Does Costco Membership and Home Ownership Go Hand in Hand?

My most passionate home buyer clients seem to be Costco members. Is there a “Costco Connection”?

As a real estate agent and Costco member who visits a store every chance I get — whether in the U.S. or abroad — I’ve noticed a trend among my clients. A surprising number of my successful home buyers cherish their Costco membership cards as much as their pre-approval letters. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. After all, here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have plenty Costco locations, many with their legendary cheap gas, near the cities where my clients often buy — Berkeley, Alameda, Oakland, and beyond.

It’s not just families buying houses who boast Costco membership. My many single friends and clients, along with couples, proudly frequent Costco.

However the data (thanks to my AI pals) shows there truly might be some fascinating parallels between the traits that make someone a dedicated Costco member and the characteristics of people ready to invest in real estate.

Your intrepid Costco member / real estate agent at Costco in Puerto Vallarta. It’s a must-go for wonderful Mexican foods!

Profiling the Costco Bulk-Buying Member vs. Real Estate Owners

Recent data reveals Costco has grown to an impressive 136.8 million members globally as of 2024, with a remarkable 92.7% renewal rate in the U.S. But more telling is who these members are.

Income Matters: The income distribution of Costco shoppers reveals a clear pattern. Roughly 36% of Costco shoppers have household incomes above $125,000, while about 46% fall in the middle-income range between $40,000 and $125,000. In fact, some studies suggest that 54% of Costco members are considered “affluent” or wealthy. In other words, they are well qualified to own homes (assuming they are not spending all their income at Costco).

Age and Life Stage: Boomers and Gen X shoppers comprise more than 65% of Costco’s customer base, with Millennials making up about 28% and Gen Z only 8%. Around 54% of Costco grocery buyers are between 18 and 49 years old—prime homebuying age. An April 2005 survey by the National Association of REALTORS® concluded “Baby boomers account for 42% of all home buyers, while millennials fall to 29% (down from 38% from one year ago).”

Bingo! There’s got to be ample overlap among the other 46% of Costco buyers who are older than 49 years old and the 42% of all home buying being Boomers, who in 2026 are defined as 62-80 years old. Don’t believe your Costco is full of 80 year olds? Those little automated carts are shopping fun for seniors! My dad loved ’em. 

Family-Oriented: Costco shoppers tend to have larger households. About 35% have two-person households, while 56% have three or more people at home — exactly the type of families who need more space.

Way back when I was in business school, 

The Homeowner Profile: Following the Money

Now let’s look at homeownership statistics. The parallels are striking.

Income is King: According to Federal Reserve data, 85% of adults with family incomes of $100,000 or more own their homes, compared to just 35% of those earning under $50,000.

For households with income at or above the median, the homeownership rate is 78.9%.

Age Follows the Pattern: Homeownership rates are highest among those 65 and over (77.9%), followed by the 35-64 age groups, while those under 35 have just a 37.5% homeownership rate.

The Psychology of Bulk Buying and Homebuying

Here’s where it gets interesting. Beyond the demographics, there are some striking psychological and behavioral similarities.

1. Long-Term Thinking — Both Costco membership and homeownership require looking beyond immediate gratification. You pay $65-130 upfront for a Costco membership, betting you’ll recoup that through savings over the year. Similarly, homebuyers commit to 15-30 year mortgages, viewing their purchase as a long-term investment rather than a short-term expense.

Interestingly, my clients are often avid Costco shoppers even before they buy their home. Their Costco-philia only increases after they have the space to store 24-packs of tp and beer.

2. Value Over Convenience — Costco shoppers willingly drive farther and buy in bulk to get better unit prices.

Homebuyers often accept longer commutes or fixer-uppers to get more value for their dollar with the chance to build equity.

Both groups prioritize economic efficiency over immediate convenience. 

And this Costco shopper? I often follow the weather and crop reports for nuts as well as tariff trends to decide what to load up on. I may or may not have had 15 pounds of coffee on hand at some point in the past year.

3. Planning and Storage Capacity — If you’re buying a 24-pack of paper towels, you need somewhere to put them. Costco shopping almost requires having adequate storage space—which homeowners have in abundance. Renters in apartments often can’t accommodate bulk purchasing in the same way.

