The 8 Absolute Worst Costco Locations In The US, According To Shoppers

A day at Costco can be fun and stressful at the same time, with trips often compared to going into a battle for treasures such as large muffins and rotisserie chicken. But along with the jokes and economical purchases come some serious complaints. All the bargains in the world aren't going to be able to overcome terrible experiences, and there are a few locations that apparently drive members nuts. Many of the complaints center on the parking lot and its entrances and exits, with poor planning, unfamiliar traffic features, and competitive drivers merging into an unholy mess. A number of complaints focus on infuriating customer behavior, from an excessive amount of general cluelessness to outright antagonism. And some have admitted that they think the experience there is only getting worse as Costco becomes more popular.

Shopping at Costco still ends up being worth it for many people despite the tension, but it's understandable that you'd want to avoid problems if at all possible. We've taken a look at which warehouses have had notable complaints in the past year that make them the absolute worst Costco locations in the U.S., according to shoppers.

Some Costco locations are in areas that just aren't planned well. That's the case with the warehouse in Christiana, Delaware, southwest of Wilmington. The Costco is across the street from the Christiana Mall and just north of a shopping center with a Trader Joe's. Just about everyone trying to get to Costco, Target, Trader Joe's, Michaels, and a bunch of other stores ends up on the same road. Mall-goers are a little luckier in that they can escape the traffic and enter the mall from several points around the parking lot. But Costco has only two entrances, one of which is a side entrance on the same road as the main entrance, and it still faces traffic issues. If you want to go to that Costco, then you have no choice but to go through the same intersection that leads to other popular shopping spots.

One person wrote that the traffic was so horrendous in that area that, when they drove from Target to Costco — a whopping half mile at most — it took them 30 minutes. Another person said it took 10 minutes to get in and out of the lot when they decided to check out the location, and yet another said they once considered driving over the grass to bypass the mess on the road. Forget about the lot itself or the crowds inside. What sticks out in people's minds about this Costco is the terrible entrance/exit.

One of the most hated — or feared, given some of the reactions — Costco locations is in Alhambra, California. This location has been the target of complaints in years past, and the hits just keep on coming, as they say. In the past year, people have reported actually giving up their Costco memberships when they moved and found out Alhambra was the closest Costco warehouse to their new home. People describe it as chaotic, hellish, the worst, and so on. One person even wrote, "It's like everything that makes Costco a difficult experience dialed up to 150%."

Customers have reportedly left carts stacked in disabled parking spaces and left carts in the middle of the aisles in the store, and one person even quipped that they park at Target instead. Another wrote that customers have run into them with carts, tried to shove them out of a sample line, and stopped their car in the middle of the lot to look at their phone. Overall, the impression they give of the Alhambra warehouse is that it's constant madness, and the only way to escape is to either not go or to ensure you have a very strong sense of humor and a lot of patience. As one Redditor facetiously wrote, "I go to Alhambra on the weekend to feel alive."

You'll find people on Reddit referring to the Costco in Brentwood, Tennessee, as the Cool Springs or Franklin warehouse. (The location is down the road from the Cool Springs Galleria and close to the city of Franklin, which is why it's got three different names.) No matter what they call it, however, the comments about it focus on bizarre member behavior and a dearth of cashiers. People say the location almost never has an adequate number of cashiers, leading to uncontrollable lines that block aisles and wrap around the store, and one Redditor noted that only one person was working in the food court when that person visited on a weekday. The location has more expensive gas, too, according to comments.

But the customers get the most complaints. Redditors have mentioned other customers parking their carts in the middle of an aisle and then walking away, as well as groups of people standing in front of (and blocking access to) products while having a conversation. Overall, shoppers there don't have a good impression of the area, either, with more than a few comments complaining that the people in the area in general were, well, not that nice. The parking lot gets the most incredulous comments, with people saying it's basically a vortex that makes shoppers forget how to return carts to the cart corrals.

The Costco on E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd. in Tucson, Arizona, is next on our list, but the problem here isn't actually the Costco. It's not even the parking lot of the Costco itself. Instead, it's the entire center, especially a roundabout that's at the entrance. There are some general complaints about the parking in front of the Costco, or how small and crowded the store is (even if you don't make the mistake of going at peak times), and the layout inside the store also leaves something to be desired. But the roundabout is what makes people describe the center as a death trap from hell.

One person did say they liked messing with people trying to turn the wrong way at the roundabout, and a couple of others said they saw cops hanging out there, so you've been warned. One other person who moved away from the Costco on Grant and closer to the Marketplace Costco simply said they hated going there, no matter the time of day. By the way, if you travel to Tucson and try to go to that Costco, be aware that there's an actual shopping center named "Tucson Marketplace" toward the eastern side of the city. However, the Costco on E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd. is south of downtown Tucson, near I-10.

