Office profile
Costco Wholesale Headquarters & offices · Issaquah, Washington
Costco Wholesale · Issaquah, Washington
The head office and a working Costco warehouse share one property in Issaquah — and 94% of employees who have been there a year stay on.
The campus, the benefits and 43 years of office history — then the pay. Every number from Costco's own filings, websites, the City of Issaquah and the architect.
- 94%of employees with 1+ year stay each year (U.S. & Canada)
- 9 yearsaverage employee tenure
- 8 + 1paid holidays plus a floating holiday
- $33average hourly wage, U.S., end of FY2026
Sources: Form 10-K FY2026 · costco.com Sustainability (People) · careers.costco.com/why-costco · City of Issaquah
Companies / United States / Retail / Costco Wholesale
THE NEWEST BUILDING · ISSAQUAH · 2023
Nine stories, a gym in the garage and a hall where suppliers show their products
The new nine-story office sets the standard for every Costco office: open workspaces and flexible meeting areas, three food and beverage spaces, an auditorium and an art exhibit space. A sky bridge leads to the parking garage, whose ground floor holds a staff wellness center and an exhibit hall where vendors show products to employees.
- ≈ 600,000 sq ft (≈ 55,742 m²) of new office
- Wellness center 13,130 sq ft (≈ 1,220 m²)
- Vendor exhibit hall 14,500 sq ft (≈ 1,347 m²)
- Garage: 1,694 stalls, 43.75 kW solar
- Triple-pane glass
- Design: MG2
Facts: MG2 project page “Costco Wholesale Headquarters Campus” · MZA project page · City of Issaquah (Oct 26, 2018). Completion year: Wikipedia.
The Issaquah campus
| Building | Address |
|---|---|
| Costco headquarters | 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027 |
Source: Form 10-K FY2026 cover · Costco customer service “How can I contact the Costco Corporate Offices?” · See them on the map ↓
Source: MG2 project page · City of Issaquah development agreement page and news (Oct 26, 2018) · City of Issaquah Planned Action Determination (DA14-00002)
Office tour videos
Benefits (United States)
Medical, dental, vision, pharmacy and hearing aid benefits for full- and part-time employees; spouses, children and domestic partners can be covered.
Eight paid holidays plus one paid floating holiday for a day that matters to you.
Tenured hourly employees receive extra pay twice a year based on years of service.
Weekly schedules posted at least three weeks in advance, with guaranteed minimum hours for full- and part-time staff.
Minimum hourly rate for all entry-level jobs in the U.S. and Canada since March 2025.
Costco matches part of what you save and adds an annual discretionary contribution; open after 90 days, age 18+.
Per academic year for up to four years, for eligible part- and full-time U.S. employees.
Paid bonding leave, adoption assistance and a dependent care assistance account.
Source: careers.costco.com/why-costco · costco.com Sustainability (People) · Form 10-K FY2025 (starting wage) and FY2026 (401(k)). Costco's full Employee Agreement is posted only on its employee site.
Why people stay: what Costco itself says
Retention rate in FY2026 in the U.S. and Canada for employees who have been with Costco at least one year.
More than 55% of U.S. employees have five or more years of service.
Most warehouse managers began in hourly jobs, and most head and regional office staff started in warehouses, depots or business centers.
Hourly employees who completed the six-week supervisor-in-training course in FY2026 (U.S. and Canada).
Costco aims for at least half of its workforce to be full-time.
An Open Door Policy and programs for employees to give feedback on benefits and culture.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026, Human Capital · costco.com Sustainability Commitment (People) · careers.costco.com/why-costco
Who works here
work in warehouses and distribution
are represented by unions
countries and territories with Costco warehouses
warehouses worldwide (Aug 30, 2026)
Source: Form 10-K FY2026 (Item 1, Human Capital, Item 2). Gender figures are not published in the annual report.
Pay at Costco Wholesale
Counts full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary workers worldwide. The CEO earned 283 times this amount. Counting full-time workers only, the median was $66,262 (210 to 1).
Source: Proxy statement, December 4, 2025 (CEO Pay Ratio)
U.S. companies don't have to report pay by age, and Costco doesn't. Costco's annual report gives the average U.S. hourly rate instead: about $33.00 at the end of FY2026.
Office history: from a Seattle warehouse to a campus beside I-90
- 1976 Before Costco: Price Club in an airplane hangar
The membership-warehouse idea began with Sol Price's Price Club, opened in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego. Jim Sinegal helped shape it before co-founding Costco.
Source: costco.com “About”
The first Price Club building in San Diego, now a Costco, 2020 · RightCowLeftCoast / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons - 1983 The first Costco warehouse, Seattle
Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle in 1983. Costco's Seattle warehouse today carries store number 1, at 4401 4th Ave S.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1 · costco.com “About” and Costco Connection (Sept 2023) · costco.com Seattle warehouse page
No free-to-use photo found yet.Have one? We’d love to add it. - 1987 Head office moves to Kirkland
The head office moved from the first warehouse to Kirkland, east of Seattle. Costco's filings give the address as 10809 120th Avenue NE.
Source: Year: Wikipedia · Address: Form 10-K FY1994 (PriceCostco)
No free-to-use photo found yet.Have one? We’d love to add it. - 1993 Merger with Price Club: two home offices
Shareholders of The Price Company and Costco approved the merger on October 21, 1993, creating PriceCostco. In 1994 its home offices and headquarters were in Kirkland, Washington and San Diego, California.
Source: Form 10-K FY1994
No free-to-use photo found yet.Have one? We’d love to add it. - 1994–95 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah
The City of Issaquah says Costco has called the city home since 1994. The 10-K for the year ended September 3, 1995 already lists 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah as the principal executive office.
