What the stores state
Every row comes from the employer's own page or a posting read October 31, 2026. Pay is one job in one place unless noted, so yours may differ. Ranges show the posted low end first, and new hires often start near it. This is a list of stated facts, not a ranking.
Scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Employer | Job and place | Stated pay | Hours stated | Benefits stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | Cashier assistant; cashier. Company pay sheet dated July 14, 2026 | $20.00 to $31.20; $21.00 to $32.90 | Minimum hours guaranteed, no number. Schedule 3 weeks ahead | Healthcare for full-time and part-time. Hours not on the public page |
| Aldi | Store associate, Melbourne, FL; part-time, Palmetto, FL | $19.00; $19.50 to start, with raises stated through year 5 | "30+"; "Fewer than 30" | Medical at an average of 30 or more. 401(k) match for all |
| Trader Joe's | Crew, Hartsdale, NY; Bradenton, FL | $18.00 to $21.00; $16.00 to $19.00 to start | Up to 38 | Medical at an average of 28. Dental and vision at 14 |
| Target | Guest advocate, Silver Spring, MD; seasonal, Chicago; seasonal, Dallas | $19.00; $18.50; $16.00 to start | "Vary" | By "position, average hours worked, length of service." 401(k) match up to 5% |
| Lowe's | Cashier, full time, San Francisco; head cashier, Norwich, NY | $19.61 to $21.85; $16.00 to $16.65 | Evening or weekend availability, generally | Insurance for regular full-time and part-time. No hours stated |
| Home Depot | Cashier, New York, NY | $18.50 to $19.00 | Not stated | Medical full-time only. Free $120 vision plan for all |
| Kroger stores | Cashier, King Soopers, Arvada, CO; Fred Meyer, Bremerton, WA | $17.90 to $25.11; $17.38 to $26.85 | Part time | Company or union plans. Tuition up to $21,000 over a career |
| Best Buy | Sales associate, Portland, OR; outlet seasonal, Houston | $16.80 to $21.45; $15.00 to $18.75 | Part time | Medical for part-timers after an average of 30 hours over 12 months |
| Dollar General | Sales associate, Burlington City, NJ | $15.92 to $16.02 | Full time | Health options, "eligibility and waiting period requirements may apply" |
| Walmart | Stocking, North Little Rock, AR; cashier, San Juan, PR | $14.00 to $27.00; $13.00 to $26.00 | Both; part time | By job class. Live Better U pays tuition for full-time and part-time |
| Kohl's | Seasonal associate, Decatur, AL | Starts at $14.00 | Not stated | Medical at 30 or more hours a week. Weekly pay |
| Publix | Cashier, all stores | No rate shown | Full or part time | Health plan listed for all associates. Weekly pay for hourly workers |
Walmart also says its average U.S. hourly frontline worker makes more than $18.50, and that rates "vary by region and role" (read October 31, 2026).
"Best" by what?
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| If best means | Look at | Why | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest stated floor | Costco, $20.00 or $21.00 | Highest low end among these | Asks for "open availability." A listing may not be an open job |
| Clearest raises | Aldi | States each year's rate. Palmetto reaches $21.50 by year 5 | Age 18, up to 45 pounds, freezers and a baler |
| Clearest medical rule | Trader Joe's | 28 hours, in plain words | "Up to 38" sets no floor |
| Schedule you can plan on | Costco | Posted 3 weeks ahead | No number on minimum hours |
| A first job with no store experience | Kohl's | "No retail experience required," age 16 | Seasonal, and $14.00 in Decatur |
| Pay every week | Kohl's, Publix | Both state it | Publix shows no rate |
| Easiest on your body | Clothing stores, by injury rate | 1.5 per 100 workers, against 5.0 at warehouse clubs (BLS SOII, 2024) | Rates cover store types, not one employer |
More on store types: what retail work is really like. Who hires beginners: retail jobs with no experience.
What could not be confirmed
- Publix rate. Its openings show no pay. A Virginia link opens a PDF that asks for a password.
- Kroger in Ohio and Arizona. The Franklin, OH, and Phoenix, AZ, cashier postings show no rate.