The Costco location in Issaquah, Washington, is across the street from Costco's corporate complex, and this time, the problem isn't the parking lot or road design. Instead, it may be the staff you have to look out for. One customer shared multiple stories about rude employees who tried to push Costco card membership upgrades all too often and who were unhelpful in fixing mistakes, even when the mistake was apparently caused by an employee. Another complaint was that people would come over from the corporate office and then wander aimlessly, blocking aisles without regard for customers.

The Issaquah Costco is also the last location before travelers on I-90 head into the mountains, and there are older complaints about how crowded it can get. That said, the location did get a number of compliments, mainly for being the "experimental" Costco and for having more involvement from the corporate office that helped keep the checkout lines in order. You could always try going here early on a weekday to try to avoid crowds.

The Costco in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, makes the list because of multiple complaints from April 2025 about a couple of horrid smells that appeared to be chronic. The location is east of Cleveland and often referred to as the east side Costco. One odor was inside the warehouse and smelled like a combination of just about everything you'd never want near your nose. The person who initially complained about it called it a mix of things like sweaty gym socks and manure. Some Redditors wrote they hadn't smelled anything, but others reported smelling fertilizer or possibly portable toilets that were onsite due to some construction. (If that's what they smelled like inside the warehouse, what did they smell like outside?) The same person also complained about having to smell rubber from the tire section, which was right next to the food court. No one else complained about that smell, but it is something to keep in mind if you plan to eat at the location.

One other thing to look out for is competition over parking, although this incident really could have happened at any Costco. Back in February 2025, a customer contacted the Mayfield Heights Police Department to report that someone had smeared butter all over his car in the Costco parking lot. They'd even left the wrapper behind, and police were able to get the surveillance video. The customer said he thought the culprit might have been someone who wanted his parking spot.

Also called the Sunset Park or 3rd Avenue location, the Costco in Brooklyn, New York, is a location where the anxiety-inducing parking lot, shortage of carts, and the sheer size of the crowd overwhelm any benefits of the store itself. People have called it a madhouse and wondered why customers saw the need to bring multiple family generations just to buy basic goods. One joked that the lot was "where people of all races come together to fist fight peacefully," while another called the parking lot "A holy place for the auto body shops." The people who managed to beat the crowds were the ones who went during executive hours or who went on a Friday night, shortly before closing.

The Brooklyn location was even the site of a violent fight over a cart that left a person injured and resulted in an NYPD investigation in early October 2025. Customers told reporters that the Brooklyn location was routinely overcrowded and tense, with people visibly frustrated over a lack of space and resources. Customers noted it wasn't a location that you'd want to spend much time in. Redditors tried to joke about the incident, but one Redditor asked others not to do that, calling the location one of the worst in the country.

You were wondering when we would get to this one, weren't you? After about a year of quiet (in terms of Reddit comments, at least), the parking lot of the Pentagon City Costco has come roaring back into the spotlight. Redditors in the r/nova and r/arlingtonva subreddits recently poured out their frustrations about the parking there, recalling how people would block entire aisles and hurl insults. One person recalled trying to park after waiting for a car to pull out, only for two men to run in front and block the spot. Another said someone told their wife to kill herself after she honked at them for cutting in front.

The parking garage seems to be more of a problem than the open lot, although there were plenty of complaints about both. People noted the spots were built for older, more compact cars, and several chimed in about how whoever built the garage messed up their chance to fix the parking problems already seen in the lot. Suggestions for dealing with the terrible parking situation ranged from parking way at the back of the lot to buying an executive membership and shopping during executive hours in the morning on a weekday. A few brave souls mentioned that they didn't think the lot was as bad as everyone else said.

Where else are we going to go to find what people detest? Reddit, of course. Reddit is full of Costco opinions, both complimentary and accusatory. We looked at Reddit comments from the past year to find those locations that had multiple complaints about specific issues. Comments couldn't be older than December 2024, and they couldn't only be generic "X location" comments when people asked about Costco locations. That doesn't mean that previously hated locations have gotten better, just that the comments were too old to qualify.

A lot of Reddit traffic is likely trolls or bots trying to farm engagement and get a reaction out of you. However, many accounts still have real people behind them, including in local subreddits, and Reddit is a popular site for finding out information about areas, businesses, and so on. You can still find opinions and advice among the noise that are likely real, and if you want to hear about what people don't like in the city you've just moved to, it's the perfect place to look.