This is exactly what my Consumer Behavior professor pointed out in business school, way back in the 90s: People who live in apartments or smaller dwellings simply don’t have the space to buy in bulk as owners of single-family homes, or larger more expensive rentals, do. Thanks to bargain shopping outlets we have access to today, such as Grocery Outlet, it is easier to get lower priced toilet paper and other essentials in smaller-than-Costco-sized packs.

4. Financial Discipline — The discipline to pay an annual membership fee, resist impulse purchases near checkout (who me, See’s Candies gift cards?), and calculate unit prices translates well to the financial discipline needed for homeownership: saving for down payments, maintaining emergency funds, and managing mortgage payments.

5. Group-Focused Decision Making — Both Costco membership and home ownership often signal “settled” life stages — people with families or friends to feed, futures to plan for, and roots being put down…ideally near a Costco. 

The Executive Member Connection

Here’s a particularly fascinating detail: Executive members, who pay $130 annually for 2% cash back, represent 47.3% of Costco’s paid members but account for 73.1% of sales. These are people who’ve done the math and committed to concentrating their spending to maximize value.

Sound familiar? These are exactly the type of people who research mortgage rates, compare housing markets, and run the numbers on whether buying beats renting.

They’re optimizers who see the bigger financial picture.

Is It Really a Connection? Or Just Coincidence?

Of course, correlation doesn’t equal causation. The truth is that both Costco membership and home ownership are simply more accessible to people with higher, more stable incomes. Someone earning $150,000 a year is more likely to both afford a home and see value in a Costco membership.

But I’d argue there’s something more at play. The mindset that makes someone a savvy Costco shopper—the ability to delay gratification, think strategically about finances, plan for the future, and optimize for long-term value—is the same mindset that makes someone a successful homebuyer.

Should every Costco member own a home instead of renting ?

Of course not. After all, you can rent and live near a Costco, which in the end is what really matters in life (ha ha). 

I tell all of my downsizing clients that the beautiful Costco in Richmond, CA by the waterfront is just a few minutes from the popular condo development Marina Bay, also by the water. They can retire and have it all, along with a ferry to San Francisco!

While not every Costco is in such a heavenly location, what matters is living within your means, investing in a future for yourself rather than only spending, and enjoying life. That’s the way I frame my trips to Costco and house hunting with clients.

When it came time to bring all my clients pumpkins for Fall, where did I go? Yes, Costco in Richmond!

The Bottom Line: So is there a connection between Costco membership and home buying? 

The data suggests yes—but not because one causes the other. Instead, both are symptoms of the same underlying characteristics:

• stable income,
• family orientation,
• long-term planning, and
• a mindset focused on maximizing value over time, with data-driven financial decisions (Note the sale price of the Cheez-Its, one of my favorite snacks for open houses and myself. What a per-unit bargain!)

The next time a client mentions they need to hit Costco before our showing, or they’d rather receive an $800 Costco gift card than the usual home warranty I give my clients, I’ll smile knowing they might just have exactly what it takes to become a happy homeowner. After all, if they can commit to buying California olive oil by the half gallon, they can probably commit to a 30-year mortgage and a place to store their olive oil…and toilet paper.

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Data sources:

I used Anthropic’s AI tool Claude to generate the data. Claude attributes its research as follows…and I make no guarantee of accuracy, and I know Claude doesn’t either. However based on my own experiences, I only included observations that I myself believe may very well be accurate. The website Numerator has a nice layout of Costco data and is hopefully an authoritative source.

• 36% of Costco shoppers have household incomes above $125,000, and about 46% earn between $40,000 and $125,000 Couponzania
• Boomers and Gen X comprise more than 65% of Costco’s customer base GrabOn
• The average Costco shopper spends slightly more than $100 per visit and makes 30 trips per year BusinessDasher
• 85% of adults with family income of $100,000 or more own their homes, compared to 35% of those with income under $50,000 Federal Reserve
• Executive members represent 47.3% of paid members but account for 73.1% of sales Couponzania