Target vs. Costco — Salaries Can't Compete

Written by Jacob Bourne

Costco may be a massive corporation, but the retail giant is bucking trends and reversing stereotypes. Ask most employees and they'll tell you, Costco is a great place to work.

But Capitola doesn't have a Costco, which means the town lacks a warehouse with 300 employees working retail at a livable wage. Instead, we have Target at the Capitola Mall. 

According to the Huffington Post, a typical Costco worker made $45,000 in 2011. Sam's Club (Walmart's answer to Costco) pays its employees an average salary of $17,486 per year. A Target cashier, meanwhile, makes an average hourly wage of $8.07, and an IKEA cashier makes just over $9 per hour, GlassDoor.com reports. 

Not only is Costco leading the wage game, it is also blasting past the competition in financial success. Costco's profit increased 19 percent to $459 million last quarter. Meanwhile, Walmart and Target have both struggled in year-over-year sales with the latter lowering its "earnings forecast for the year...pushing the retailer's profits down 29 percent," the Huffington Post reported. 

While Costco pays far above minimum wage, CEO Craig Jelinek is on board with President Obama's proposal to raise that standard (used by Walmart and Target) to $10 per hour nationwide. 

Target is located at 1825 41st Ave.

Do you wish Capitola had a Costco? Are you happy with Target? Tell us in the comments!