominance in the warehouse mix, accounting for approximately 69% of all global locations throughout the entire period — declining only marginally from 70.6% in 2014 to 68.8% in 2025. In absolute terms, U.S. locations grew from 468 to 629, adding 161 warehouses over eleven years at a consistent pace.

• Canada, the second-largest market, held a stable 12–13% share with locations growing modestly from 88 to 110, reflecting a mature and well-penetrated market with limited incremental white space. The U.K., by contrast, has been the most stagnant of the established markets — adding just three locations over the entire period, from 26 to 29, and seeing its share gradually compress from 3.9% to 3.2% — suggesting either market saturation or a deliberate pullback in expansion ambition within that geography.

• The most strategically revealing trends lie in the faster-growing international markets. Japan has nearly doubled from 20 to 37 locations, with its share rising from 3.0% to 4.0% — making it one of the more active expansion markets among established operations. Australia grew from 6 to 15 warehouses, and Korea from 11 to 20, both demonstrating consistent expansion trajectories.

• China stands out as the most consequential emerging market in the dataset, entering with a single location in 2019 and reaching 7 by 2024, where it has since plateaued — an early-stage footprint that signals long-term strategic intent but remains operationally nascent. Mexico has grown steadily from 33 to 42 locations, while newer markets including Spain, France, New Zealand, Iceland, and Sweden collectively remain in single digits, representing optionality rather than material scale contributions.

• The overarching picture is one of deliberate, geography-diversified expansion anchored by a dominant and stable U.S. base. The gradual but consistent rise of Asia-Pacific markets — particularly Japan, Australia, Korea, and the early-stage China presence — points to where Costco’s next decade of international growth is most likely to be concentrated, even as North America continues to generate the vast majority of warehouse count and, by extension, revenue and profitability.

The table below combines Costco’s global warehouses by region into a single view for the latest three fiscal years.

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Total Warehouses Worldwide, Growth, and Average Floor Space

The definition of Costco’s warehouses and average warehouse space is available here: warehouses and average warehouse space.

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Warehouses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the U.K.

Warehouse numbers are obtained from Costco’s annual reports.

Fiscal Year	Countries
	U.S.	Canada	Mexico	Japan	U.K.
FY2014	468	88	33	20	26
FY2015	480	89	36	23	27
FY2016	501	91	36	25	28
FY2017	514	97	37	26	28
FY2018	527	100	39	26	28
FY2019	543	100	39	26	29
FY2020	552	101	39	27	29
FY2021	564	105	39	30	29
FY2022	578	107	40	31	29
FY2023	591	107	40	33	29
FY2024	614	108	40	35	29
FY2025	629	110	42	37	29

The definition of Costco’s warehouses and average warehouse space is available here: warehouses and average warehouse space.

The majority of Costco’s warehouses are located in the U.S., underscoring the country’s position as the company’s primary market. As of the end of fiscal year 2025, Costco operated 629 stores in the U.S., reflecting an impressive growth of over 30% compared to the 468 warehouses reported in fiscal year 2014. This expansion highlights Costco’s sustained efforts to meet the growing demand for its wholesale model across the United States.

Internationally, Canada ranks as Costco’s second-largest market, demonstrating the company’s strong presence in North America outside its home country. By the end of fiscal year 2025, Costco had 110 stores in Canada, marking a 25% increase from the 88 locations reported in fiscal year 2014. This growth emphasizes Costco’s ability to successfully cater to Canadian consumers’ preferences for bulk shopping and value-oriented pricing.

Following the U.S. and Canada, Mexico holds the position as Costco’s third-largest market by warehouse count. As of fiscal year 2025, Costco operated 42 locations in Mexico, an increase of 23% over the past decade from the 33 warehouses reported in fiscal year 2014. This growth aligns with Costco’s strategic expansion in Latin America, tapping into a market with growing demand for wholesale shopping options.

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Warehouses in Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, and Spain

Warehouse numbers are obtained from Costco’s annual reports.

Fiscal Year	Countries
	Korea	Australia	Taiwan	China	Spain
FY2014	11	6	10	0	1
FY2015	12	7	11	0	1
FY2016	12	8	12	0	2
FY2017	13	9	13	0	2
FY2018	15	10	13	0	2
FY2019	16	11	13	1	2
FY2020	16	12	13	1	3
FY2021	16	12	14	1	3
FY2022	17	13	14	2	4
FY2023	18	15	14	5	4
FY2024	19	15	14	7	4
FY2025	20	15	14	7	5

The definition of Costco’s warehouses and average warehouse space is available here: warehouses and average warehouse space.

