Costco pays hourly retail workers the most: $20 to $21 to start and about $33 an hour on average, by its own figures. Amazon’s full-time operations jobs come next ($20 floor, nearly $24 average), then Kroger (average above $20), Best Buy ($19.10) and Target ($19.03). For part-timers, benefits differ more than pay does.
Retail pay in 2026 at a glance (each company’s own figures, as of November 2026)
| Employer | Starting pay | Average hourly pay | Median employee pay (latest proxy) | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $20 to $21 | About $33.00 (US hourly) | $49,186 | Teamsters contract scale (2025 to 2027); FY2026 10-K; 2025 proxy |
| Amazon (full-time US operations) | $20 minimum | Nearly $24 | Not shown | Amazon, Sept. 16, 2026 |
| Kroger | Set by union contracts by region | Above $20 (above $26 with benefits) | $34,552 (full-time associate) | Kroger 2026 proxy and annual report |
| Best Buy | $15 minimum | $19.10 (full-time and part-time) | Not shown | Best Buy 2025 Corporate Responsibility report |
| Target | $15 to $24 | $19.03 (store and supply chain, FY2025) | $27,506 (part-time team member) | Target 2025 Workforce Data; 2026 proxy |
| Starbucks | Set by market | About $19 | $17,279 (part-time barista) | Starbucks statement, Nov. 2025 (reported); 2026 proxy |
| Walmart | Ranges by role ($14 to $37 for team associates) | More than $18.50 (US frontline) | Not shown | Walmart, Working at Walmart, Nov. 2026 |
| Lowe’s | $15 minimum | Not published | $37,371 (full-time hourly) | Lowe’s FY2025 10-K; 2026 proxy |
| Home Depot | At least $15 | Not published | $37,881 (hourly) | Home Depot, Feb. 2023; 2026 proxy |
| Aldi (US) | $18 store, $23 warehouse (national average, Sept. 2024) | Not published | Private company | Aldi, as reported by HR Dive, Sept. 5, 2024 |
| Publix | Not published | Not published | No pay ratio filed | Publix careers pages |
| Trader Joe’s | Not published | Not published | Private company | No company source we could open |
Starting pay is a floor or a range. Average pay is what the company says its hourly workers earn. The median is the one worker in the middle of the whole company, per the SEC pay-ratio rule, and it’s an annual total: a part-time median (Target, Starbucks) looks far lower than a full-time one (Kroger, Lowe’s). “Not shown” means the figure was only in a filing we couldn’t open. Check the posting for your store.
TL;DR
- Costco is the top payer. $20 to $21 to start and about $33 an hour on average, with a union-scale raise path.
- Five employers say their average is near or above $19: Amazon (nearly $24 for full-time ops), Kroger (above $20), Best Buy ($19.10), Target ($19.03) and Starbucks (about $19). Walmart says more than $18.50 for frontline associates.
- Lowe’s and Home Depot don’t publish averages, but both have a $15 floor and 2025 medians near $37,000 for a full-time or hourly worker.
- Part-time health coverage is the real divider. Costco, Target (25 hours a week), Starbucks (about 20), and Lowe’s cover part-timers. Home Depot’s medical plan is full-time only.
- Best for college: Walmart and Target pay tuition from day one; Starbucks pays for a full ASU bachelor’s degree.
We get a lot of the same question from hourly job seekers: “Which store should I apply to?” The pages that rank for “best paying retail jobs” mostly list job titles like store manager and pharmacist, or repeat job-board ranges with no dates. That doesn’t help someone choosing between Target and Costco for a cashier job.
So we went to the companies themselves: annual reports, proxy statements, workforce data, union contracts and careers pages. Every number below has a source and a date. Where a company doesn’t publish a number, we say so instead of guessing.
Which retail store pays the most per hour?
Costco, by a wide margin. Here’s how the company-stated averages line up against the national median for retail salespersons.
A few caveats before you read this as a ranking:
- Costco’s average includes long-tenured workers. Its scale climbs every 1,040 hours, and Costco says over 55% of US employees have five or more years of service. Your first paycheck will be $20 or $21, not $33. See our Costco pay guide.
- Amazon’s $20 is for full-time core operations. That’s warehouse and delivery station work, not a store. Part-time and seasonal rates are on each posting. See working for Amazon.
- Kroger’s average blends many union contracts. Pay is set region by region.
- Walmart’s figure is a floor on the average (“more than $18.50”), and Walmart publishes wide ranges by role. See our Walmart page.
