You may already know that Costco is one of the best places to get almost anything you can imagine, including a lot of things you didn't even know you needed. But warehouses aren't always in the most convenient places for everyone. Sure, they're in most major cities, but a lot of people don't live near major cities. Luckily, Costco is expanding yet again!
How are Costco locations chosen?
I live in Springfield, Missouri, and have been an on-again, off-again resident since the mid-1990s. It's an interesting city with a vibe all its own, and it has traditionally had a fierce independent streak that generally resists large corporate presence. However, that attitude is slowly changing. It kind of started with Costco.
We really wanted a Costco. People organized letter-writing campaigns, shouted on social media, and did whatever they could to get the attention of the benevolent overlords of warehouse discounts. Finally, after at least a decade of asking, our location opened on August 18, 2021, and we've never looked back.
But it wasn't simply the intense campaigning that got Costco brought here. It was also that we were a growing city. We'd started to meet Costco's sweet spot for employment, household income, population density, and projected population growth. The company's exact formula isn't disclosed, but we do know that Costco shoots for markets that can support it. This explains why there are so many warehouses in large cities in California and Texas.
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New Costco warehouses nationwide
Costco already has around 600 locations in the United States, but it's always looking for opportunities to expand. The rest of 2024 promises 14 new locations worldwide, with nine in the United States.
Here's a list of the homegrown locations coming to a city near you soon:
- Richmond, Texas: June 2024
- Northwest Omaha, Nebraska: July 2024
- Chaska, Minnesota: July 2024
- Tomball, Texas: August 2024
- Covington, Louisiana: August 2024
- Ridgefield, Washington: August 2024
- Napa, California: October 2024
- Bend, Oregon: October 2024
- Pleasanton, California: October 2024
It's going to be a busy year in Costco land. And a busy year for you, too, if you live near one of these new locations.
Costco is a value-hunter's paradise
Costco has a throng of die-hard fans for a reason: It's a value-hunter's paradise. For the most part, you need a membership to shop there, which will set you back $60 a year (or $120 if you opt for the Executive membership). However, you will likely find something you absolutely cannot live without that will more than cover your membership very quickly.
For me, as weird as this sounds, it was fluticasone nasal spray. I had been buying them at Walmart to the tune of about $15 each, at a rate of one a month. That doesn't sound like a lot until I added it up and realized that with taxes, I'd snorted about $200 a year up my nose.
On my very first trip to Costco in Fort Worth, Texas, I discovered that I could pick up a five-pack of these things for about $20 total. This made my cost for this medication about $50 a year.
- That $50 plus a basic $60 Costco membership only comes up to $110, saving $90.
- If I'd opted for the Executive membership for $120 yearly, I'd still be about $30 ahead.
That item alone more than covers my membership costs. On top of that, you can use rewards credit cards at Costco for additional discounts and bonuses. Check out our guide on maximizing your Costco rewards for more.
Welcome to your new Costco
To all of you who are about to get a neighborhood Costco, congratulations and welcome to the Costco family. Once you've taken an afternoon to orient yourself in your new warehouse store, you'll quickly find it an indispensable part of your daily life. Costco certainly saves me money and helps immensely with my household budget.
You might even do what a friend of mine has done and start a Facebook group dedicated to all the cool things you find there. He treats every visit like a new adventure. And frankly, every visit kind of is a little treasure hunt of its own.
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