Sam's Club workers to receive raise, higher starting wages, but pay still behind Costco

Walmart announced that it would be raising pay for its Sam's Club employees Tuesday as a part of what the company called "deliberate and meaningful investments" in its workers.

The big-box giant said in a press release that it would increase employee pay between 3% and 6% starting Nov. 2, depending on how long the employee had worked at the members-only store.

"Until now, retail compensation has largely been about hourly wages, and it’s almost unheard of to talk about frontline associate compensation in terms of a predictable financial future," Chris Nicholas, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, wrote in a LinkedIn post Tuesday.

The post also announced that the starting wage at the warehouse store would rise to $16 and the company would shorten the amount of time required to reach the highest pay tier.

The company touted previous worker improvements in the press release, including an 11% increase in full-time associates and allowing for block scheduling.

Sam's Club vs. Costco pay

The raise appears to be in an effort to keep up with Costco, who raised their starting wage to $19.50 per hour and provided a $1 per hour raise to its employees in July, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.

In the announcement, Walmart said that its frontline employees' average pay would be $19 per hour after the raise. Costco's average hourly pay is $22 per hour, according to ZipRecruiter.

Walmart reported a 24.4% gross profit rate on over $169 billion in revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 in its most recent earnings report released in August.

Sam's Club saw a 4.7% year-over-year growth in sales for the quarter led by food and health and wellness product sales.