Source: City of Issaquah · Form 10-K FY1995 cover (Wikipedia gives 1996)
Issaquah, 2016 · Coolcaesar / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons - 1999 Costco Wholesale Corporation again
The company became Costco Companies, Inc. in 1997, then reincorporated in Washington on August 30, 1999 as Costco Wholesale Corporation — still headquartered in Issaquah.
Source: Form 10-K FY1999
No free-to-use photo found yet.Have one? We’d love to add it. - 2014 A 30-year plan to grow in place
The City Council adopted a development agreement letting Costco add up to 1.5 million sq ft (≈ 139,355 m²) to its headquarters. The property was then about 47 acres with about 550,000 sq ft of offices and a warehouse store.
Source: City of Issaquah development agreement page · Planned Action Determination
Costco's headquarters in Issaquah, 2016 · Coolcaesar / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons - 2023 The nine-story building opens
Approved in October 2018 as a nine-story, 600,000 sq ft office with a 10-story garage on the campus parking lots near Interstate 90. Designed by MG2.
Source: City of Issaquah news (Oct 26, 2018) · MG2 · completion year: Wikipedia
The new building · Photo: Rodrigo DeMedeiros Photography / MG2
| Annual report | HQ space (sq ft) | m² | As described |
|---|---|---|---|
| City 2014 | ≈ 550,000 | ≈ 51,097 | Offices on a ≈ 47-acre property, plus a 150,000 sq ft warehouse |
| City 2018 | 700,000 | 65,032 | Office space before the expansion |
| Approved 2018 | + ≈ 600,000 | + ≈ 55,742 | New nine-story building |
Map: how the headquarters moved
From a warehouse in Seattle to Kirkland and then to Issaquah, about 24 km east of the first store. Since the mid-1990s Costco has grown on one property beside Interstate 90 instead of moving again.
- 1 · 1983First warehouse, Seattle — Today's warehouse no. 1, 4401 4th Ave S
- 2 · 1987Kirkland head office — 10809 120th Avenue NE
- 3 · 1994–95Issaquah headquarters — 999 Lake Drive — headquarters today
Addresses: costco.com warehouse page · Form 10-K FY1994 and FY2026 · Locations: map position of each street address
What Costco Wholesale does
Costco runs membership warehouses: a limited range of brand-name and Kirkland Signature products, sold in bulk at low margins, paid for by an annual membership fee. It also runs e-commerce sites in nine countries.
Three reporting segments by geography: United States, Canada and Other International.
Where the money came from · Revenue by segment, FY2026
Source: Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1, Item 2 and Note 11 (Segment Reporting)
Source: Form 10-K FY2026 (fiscal year ended August 30, 2026)
Growth: revenue vs. people
$129.0B → $303.2B
231,000 → 355,000
Fiscal years end on the Sunday nearest the end of August (FY2026 ended August 30, 2026; FY2017 and FY2023 had 53 weeks). Revenue (total revenue) and employees: Form 10-K for each year. Multiples calculated by eciffo.
Chief executives
President and CEO since January 2024. Joined Costco's warehouse operations in the early 1980s; President and COO from 2022.
Vachris's predecessor as CEO; retired from the board in 2025.
Co-founders: Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman.
Source: Proxy statement 2025 (director biographies, pay versus performance) · Form 10-K FY2026 (executive officers) · costco.com “About”
Costco Wholesale: questions people ask
Where is Costco's headquarters?
At 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, Washington 98027, east of Seattle. The same property also holds a Costco warehouse store.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026 cover · City of Issaquah Planned Action Determination
Who designed Costco's headquarters expansion?
MG2, a Seattle architecture firm, designed the nine-story office building and the parking garage with its wellness center and vendor exhibit hall.
Source: MG2 project page
How big is Costco's headquarters?
Before the expansion Costco had about 700,000 sq ft (≈ 65,032 m²) of office space in Issaquah. The new nine-story building adds about 600,000 sq ft, and a 2014 agreement allows up to 1.5 million sq ft of growth over 30 years.
Source: City of Issaquah (2018) · development agreement page
When did Costco move to Issaquah?
The City of Issaquah dates Costco's presence to 1994, and the 1995 annual report already lists 999 Lake Drive. Before that the head office was in Kirkland, and the first warehouse opened in Seattle in 1983.
Source: City of Issaquah · Form 10-K FY1994 and FY1995
How many people work at Costco?
355,000 employees worldwide at the end of fiscal 2026 (August 30, 2026): 232,000 in the U.S., 58,000 in Canada and 65,000 in other countries. About 95% work in warehouses and distribution.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026
What benefits does Costco offer?
In the U.S.: medical, dental and vision for full- and part-time employees, eight paid holidays plus a floating holiday, extra pay for tenured hourly staff twice a year, a 401(k) with a company match, a stock purchase plan, paid bonding leave and scholarships of up to $2,500 a year.
Source: careers.costco.com/why-costco · costco.com Sustainability (People)
How much do Costco employees make?
The median employee's total compensation was $49,186 in fiscal 2025 ($66,262 for full-time workers only). The average U.S. hourly rate was about $33.00 at the end of fiscal 2026, and the entry-level minimum is $20.00 an hour.
Source: Proxy statement 2025 · Form 10-K FY2025 and FY2026
What is Costco's employee retention rate?
About 94% in fiscal 2026 for U.S. and Canadian employees with at least one year of service. Average tenure is nine years.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026 · costco.com Sustainability (People)
Who is Costco's CEO?
Ron Vachris, President and CEO since January 2024, who began his Costco career in warehouse operations. Costco was co-founded by Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman.
Source: Proxy statement 2025 · costco.com “About”
You have seen the office, the benefits and the pay
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Costco Wholesale's official social accounts
Accounts linked from the footer of costco.com.