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Whether cashiers and cake decorators or forklift
operators and pharmacy technicians, Costco employees have been earning decent wages for years. Costco, a membership-only wholesale superstore with a "cult-like following," employs more than
245,000 workers and is known for providing perks to members along with benefits for its
employees. Read more: Costco is raising its minimum wage to $15 as the war for talent rages on Previous reporting from Business Insider shows Costco has consistently raised its starting rate, which is well over the
national minimum wage of $7.25. Business Insider's Mary Hanbury reported a raise to $14 an hour from $13 in 2018 and
another increase to $15 an hour in March. The most recent change allows Costco to compete with Amazon, which raised its minimum to $15 an hour last fall. To get a better idea of how much each type of employee in a
Costco store makes, we looked at self-reported salaries for many roles on both PayScale and Glassdoor and ordered the positions from lowest to highest hourly pay. For some jobs, we found data from only one of the
two sources. Because the latest increase was implemented very recently, some positions' salary averages we found may not reflect the new minimum just yet, as the self-reported data we looked at spans the past few years. While most hourly positions align with recent years' starting rates, some senior management roles — along with specialized positions such as pharmacy technicians — allow for some higher salaries (upward of $25 an hour). Keep reading for a look at employee
salaries throughout a Costco Wholesale store:Cart collectors say they've earned averages close to $12 an hour.
PayScale-reported salaries averaged close to $12 an hour for cart collectors; Costco's new minimum wage mandates that these employees now earn at least $15 an hour.
Glassdoor average base pay: N/A
PayScale average hourly rate: $11.94
Gas-station attendants say they are paid an average of $13 an hour.
A Costco gas station. Getty/Kevork DjansezianStockers reported average hourly wages of $13 to $14.
Shelves full of merchandise at a Costco location. a katz / Shutterstock.comStockers are responsible for arranging wholesale items on Costco's many shelves. Positions include both day and night shifts to keep stores stocked at all times.
Glassdoor average base pay: $14
PayScale average hourly rate: $13.41
Front-end assistants say they earn about $14 an hour.
A Costco employee checking a shopper's receipt. Tim Boyle/Getty ImagesFront-end assistants help check Costco membership cards and receipts upon customer entrance and exit.
Glassdoor average base pay: $14
PayScale average hourly rate: N/A
Wine stewards and stewardesses say they earn about $16 an hour.
A Costco liquor department. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesWine stewards and stewardesses assist shoppers in Costco's liquor department.
Glassdoor average base pay: N/A
PayScale average hourly rate: $16.01
Forklift drivers in Costco warehouses say they earn average salaries of up to $20 an hour.
A forklift driver in a warehouse (Costco not pictured). Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesAccording to Glassdoor reports, other warehouse workers at Costco make starting salaries of about $14 to $15 an hour.
Glassdoor average base pay: $15 to $20
PayScale average hourly rate: $15.28 to $16.80
This story was originally published by Glassdoor.
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