Costco remains one of North America’s biggest warehouse chains, with fiscal 2024 revenue of $254.5 billion and 890 warehouses worldwide, according to the company’s annual results released Sept. 26, 2024. Within that footprint, the clearest Canada-versus-U.S. question is not whether the brand is growing, but which market is carrying more weight.
The U.S. still leads on raw size
Costco said in its fiscal 2024 annual report that the United States had 617 warehouses, while Canada had 109 as of Sept. 1, 2024. That gives the U.S. roughly 5.7 times as many locations, a gap that shapes everything from total sales volume to fuel operations and private-label reach.
Membership scale also favors the U.S. market. Costco reported 78.4 million paid household members worldwide in fiscal 2024, and while the company does not break that figure out by country in its annual report, the larger U.S. warehouse base strongly indicates the U.S. accounts for the biggest share of members and trips. Costco has not released a country-by-country paid membership count.
On pricing, the comparison is mixed rather than one-sided. In June 2024, several Canadian shoppers and retail trackers noted a 30-pack of Coca-Cola at Costco Canada priced around C$18.99 before deposits in some markets, while U.S. warehouses commonly listed 35-packs near US$19.99, depending on state bottle laws and local taxes. Package sizes, exchange rates and provincial fees vary, so those shelf tags are not a clean apples-to-apples measure.
Canada looks strong on per-store demand
Canada’s smaller footprint does not mean weak performance. Costco’s Canadian division has long ranked as one of the company’s more productive international markets, and analysts at firms including RBC Capital Markets have repeatedly pointed to high warehouse traffic in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta during earnings coverage in 2024.
The company confirmed in its 2024 filings that Canada remained its largest international market by warehouse count, with 109 locations. That matters because it gives Costco a deep presence in major metro areas such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, where high grocery prices have kept warehouse clubs relevant for bulk staples, pharmacy trips and gasoline.
What is not publicly broken out is exact 2024 revenue for Costco Canada versus Costco U.S. Costco reports total company net sales and gives monthly comparable sales by country groupings at times, but it does not publish a full standalone annual sales figure for Canada in the same way it reports enterprise-wide revenue. That limits any definitive claim that Canada is “winning” overall.
Why the battle looks different on each side of the border
The biggest reason the U.S. is ahead is simple scale. The U.S. has a much larger population, about 335 million in 2024 according to U.S. Census estimates, compared with roughly 41 million in Canada based on Statistics Canada estimates, giving Costco a far larger base for memberships, food court volume and ancillary businesses.
Canada’s case is built more on concentration than size. Grocery inflation remained a major issue in Canada through 2024, and Statistics Canada reported food purchased from stores rose 2.4% year over year in August 2024, helping keep value-focused chains in the conversation. In the U.S., Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed food-at-home inflation was lower, which can change how aggressively shoppers chase warehouse savings.
For customers, the practical takeaway is straightforward. U.S. shoppers are still seeing the broader network, more total warehouses and often more item variation, while Canadian shoppers continue to support one of Costco’s strongest non-U.S. markets. Costco said in fiscal 2024 that it plans continued warehouse growth globally, so both countries are still central to the company’s expansion strategy.
