Here Are the Best and Worst Costco Stores, According to Shoppers

Costco has been a coveted superstore for almost 50 years, selling everything from high-quality bulk groceries and home essentials, to international wines and even jewelry. Countless families across the country pride themselves on being Costco loyalists, and consider their shopping hauls to be a competitive sport. One of the best parts about being a frequent Costco shopper is connecting with friends who also adore the budget-friendly warehouse store. I mean, is there anything more fun than comparing shopping lists and boasting about your impressive savings?

While it may seem like all Costco stores are all created equal, the truth is: some are better than others. In fact, FinanceBuzz surveyed over 6,000 Costco shoppers to determine which stores were superior by using a 10-point scale. The questionnaire asked for insight on six different metrics: cleanliness, friendliness, stock, quality of samples, number of samples offered, and parking.

Here's a deeper look at the six key categories:

• 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

So which Costco stores are the best in the country?

Cumming, Georgia

This southern location, which is one of 10 warehouses in the greater Atlanta area, was the highest-rated store in the U.S. It earned the highest rating in the entire country for friendliness, stock, and quality of samples, receiving an impressive total score of 54.5 out of 60.

Kansas City, Missouri

The second highest-rated location in the nation excelled in terms of stock, cleanliness, and friendliness, and scored just one point lower than the Georgia winner.

San Antonio, Texas

While Texas has a whopping 36 Costco stores, the northwest San Antonio location came in third place overall and is the best location in the Lone Star state. In fact, this store earned a 9.7 out of 10 in the cleanliness category—the highest score in that category of any store in the entire country.

Centerville, Ohio

This Ohio location near Dayton is the fourth highest-rated in the nation, scoring well in the cleanliness and friendliness categories.

Houston, Texas

The Galleria warehouse location on Richmond Avenue is the fifth best Costco in the country, and the second best in the state of Texas. It scored 9.0 or higher in three categories, including quality of samples.

Overall, it seems like Costco shoppers are consistently pleased with their experience, but some locations are just that much better. As for the lowest-rated Costco locations? New York and Hawaii didn’t score as highly as some of the other warehouses, but shoppers aren’t cutting up their club cards any time soon.