Costco is truly a one-stop shop, with items ranging from bulk budget buys and seasonal baked goods to electronics and household essentials.
The warehouse chain currently operates in 46 different states, with the exception of Maine, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wyoming, all of which are devoid of a single location.
While most Costco locations offer positive experiences, some rank significantly higher than others, according to customers.
FinanceBuzz, a finance-focused online platform, recently revealed the 10 states with the best Costco stores. Their team surveyed more than 6,000 shoppers, who ranked their local warehouses using a 10-point scale. The following six categories were chosen:
- Cleanliness: How clean and well-maintained the interior of the store is
- Friendliness: How friendly and helpful the staff is at their local Costco
- Stock: The variety and availability of different products
- Quality of samples: How tasty the samples typically are at their local Costco
- Quantity of samples: How many different samples are typically available while shopping
- Parking lot quality/parking availability: How easy it is to navigate the store's parking lot and find parking
South Carolina locations had the highest average rating in the nation, with a combined score of 51.1 out of 60. It was the only state to receive a score of 8.0 or higher in the "quantity of samples" category.
Next were Ohio and Tennessee, which took home the second and third positions on the list, respectively. Costco warehouses in both states had average scores of 8.8 or higher in the "cleanliness," "friendliness" and "stock" categories.
Among every single state on the top 10 list, "cleanliness" was the highest-scoring category, underscoring the quality of Costco's job performance in this arena.
Despite their high scores, the "best" Costco locations still have room for improvement, specifically when it comes to sample quantities and better parking — the two categories where warehouses across the country scored the lowest.
The states with the top stores all averaged scores of 8.4 or higher in the "cleanliness," "friendliness" and "stock" categories. Here's a complete list of the 10 states, arranged from the highest score to the lowest score:
- South Carolina (Total Score: 51.1)
- Ohio (Total Score: 50.6)
- Tennessee (Total Score: 50.0)
- Missouri (Total Score: 49.9)
- Connecticut (Total Score: 49.7)
- Wisconsin (Total Score: 49.5)
- Indiana (Total Score: 49.4)
- Minnesota (Total Score: 49.3)
- Texas (Total Score: 48.9)
- Washington (Total Score: 48.6)
Out of Costco's more than 550 locations in the nation, five individual stores took home the top prizes. Here's a list of the top-rated warehouses, also arranged from the highest score to the lowest score:
- Cumming, Ga. (Total Score: 54.5)
- Kansas City, Mo. (N Kansas City Warehouse, NW 88th St.) (Total Score: 53.5)
- San Antonio (NW San Antonio Warehouse, UTSA Boulevard) (Total Score: 53.2)
- Centerville, Ohio (Total Score: 53.0)
- Houston (Galleria Warehouse, Richmond Ave) (Total Score: 52.9)
