Starbucks counted about 381,000 employees on September 28, 2025. Since then it has moved 7,991 China stores into a licensed joint venture, cut more U.S. corporate roles and announced about 250 North American store closures. This page tracks Starbucks employee statistics from SEC filings, company impact reports and dated news through October 2026, covering headcount, turnover, pay, union representation, layoffs and benefits.
Starbucks Employee Statistics
Starbucks Employee Statistics by Region and Role, FY2023–FY2025
Starbucks employed about 381,000 people worldwide on September 28, 2025, according to its fiscal 2025 10-K. The count matches fiscal 2023 after a dip to 361,000 in fiscal 2024.
U.S. employees numbered 223,000, and 214,000 of them worked in company-operated stores. Outside the U.S., 153,000 of 158,000 employees worked in stores.
| Workforce segment | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total employees worldwide | 381,000 | 361,000 | 381,000 |
| U.S. employees | 228,000 | 211,000 | 223,000 |
| U.S. company-operated store staff | 219,000 | 201,000 | 214,000 |
| Employees outside the U.S. | 153,000 | 150,000 | 158,000 |
| Non-U.S. company-operated store staff | 148,000 | 144,000 | 153,000 |
U.S. store staff rose from 201,000 to 214,000 in fiscal 2025, while the U.S. company-operated store count fell from 10,158 to 10,047.
Each figure is a single fiscal year-end snapshot, the same approach used for Walmart’s year-end workforce count.
What the April 2026 China Deal Changes
The 381,000 figure predates the China transaction. Starbucks completed its deal with funds managed by Boyu Capital in April 2026 and kept a 40% stake in the joint venture.
In fiscal Q3 2026, 7,991 company-operated China stores became licensed stores. International company-operated stores totaled 2,464 on June 28, 2026, against 10,277 a year earlier.
The 10-K describes staff at licensed stores as licensee employees. Starbucks scheduled its fiscal 2026 results for October 29, 2026.
U.S. Gender Split, Last Disclosed for FY2024
Starbucks’ U.S. partner base was 70.9% female and 28.4% male at the end of fiscal 2024. Diverse partners made up more than 51.9% of the U.S. retail team and more than 37.9% of corporate roles.
The fiscal 2025 10-K does not include these breakdowns.
How High Is Starbucks Employee Turnover?
Total employee turnover across the U.S. and Canada fell to 45% in fiscal 2025. It was 49% in fiscal 2024 and 58% in fiscal 2023, based on Starbucks Global Impact Report data tables.
Starbucks called coffeehouse-role turnover a record low in its April 2, 2026 partner announcement.
The company publishes one combined U.S. and Canada rate, while Target splits its turnover rates by race and gender.
Hiring volume appears less often. The FY2024 tables listed 80,865 U.S. barista hires, down from 105,556 in FY2023; the FY2025 tables do not report hires.
Internal Fill Rate Reached 81% in FY2025
Internal partners filled 81% of U.S. retail leadership roles in fiscal 2025, up from 63% in fiscal 2024 and 69% in fiscal 2023. The company target is 90%.
A coffeehouse coach pilot across 62 U.S. coffeehouses in six markets filled more than 90% of its roles through internal promotions. On June 23, 2026, Starbucks said it expected to fill more than 300 coach roles within a month and thousands more by year-end.
More than 98% of scheduled shifts were filled on average, and 95% of partners received their preferred schedules, Starbucks said on July 13, 2026.
Median Pay ($17,279) and CEO Ratio in Starbucks Employee Statistics
The median Starbucks employee earned $17,279 in fiscal 2025, up from $14,674 in fiscal 2024. Every proxy from fiscal 2022 through 2025 identified that employee as a part-time U.S. barista.
Starbucks’ proxy statements note that flexible, part-time roles lower the median, so the figure reflects part-time hours rather than a full-time salary.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO total compensation | Median employee | Pay ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | Howard Schultz | 374,558 | 12,254 | 31 to 1 |
| FY2023 | Laxman Narasimhan | 14,604,531 | 14,209 | 1,028 to 1 |
| FY2024 | Brian Niccol | 97,813,843 | 14,674 | 6,666 to 1 |
| FY2025 | Brian Niccol | 30,992,773 | 17,279 | 1,794 to 1 |
Niccol’s fiscal 2024 total used annualized salary and bonus, as SEC rules require.
Starbucks’ proxy warns that other companies’ ratios may not be comparable because workforces and methods differ, which applies when reading Costco’s employee pay figures.
Best of Starbucks Reward: Up to $1,200 a Year
Eligible baristas and shift supervisors can earn up to $300 a quarter, or $1,200 a year, when their coffeehouse meets sales, operational and customer service metrics. The first quarterly period started in fiscal Q4 2026.
Expanded tipping began July 22 and weekly pay July 31, 2026. Starbucks says the changes give eligible partners the potential to earn 5% to 8% more on average.
Starbucks values average pay plus benefits at about $30 an hour for hourly roles at 20 or more weekly hours. That is a company valuation of wages and benefits, not a posted wage range of the kind tracked in salary transparency statistics.