- Target’s $19.03 is new. It comes from Target’s 2025 Workforce Data, up from $18.54 in FY2024 and $17.87 in FY2023. Target’s starting range stayed at $15 to $24 all three years. See our Target page.
The baseline: the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the national median for retail salespersons at about $17.03 an hour and cashiers at about $15.81 in May 2025. Every employer above claims an average above that line.
Costco vs Walmart pay (and Target)
This is the comparison people search most. On the companies’ own numbers:
| Costco | Walmart | Target | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting pay | $20 (assistants), $21 (clerks) | Ranges by region and role; team associates $14 to $37 | $15 to $24 by role and market |
| Average hourly | About $33.00 (US) | More than $18.50 (US frontline) | $19.03 (FY2025) |
| Median employee, latest proxy | $49,186 | Not shown | $27,506 (part-time) |
| How pay rises | Union scale, a step every 1,040 hours | By role changes and promotions | By role and market |
| Hourly bonus | Extra Check, twice a year for tenured hourly | Up to $1,000 a year for store associates (since June 2024) | No company-wide hourly bonus found |
Sources: Costco Teamsters contract and FY2026 10-K; Ask Walmart and Walmart’s June 5, 2024 bonus announcement; Target 2025 Workforce Data and 2026 proxy. As of November 2026.
So does Costco or Walmart pay more? Costco, at both the start and the average. The tradeoff is getting in: Costco reported about 94% retention for employees with a year or more of tenure in fiscal 2026, so openings are rare. Walmart and Target hire far more people, faster.
The hours you need for health insurance, by employer
Pay gets the headlines, but if you work part-time, this table matters more. It’s the thing we couldn’t find in one place anywhere else.
| Employer | Who can get medical coverage | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | Full-time and part-time hourly | Full-time after 450 hours or 90 days; part-time after 600 hours or 180 days | Costco benefits page (see our Costco page) |
| Target | Hourly team members | At 25 hours a week | Target pay and benefits fact sheet, Dec. 2025 |
| Starbucks | Full-time and part-time partners | Part-time after 240 total hours over three full months; keep it with 520 hours every six months (about 20 a week) | Starbucks benefits eligibility, Nov. 2026 |
| Lowe’s | “All regular full-time and part-time associates” | Threshold not published | Lowe’s benefits page, Nov. 2026 |
| Amazon | Regular full-time employees; seasonal at 30+ hours from Jan. 1, 2027 | Day one for regular full-time | Amazon (see our Amazon page) |
| Aldi | Employees working more than 30 hours a week | Not stated | Aldi, as reported by HR Dive, Sept. 2024 |
| Home Depot | Full-time for medical; part-time get dental and vision | Not stated | Home Depot careers (see our Home Depot page) |
| Publix | “Eligible full-time associates” for the group health plan | Part-time rules not stated by Publix | Publix benefits page, Nov. 2026 |
| Walmart | Plans for associates; medical from $38.30 a paycheck in 2026 | Hours rule not restated on the pages we read | Walmart 2026 Jobs Spotlight Report |
| Kroger | Varies by union contract and division | Varies | Kroger and local union contracts |
If you need health insurance and can only work part-time, your shortlist is Costco, Target, Starbucks and Lowe’s. Starbucks has the lowest bar at about 20 hours a week. Target asks for 25.
401(k) match, tuition and bonuses compared
| Employer | 401(k) match | Tuition | Hourly bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | 50% of the first $1,000 (up to $500), plus an annual contribution that rises with service | Not covered here | Extra Check twice a year for tenured hourly |
| Target | Dollar for dollar up to 5%, vested immediately | Dream to Be: about 500 debt-free programs from day one, full-time and part-time | None company-wide found |
| Walmart | Dollar for dollar up to 6% after 1,000 hours in the first year | Live Better U: 100% of tuition and books, day one, full-time and part-time | Up to $1,000 a year for store associates |
| Starbucks | 100% of the first 5%, vested immediately, after 90 days | 100% upfront tuition for an ASU online bachelor’s degree | Up to $1,200 a year (store targets), since July 2026 |
| Lowe’s | Up to 4.25% if you contribute 6% | 100% tuition-free program; Track to the Trades | Discretionary: $125 million for Q4 FY2025 |
| Home Depot | Match offered (FutureBuilder) | Tuition reimbursement | Success Sharing, semiannual: about $288.4 million for FY2025 |
| Amazon | Match offered | Career Choice: up to $5,250 a year after 90 days | None company-wide found |
| Publix | ESOP: Publix stock at no cost after 1 year and 1,000 work hours | Up to $4,000 a year for college after 90 days at 10+ hours a week | Annual holiday cash bonus |
| Aldi | Immediately eligible, auto-enroll, employer match | Not covered here | None found |
Sources: each company’s benefits or careers page, fact sheets, filings and earnings releases, as linked on our individual employer guides and below. As of November 2026.