Korea stands as Costco’s sixth-largest market by warehouse count. By the end of fiscal year 2025, Costco operated 20 store locations in Korea, marking an impressive growth of nearly 100% compared to the 11 warehouses reported in fiscal year 2014. This expansion underscores Costco’s ability to meet the rising consumer demand and adapt its wholesale model to the Korean market.

China represents one of Costco’s most rapid expansions in recent years. Having opened its first warehouse in fiscal year 2019, Costco grew its presence to 7 warehouse locations by the end of fiscal year 2025 — a phenomenal increase of 700% over just six years. This rapid growth illustrates Costco’s ability to penetrate the Chinese market effectively, leveraging strong demand and high consumer interest in its membership-based model.

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Warehouses in France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden

Warehouse numbers are obtained from Costco’s annual reports.

Fiscal Year	Countries
	France	Iceland	New Zealand	Sweden
FY2014	0	0	0	0
FY2015	0	0	0	0
FY2016	0	0	0	0
FY2017	1	1	0	0
FY2018	1	1	0	0
FY2019	1	1	0	0
FY2020	1	1	0	0
FY2021	1	1	0	0
FY2022	2	1	0	0
FY2023	2	1	1	1
FY2024	2	1	1	1
FY2025	2	1	1	2

The definition of Costco’s warehouses and average warehouse space is available here: warehouses and average warehouse space.

By the end of fiscal year 2025, Costco operated only 2 stores in France, reflecting a relatively modest presence in one of Europe’s largest economies. This highlights Costco’s cautious expansion strategy in the French market, possibly influenced by local competition, regulatory considerations, or differing consumer preferences.

Meanwhile, Iceland had just 1 warehouse as of fiscal year 2025, a number that has remained unchanged since fiscal year 2017. This static growth suggests that Costco’s single location in Iceland may have reached market saturation, effectively meeting the demand within the country’s limited population size and retail landscape.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Costco maintained 1 warehouse in New Zealand as of fiscal year 2025. This single location underscores Costco’s initial foothold in the country, which may represent a strategic testing phase to assess market potential and consumer response before pursuing further expansion.

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Percentage of Warehouses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the U.K.

Warehouse numbers are obtained from Costco’s annual reports.

Fiscal Year	Countries
	U.S.	Canada	Mexico	Japan	U.K.
FY2014	70.6%	13.3%	5.0%	3.0%	3.9%
FY2015	70.0%	13.0%	5.2%	3.4%	3.9%
FY2016	70.1%	12.7%	5.0%	3.5%	3.9%
FY2017	69.4%	13.1%	5.0%	3.5%	3.8%
FY2018	69.2%	13.1%	5.1%	3.4%	3.7%
FY2019	69.4%	12.8%	5.0%	3.3%	3.7%
FY2020	69.4%	12.7%	4.9%	3.4%	3.6%
FY2021	69.2%	12.9%	4.8%	3.7%	3.6%
FY2022	69.0%	12.8%	4.8%	3.7%	3.5%
FY2023	68.6%	12.4%	4.6%	3.8%	3.4%
FY2024	69.0%	12.1%	4.5%	3.9%	3.3%
FY2025	68.8%	12.0%	4.6%	4.0%	3.2%

The definition of Costco’s warehouses and average warehouse space is available here: warehouses and average warehouse space.

As of fiscal year 2025, Costco’s total stores in the United States represented 68.8% of its total global locations, affirming the country’s status as the largest market for Costco worldwide. While this figure reflects a slight decrease from the 70.6% reported in 2014, the U.S. remains Costco’s cornerstone market, housing the majority of its warehouse facilities. This modest decline in share is likely due to Costco’s growing focus on expanding its international presence.

Canada holds the position as Costco’s second-largest market in terms of warehouse percentage globally. By the end of fiscal year 2025, Canada’s share of warehouses stood at 12.0%, down marginally from 13.3% in 2014. Despite the slight dip, Canada continues to play a crucial role in Costco’s North American operations, underscoring its importance as a key international market.

Mexico accounted for 4.6% of Costco’s total warehouse locations as of fiscal year 2025, positioning it as the third-largest market. Meanwhile, Japan represented 4.0% of global warehouses in the same period, reflecting its prominence in Costco’s Asian operations. The United Kingdom, though smaller in comparison, contributed 3.2% to Costco’s worldwide warehouse count in fiscal year 2025, showcasing a steady yet modest presence in Europe.

Together, these five countries — comprising the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United Kingdom — accounted for an impressive 92.7% of Costco’s global warehouse locations by the end of fiscal year 2025. This consolidated presence highlights Costco’s strategic focus on key markets that drive its revenue and membership base while steadily expanding into newer territories.

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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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