The US State With The Most Costco Locations Per Capita Has Ties To Its Roots
Live in Washington and have a Costco card? You're living the dream. With 35 Costcos serving 7.62 million people, Washington has one warehouse for every 217,571 residents — the best ratio in the country, according to ScrapeHero. That means no matter where you are in the state, you're probably not far from a rotisserie chicken or one of those $1.50 hot dogs.
To put that in perspective, California has more stores overall (144 versus Washington's 35), but it spreads them across 39 million people. On a per-capita basis, that's one warehouse for every 274,390 people. Texas has a similar warehouse count to Washington's 35 locations, yet serves 29 million residents, meaning one Costco for every 630,350 people. It's even worse still, New Yorkers only have 19 warehouses but a massive population of 19.45 million people — that's one Costco for every million people, roughly. What this means for Washingtonians is sheer convenience. You get consistent access to that club without the drive-across-town hassle that members in less fortunate states endure.
Washington didn't become a Costco paradise by accident. It's ground zero for the entire warehouse chain as the first warehouse broke ground in Seattle.
Washington was where it all started
When Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman launched Costco in 1983 from a Seattle warehouse on 4th Avenue South, the first store was an oddity to consumers. Bare concrete floors. Zero marketing spend. Every dollar they had went toward one mission only: cut prices and move inventory fast. The warehouse club concept wasn't new — Price Club had pioneered the model when it first opened its doors in 1976, but it was initially only aimed at serving businesses. Sinegal and Brotman saw where it could go.
They borrowed the concept, refined the execution to target both small businesses and regular consumers, and hit the jackpot. The company went from zero all the way to a staggering $3 billion in sales in just six years of business. By 1993, Costco had more than 200 warehouses across the country and had become a retail giant in their own right. It was so successful that eventually Price Club sold its operation to Costco.
Despite all the success and growth, Costco never left home. Washington is where the company's story began, and it remains the brand's hub. The store has shown pride for its Washingtonian roots: The Kirkland in-house brand is named after Kirkland, Washington, which was where the original headquarters was located before they moved to the present-day address in Issaquah. With history, a loyal local market, and headquarters on its side, it's no wonder Washington ended up with more Costco warehouses per capita than anywhere else.