3 Of The 5 Best-Rated US Costcos Are In The Midwest (And They're Worth A Trip)
Costco is a magical place full of free samples, $1.50 hot dog combos, and incredible deals. If you want to plan your trip around visiting the best Costcos in the country, a 2026 study from FinanceBuzz ranks each one in the United States. In the study, over 5,000 shoppers were asked to rank their local stores out of 10 in six different categories: cleanliness, friendliness, stock, quality of samples, number of samples offered, and parking. Altogether, the categories added up to a total score out of 60, although no store scored higher than 55.1.
The FinanceBuzz study found that overall, Kansas had the highest-ranked Costco stores with a state average of 52.6, while Maryland had the lowest. Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wyoming weren't include in the study, because they don't have any Costcos. In addition to state averages, the study also shared the five top-rated individual Costco locations — three of which are located in the Midwest.
The best-rated Costcos in the U.S.
So, which Costco takes the cake? The best Costco in the United States is a tie between the Costco in Meridian, Idaho, and the Costco in Fortune Park, Indianapolis, Indiana. Both scored a total of 55.2 out of 60. The Indianapolis location scored between an 8.5 and a 9.7 on every category, with particularly high marks on cleanliness, stock, and friendliness. One Google reviewer raves, "We ALWAYS end up here. We've ordered platters from here, sometimes we come just to walk around with our kids and get lunch in the food court... We bring my grandma here just for fun. It's truly a family affair at Costco."
The third and fourth spots also went to Midwestern Costcos. The third-place prize went to the Costco in Springfield, Missouri, an underrated city with great outdoor opportunities. Springfield's Costco scored 55.1 out of 60 and a stellar friendliness ranking of 9.7. Fourth is the Costco in Kalamazoo, one of Michigan's quirkiest college towns. That store scored a total of 54.9 out of 60, with particularly high marks for cleanliness, stock, and friendliness. Finally, the fifth-place spot went to the Costco in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a score of 54.7.
Costco is an underrated pit stop for road trips, but these Midwestern cities are worth traveling to in their own right. Indianapolis offers popular museums like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (a must for car-lovers), the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, not to mention the Indianapolis Zoo. Springfield offers unique outdoor experiences, like a visit to the Fantastic Caverns show cave or a stroll through Springfield Botanic Gardens. And Kalamazoo is full of tasty restaurants, quirky shops, and a thriving brewery scene. Why not make a day trip out of your next Costco run?