Best 401(k) match on paper: Walmart’s 6%, then Target and Starbucks at 5% with immediate vesting. Publix is a different animal: an employee stock ownership plan where the company contributes stock at no cost to you.
Best retail jobs for part-time workers with benefits
If you can only work 20 to 29 hours a week, here’s how we’d rank them for benefits, based on the rules above:
- Starbucks. Health coverage at about 20 hours a week, a 5% 401(k) match, stock grants, and a paid bachelor’s degree. Pay is middle of the pack. Read working at Starbucks.
- Costco. Part-time coverage after 600 hours or 180 days, and the highest pay. Hard to get hired.
- Target. Coverage at 25 hours a week, 5% match, and Dream to Be from day one.
- Lowe’s. Health plans for regular part-time associates and free tuition. Lowe’s doesn’t post the hours threshold. Read working at Lowe’s.
- Walmart. Tuition and books paid from day one for part-timers; check the medical eligibility rules for your role.
Home Depot is the outlier among the big-box stores: part-timers get dental and vision but not medical.
Retail jobs that pay $20 an hour
Where can you start at $20 or more, by company figures?
- Costco: $20 for assistants and $21 for clerks, from the first hour.
- Amazon: $20 minimum for full-time core operations, from September 27, 2026.
- Aldi warehouse: $23 national average starting wage (Sept. 2024, reported). Aldi store roles averaged $18 to start.
- Target: the top of its $15 to $24 starting range, depending on role and market.
- Walmart pharmacy technicians: an average of $22 an hour, with pay up to $40.50, per Walmart (Jan. 28, 2026). Walmart team leads earn $19 to $40 an hour before bonus, per its 2026 Jobs Spotlight Report (July 16, 2026).
Outside those, $20 an hour usually means a lead, supervisor, pharmacy, or warehouse role, or a higher-cost market. If you’re open to warehouse work, our list of the highest paying warehouse jobs goes deeper.
Scheduling and pay timing
- Weekly pay: Publix pays all hourly associates weekly, per its benefits page. Starbucks said in April 2026 it is moving all US partners to weekly pay.
- Biweekly: Costco’s union contract sets biweekly pay periods.
- Schedules ahead: Costco posts weekly schedules at least two weeks ahead under its union contract. Walmart posts schedules two weeks ahead in its app, and says two-thirds of its hourly store roles are full-time.
- Four-day weeks: Lowe’s offers 4-day workweeks for select roles.
Check your offer letter for the real pay cycle. State pay-frequency laws also apply.
Grocery chains: Kroger, Publix, Aldi, Trader Joe’s
Grocery is where public pay data gets thin.
- Kroger says it raised its average hourly wage “to above $20, or above $26 including comprehensive benefits” in 2025, across more than 403,000 associates, per its 2026 proxy and annual report. Its median employee, a full-time associate in the Central region, earned $34,552. Starting pay is set by local union contracts, so it varies by store.
- Publix doesn’t publish wages. It offers weekly pay, an annual holiday bonus, and its ESOP, where associates become participants after one year and 1,000 work hours, per its benefits page. Part-time jobs typically run 10 to 30 hours a week.
- Aldi announced in September 2024 a national average starting wage of $18 for store roles and $23 for warehouse roles, “based on market and position,” and health insurance for employees working more than 30 hours a week, as reported by HR Dive on Sept. 5, 2024. We didn’t find a newer US figure from Aldi. Aldi’s benefits page says employees are immediately eligible for its 401(k) with an employer match.
- Trader Joe’s doesn’t publish pay, and its site blocked our tools. Postings vary by market; we’re not quoting secondhand figures we couldn’t check.
We’re adding full employer guides for Publix and Kroger.
How to read company pay numbers
Three kinds of numbers get mixed up all the time:
- A floor (“at least $15”) is the lowest rate the company pays anywhere. Most jobs pay more.
