It’s no secret that Costco is a wildly successful business with a dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase. The membership-only warehouse empire began as a small business supplier in San Diego named Price Club, while the first Costco-branded location opened in Seattle in the early 1980s. Soon after, Price Club merged with Costco. Since then, Costco has grown to be the third-largest retailer on the planet, behind only Walmart and Amazon.
According to an April 2025 filing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Costco boasts 904 warehouses globally across 14 different countries. Unsurprisingly, the United States and Puerto Rico contain the highest number of locations, with 623 total between them. The North American continent is full of Costcos, with Canada being home to 109 locations. Mexico has the third-most Costcos worldwide, with 41 locations, including one in Mexico City, known commonly as CDMX, which blends into the city’s landscape.
Asia and Europe also have Costcos scattered throughout. Japan is home to 37 locations, while Korea and Taiwan have 19 and 14, respectively. China only has seven locations. Additionally, there are 29 Costcos in the United Kingdom, five in Spain, and only two in France. Countries with just one lone Costco location include Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand. Despite that, Australia has 15 warehouses. Along with their physical stores, Costco also offers online storefronts in their larger markets, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and some countries in Asia.
Costco warehouses reflect their global locations
Europeans were eager for the massive retailer to open across the Atlantic. The first Costco location to open in continental Europe was in Seville, Spain, in 2014, with 15,000 people signing up for a membership before the store even opened. Nearly 150,000 initial job applicants sought Costco’s higher-than-Spanish-average wages. The warehouse retailers’ international popularity has only grown since, as new locations in South Korea and Sweden are set to open in the summer of 2025, after Costco first opened new stores in Australia and Japan in April 2025.
The layouts and stores themselves tend to look similar globally, but the inventory of each Costco varies based on state and country. Because of this, there are many international Costco bakery items we’re desperate to try. Spanish Costcos carry a wide array of traditional Spanish foods like croquettes, olives, and treasured whole ham legs. Japanese Costcos are flush with wagyu beef, bulk-sized sushi boxes, and giant Kit Kats, while their food courts have a bulgogi bake in place of the classic chicken bake. French Costcos are filled with a plethora of French cheeses, bakery items like madeleines and baguettes, as well as massive jars of Dijon mustard. While the love for Costco food courts’ hot dogs is universal, you’ll find that the toppings are unique to every country.
