It’s hard to believe that a membership-only warehouse store could become the second largest retailer in the world, but Seattle’s Costco has accomplished just that. Costco ranks among the retail giants like Walmart and Target and has a very loyal membership base.

Photo by JeepersMedia

So just how big has Costco become in their more than 30 years of operation? Here are the more interesting Costco statistics I was able to dig up. As always, I will be adding more and updating these periodically as I find new stuff. Be sure to check back regularly.

Please note that some of these numbers are easier to find than others, so some of these are based on news reports and not official company tallies. All stats are linked to their source unless it was sent to me directly from the company. No stat listed on DMR should be considered in making any type of investment decision. In other words: This is the best I can find, but I don’t guarantee anything.

Costco Statistics

Year Costco opened their first store:

1983

Location of the first Costco store:

Seattle, Wa

Number of Costco members (shoppers):

81 million

Last updated 8/30/15

Number of Costco stores:

725

Last updated 2/1/17

Number of Costco stores in the US:

506

Last updated 2/1/17

Number of Costco stores in Canada:

36

Last updated 2/1/17

Number of Costco stores in Mexico:

28

Last updated 2/1/17

Number of Costco stores in the UK:

25

Last updated 2/1/17

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Average size of a Costco store:

143,800 sq ft

Last updated 3/26/16

Number of Costco employees:

200,000 employees

Last updated 3/26/16

Number of Costco employees in the US:

135,000 employees

Last updated 3/26/16

Costco net sales for FY 2015:

$113 billion

Costco net sales for FY 2014:

$110 billion

Costco net sales for FY 2013:

$102 billion

Costco net sales for FY 2012:

$97 billion

Costco net sales for FY 2011:

$87 billion

Percentage of Costco members that renewed their memberships in FY2015

88%

Costco’s total ecommerce sales in FY 2015:

$3.4 billion

Number of Costco gas stations:

490

Last updated 8/30/15

Average number of SKU’s per Costco store:

3,700

Last updated 8/30/15

Costco’s top item category for sales in FY2015:

Foods

Number of cars sold by Costco in 2016:

465,000

Last updated 10/3/16

Number of dealerships Costco sells cars through in the US:

3,000

Last updated 10/3/16