At the roughly 5% of U.S. locations with union partners, these changes are subject to collective bargaining.
How Many Starbucks Stores Are Unionized in 2026?
Partners in about 6% of U.S. company-operated stores were represented by unions on September 28, 2025, per the fiscal 2025 10-K. Starbucks’ July 13, 2026 release cited about 5% of U.S. locations.
Earlier 10-Ks measured partners, not stores. About 3.6% of partners in U.S. company-operated stores were union-represented at fiscal 2023 year-end, and about 5% at fiscal 2024 year-end.
In November 2025, Starbucks said fewer than 4% of its green apron partners worked in coffeehouses represented by Workers United. It also said the two sides had reached more than 30 tentative agreements on full contract articles.
Starbucks Workers United began an open-ended strike on November 13, 2025, with more than 1,000 workers at 65 stores, according to the union. The union said the strike peaked in December at more than 4,500 baristas across 230 stores.
The union’s February 2026 proposal set a $17 starting wage floor, down from $20, plus 4% annual raises, CNBC reported. No contract had been reached as of September 24, 2026, per AP.
Workers United, which AP said represents workers at 700 U.S. stores that voted to unionize, said 20 of the 250 stores closing in September 2026 were union stores.
Starbucks Employee Statistics on Layoffs: February 2025 to October 2026
AP reported 1,100 corporate layoffs in February 2025, 900 non-retail layoffs in September 2025 and about 300 U.S. corporate layoffs announced May 15, 2026. AP put the 2025 corporate total at 2,000.
The September 2025 round came with 627 store closures in Q4 fiscal 2025 under the Back to Starbucks restructuring plan.
For the May 2026 round, Starbucks expected $400 million in restructuring charges, including $120 million in employee separation benefits. No coffeehouse employees were affected, and the company said it was closing underused offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and other cities.
Starbucks later said the May restructuring eliminated 252 corporate positions. An August 20, 2026 Washington WARN notice listed 224 workers: 104 from the store design and construction team and 120 who declined to relocate to Nashville.
On September 24, 2026, COO Mike Grams said Starbucks would close about 250 coffeehouses, about 1% of its more than 18,000 North American locations. A related October 7 Washington WARN notice covered 51 workers: 43 at five stores and 8 at the Seattle Support Center, with separations from November 14 to December 4.
Other large employers, including Amazon with its corporate reductions, have also announced support-staff cuts since 2025.
Nashville Office Plan
Starbucks plans a $100 million Nashville office that will employ up to 2,000 people over five years. Management approved the related support-function relocation in fiscal Q2 2026, according to the company’s 10-Q.
About 2,800 employees work at the Seattle headquarters, the Spokesman-Review reported, and Tennessee offered $30 million in incentives.
20,000+ SCAP Graduates and Other Starbucks Benefit Numbers
| Fiscal year | Partners graduated during year | Graduates since inception (year-end) | Partners participating (year-end) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 2,699 | 14,116 | 26,273 |
| FY2025 | 2,854 | 16,990 | 28,071 |
The Starbucks College Achievement Plan covers 100% of tuition for a first online bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University for partners averaging 20 or more hours a week. A September 10, 2026 letter from Brian Niccol put total graduates above 20,000.
Close to 90% of U.S. coffeehouses had at least one SCAP participant at the end of FY2025. More than 20% of scholars were first-generation college students.
Bean Stock counts differ by document. The fiscal 2025 10-K says more than 230,000 partners received a grant, while the FY2025 Global Impact Report says more than 240,000.
Partners averaging 20+ hours a week get up to 18 weeks of paid leave at full pay for birth parents and up to 12 weeks for non-birth parents. Starbucks ran 42 Partner Networks globally in FY2025, 14 of them in the U.S., up from 39 and 13.
FAQs
How many people work for Starbucks?
About 381,000 worldwide as of September 28, 2025, per the fiscal 2025 10-K. That includes 223,000 U.S. employees, 214,000 of them in company-operated stores. The count predates the April 2026 China joint venture.
What is the employee turnover rate at Starbucks?
45% across the U.S. and Canada in fiscal 2025, down from 49% in fiscal 2024 and 58% in fiscal 2023, according to Starbucks Global Impact Report data tables.
How much does the average Starbucks employee make?
Starbucks reports a median, not an average: $17,279 in fiscal 2025, earned by a part-time U.S. barista. The company also values average hourly pay plus benefits at about $30 an hour.
How many Starbucks stores are unionized?
Partners in about 6% of U.S. company-operated stores were union-represented on September 28, 2025, per the 10-K. Starbucks cited about 5% of U.S. locations in July 2026. No first contract existed as of September 24, 2026.
Is Starbucks a good place to work, according to Reddit?
Reddit threads reflect individual barista experiences, not representative data. Starbucks’ own figures show 45% U.S. and Canada turnover in fiscal 2025 and 81% of U.S. retail leadership roles filled internally.
Sources
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922425000114/sbux-20250928.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000121390026007780/ea0270973-01.htm
https://about.starbucks.com/press/2026/starbucks-hourly-partner-rewards-going-live/
