CEO Total Pay
$13.9M
FY2024 Summary Compensation
COST
FY2024 data Public-data reference. official source
Costco Wholesale Corp /new
Data updated July 2026
Open-data reference.
General Merchandise Stores · WA · FY2024
CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio
283:1
High (Scale: 0–1000:1)
CEO Pay
$13.9M
Median Worker
$49,186
A component-level pay breakdown (salary, bonus, equity, perks, pension) is not reported in Costco Wholesale Corp /new's structured SEC pay-ratio disclosure. Only the CEO-to-median-worker ratio is required under Dodd-Frank §953(b); see our methodology for what each filing does and doesn't disclose.
Costco Wholesale Corp /new, a general merchandise stores company, reported a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 283:1 in FY2024. The CEO received total compensation of $13.9M, while the median employee earned $49,186 annually. This is below the General Merchandise Stores industry median of 767:1 across 8 companies. Data sourced from SEC EDGAR proxy (DEF 14A) filings.
CEO Compensation Breakdown, FY2024
A component-level pay breakdown is not reported in Costco Wholesale Corp /new's structured SEC pay-ratio disclosure. See our methodology →
Industry Comparison - General Merchandise Stores
This Company's Ratio
283:1
Industry Median Ratio
767:1
Industry Median CEO Pay
$14.4M
This CEO's Pay
$13.9M
Companies in Industry
8
vs. Industry Median
Below
Understanding This Pay Ratio
Costco Wholesale Corp /new's CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 283:1 means that the CEO earned 283 times more than the company's median employee in FY2024.
The median employee at Costco Wholesale Corp /new earned $49,186 annually. At that wage, it would take a median employee approximately 283 years to earn what the CEO earned in a single year.
Why cross-company pay-ratio comparisons need caution
SEC rules let each company choose its own methodology for identifying the "median employee" (measurement date, statistical sampling, whether part-time pay is annualized, and a de minimis exemption for up to 5% of non-U.S. employees), so a higher ratio doesn't automatically mean less-fair pay practices, it can also reflect workforce mix (a large offshore, outsourced, or part-time-heavy workforce lowers the reported median and raises the ratio for reasons unrelated to CEO compensation itself).
Pay Ratio
283:1
Elevated vs peers
What This 2024 Filing Tells Us About Costco Wholesale Corp /new
According to the 2024 DEF 14A proxy statement filed with the SEC, Costco Wholesale Corp /new (COST, CIK 909832) reported the CEO's total compensation at $13.9M. The proxy statement's structured pay-ratio disclosure reports this total but does not break it down by salary, bonus, equity, or other components. The median employee at the firm, the reference point mandated by Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act, earned $49,186 over the same fiscal year, producing the headline CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 283:1 that this page tracks.
Costco Wholesale Corp /new operates in the General Merchandise Stores sector and is headquartered in WA. Across the General Merchandise Stores industry (SIC 53), 8 SEC-reporting companies disclosed pay ratios in FY2025, with a median of 767:1 and an average of 874:1. Median industry CEO pay was $14.4M, so Costco Wholesale Corp /new's $13.9M sits at or below that typical figure.
This proxy was filed on 2025-12-04; all figures on this page come directly from that public filing and can be verified against the DEF 14A on the SEC EDGAR system.
What these SEC numbers do and do not include
Total compensation reported under Item 402 of Regulation S-K reflects grant-date fair value for equity awards, not realized pay, so a CEO may eventually cash in more, or less, depending on stock performance and vesting. The pay ratio itself is calculated against a single median employee chosen under rules that allow statistical sampling, and companies may update methodology year to year.
Key Data, FY2024
- CEO
- Not disclosed
- Total Compensation
- $13.9M
- Median Employee Pay
- $49,186
- Pay Ratio
- 283:1
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-04
Company Info
- Ticker
- COST
- CIK
- 909832
- Industry
- General Merchandise Stores
- SIC Code
- 5331
- State
- WA
Data Source: This data is sourced from SEC EDGAR proxy statement (DEF 14A) filings. PlainCEOPay provides this publicly available information for informational purposes only. Not investment or financial advice. Verify with official SEC filings at sec.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CEO pay ratio at Costco Wholesale Corp /new? ▼
Costco Wholesale Corp /new's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 283:1. The CEO earned $13.9M in FY2024, while the median employee earned $49,186.
How much does Costco Wholesale Corp /new's CEO earn? ▼
The CEO of Costco Wholesale Corp /new (COST) earned total compensation of $13.9M in fiscal year 2024, according to SEC proxy filings.
How does Costco Wholesale Corp /new's pay ratio compare to its industry? ▼
Costco Wholesale Corp /new's pay ratio of 283:1 is below the General Merchandise Stores industry median of 767:1. The industry has 8 companies reporting pay ratios.
Where does Costco Wholesale Corp /new's CEO pay data come from? ▼
All executive compensation data is sourced from SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statement filings. Companies are required by the Dodd-Frank Act to disclose CEO-to-median-worker pay ratios annually. PlainCEOPay aggregates this publicly available data for easy comparison.
What is included in the CEO's total compensation? ▼
PlainCEOPay reports the CEO total-compensation figure disclosed with the company's pay-ratio filing. The current dataset does not extract its underlying Summary Compensation Table line items, so this page does not provide a salary, bonus, equity, or other-component breakdown.
How long would it take a median Costco Wholesale Corp /new employee to earn the CEO's pay? ▼
At a median salary of $49,186, it would take the typical Costco Wholesale Corp /new employee approximately 283 years to earn what the CEO earned in a single year ($13.9M in FY2024).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCEOPay
Data currency: Executive compensation from SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements through fiscal year 2025, compiled and last refreshed July 2026. See our methodology for source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.
Every figure on PlainCEOPay is rendered directly from SEC EDGAR executive compensation filings, no number is typed in by an editor. Executive pay figures are computed directly from SEC EDGAR filings, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.