- An average (“$19.03”) is the company’s mean hourly wage across its hourly workers. Long-tenured and higher-paid roles pull it up.
- A median employee (“$27,506”) is one person’s annual total pay, from the SEC pay-ratio rule. If that person works part-time, the number looks low. It’s not an hourly wage.
So Target’s $27,506 median and its $19.03 average don’t conflict. Target’s median worker is part-time. Lowe’s median is full-time, which is why its $37,371 looks higher. Starbucks’ $17,279 median is a part-time barista, and Starbucks says its median is based on its global workforce.
How to pick
| If your priority is… | Look first at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Highest starting pay | Costco, Amazon (full-time ops) | $20 or more from day one |
| Health insurance at part-time hours | Starbucks, Target, Costco, Lowe’s | Published part-time eligibility |
| A paid degree | Starbucks, Walmart, Target | Full tuition programs |
| Getting hired fast | Walmart, Target, Amazon, Lowe’s | Large hiring volume; Lowe’s says about two weeks to an offer |
| A raise you can predict | Costco | Union wage scale with set steps |
| A bonus | Home Depot, Costco, Walmart, Starbucks | Named hourly bonus programs |
| Weekly pay | Publix, Starbucks | Published weekly pay |
Pick two employers, read their full guides, and apply to both. Before the interview, run through our interview checklist. If you’re coming back after time away, our guide to reentering the workforce covers the gap question.
FAQ
Which retail store pays the most per hour?
Costco. It starts at $20 to $21 an hour and says its US hourly employees averaged about $33.00 at the end of fiscal 2026. Among the other big retailers, Amazon’s full-time operations jobs average nearly $24, Kroger says above $20, Best Buy $19.10 and Target $19.03.
Does Costco or Walmart pay more?
Costco pays more. Costco starts at $20 to $21 and averages about $33 an hour, while Walmart says its US frontline associates average more than $18.50, with team associate ranges of $14 to $37. Walmart is much easier to get hired at.
Which retail jobs give part-time workers health insurance?
Costco (after 600 hours or 180 days), Target (at 25 hours a week), Starbucks (after 240 hours over three months, then about 20 a week), and Lowe’s (regular part-time associates). Home Depot’s medical plan is full-time only, though part-timers get dental and vision.
How many hours do you need for benefits at Target?
25 hours a week for hourly team members, per Target’s December 2025 pay and benefits fact sheet.
What retail jobs pay $20 an hour?
Costco assistants and clerks ($20 and $21 to start), Amazon full-time operations jobs ($20 minimum), Aldi warehouse roles ($23 national average start, Sept. 2024), Walmart pharmacy technicians (about $22 on average), and Walmart team leads ($19 to $40). Target’s starting range reaches $24 in some roles and markets.
Which retailer has the best 401(k) match?
Walmart matches up to 6% after 1,000 hours in your first year. Target and Starbucks match up to 5% and vest immediately. Lowe’s matches up to 4.25% if you put in 6%.
Do any retailers pay weekly?
Publix pays all hourly associates weekly. Starbucks said in April 2026 it is moving all US partners to weekly pay. Costco’s union contract sets biweekly pay.
Which retailers pay for college?
Walmart (100% of tuition and books through Live Better U), Target (Dream to Be, about 500 debt-free programs), and Starbucks (a full ASU online bachelor’s degree), all reachable by part-timers. Lowe’s has a tuition-free program; Amazon prepays up to $5,250 a year; Publix reimburses up to $4,000 a year; Home Depot offers tuition reimbursement.
The bottom line
The best-paying retail job for most hourly workers is at Costco, if you can get in. After that, the gap between Amazon, Kroger, Best Buy, Target, Starbucks and Walmart is a dollar or two an hour. The bigger differences are benefits at part-time hours, tuition, and how your pay grows. Choose on those.
Our employer guides go deeper on each: Costco, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Starbucks, Amazon, UPS and FedEx. Thinking past retail? We also cover Google, Microsoft and Meta. And when you’re ready to apply, our free resume analysis gets a person to read your resume and email you what to fix.
How this actually plays out for you. Empire Resume is an independent editorial team, not affiliated with or endorsed by any employer named here. Pay and benefits are set by each company (and by union contracts where they apply), vary by role and location, and change often. Figures are as of November 2026 and come from company filings, workforce reports, careers and benefits pages, union contracts, and dated news reports where labeled. Confirm current numbers on your job posting. This is general information, not financial or career advice.