- Lowe's in Indiana and Home Depot in Houston. Both postings show no rate.
- Walmart cashiers in the 50 states. The cashier posting found was in Puerto Rico. Walmart's Little Rock, AR, seasonal job shows $14.00 to $27.00, but it is marked "Future opening," so it is not in the table.
- Costco by place. Its sheet gives one national range with no location. Ask what your warehouse pays.
- Not checked. Wegmans, H-E-B, CVS, Walgreens and others. Leaving them out says nothing about their pay.
How this compares with BLS
The national medians are $15.81 for cashiers and $17.03 for retail salespersons, and the 10th percentiles are $11.79 and $13.08 (BLS, May 2025). Those cover all workers, including long-time ones, and they are more than a year old. So a starting rate above the local median is a good sign, but not a promise.
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| Metro | Posting | Stated start or low end | Local median, cashier | Local median, salesperson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | Target, seasonal | $16.00 | $14.38 | $16.06 |
| Chicago | Target, seasonal | $18.50 | $16.83 | $17.22 |
| New York | Home Depot, cashier | $18.50 | $17.28 | $18.40 |
| Denver | King Soopers, cashier, Arvada | $17.90 | $18.09 | $18.50 |
| Houston | Best Buy outlet, seasonal | $15.00 | $14.11 | $15.07 |
Read Denver closely: that posted low end is below both local medians. Other metros: pay benchmarks. The legal floor where you live: minimum wage by state.
Worked example: $16.00 at 20 hours or $14.50 at 34
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| Job | Rate | Hours | Gross a week | Take-home a week | Gross a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A, typical week, hours unsteady | $16.00 | 20 | $320.00 | $294.48 | $16,640 |
| A, slow week | $16.00 | 12 | $192.00 | $177.31 | n/a |
| A, busy week | $16.00 | 28 | $448.00 | $399.89 | n/a |
| B, hours steady | $14.50 | 34 | $493.00 | $436.95 | $25,636 |
Take-home assumes a single filer, standard W-4, paid weekly, IRS Publication 15-T (2026), and 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare (IRS Topic 751), with no state income tax.
Job B pays $173.00 more a week before tax and $142.47 more after it. Even A's busy week falls short of B's normal week. To match B, A would need 30.8 hours at $16.00, or $24.65 an hour at 20 hours. B also clears the 28- and 30-hour lines for medical stated above, and A does not. So the lower rate can be the better job. If you only want 20 hours around school, A's higher rate is the better deal, as long as the hours hold.
How to check a store's real schedule before accepting
- Read the posting's words. "Up to 38" and "Fewer than 30" are ceilings. "Open availability" means they want it all. Target's on-demand jobs have no spot on the posted schedule. Even a Target team leader job "does not come with a guarantee of 40 hours each week."
- Ask the hiring manager, and write down the answer:
"How many hours did people in this job average over the last three months? What was the lowest week? How far ahead is the schedule posted? Can it change after that? Do new hires get the same hours as everyone else?"
- Ask for the estimate. In Oregon, Seattle and Los Angeles, covered employers must give new hires a good-faith estimate of hours (agency pages, read October 31, 2026). Elsewhere, ask for it anyway, by email.
- Ask a worker. On a slow hour, ask: "About how many hours do you get here? Does it change much?" One answer is not data, but three are worth having (JobPin's advice).
- Know your floor. Federal law lets an employer change hours without notice (U.S. DOL, read October 31, 2026). Rules by place: part-time jobs and your rights.
- Compare in dollars. Multiply the lowest week by the rate, and budget on that. Details: part-time retail jobs and how to read pay on a job posting.
Ready to apply? See retail interview questions and retail resume tips.
Current openings
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Source-linked openings
Current source-linked listings could not be confirmed in this sample. Check the category search and each original posting for availability.
How to verify a listing
Every opening on JobPin links to its source posting. Open it and check the address, the rate and whether it says seasonal. Then confirm the same job on the employer's own site. Honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job (FTC, read October 31, 2026). More: how JobPin verifies listings.
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