Costco vs. BJ’s in Forney: Two Warehouse Giants Walk Into a Bar

Forney residents have reached a dangerous new stage of suburban adulthood.

You can now get your groceries, fill the SUV, buy enough toilet paper to survive a minor emergency, grab a rotisserie chicken, and somehow leave the store $217 poorer after convincing yourself you “saved money.”

And now Forney has two major warehouse clubs fighting for your business.

Costco opened its 160,000-square-foot Forney warehouse at 150 FM 460 in March. BJ’s Wholesale Club opened its Forney location at 11150 E. U.S. Highway 80 in April, bringing a retailer that was, until very recently, almost entirely associated with the East Coast into Texas for the first time.

So which one should Forney shoppers actually join?

The annoying answer is that both are good.

The useful answer is that they are good at different things.

And once you understand the differences, you can probably figure out which one deserves your membership fee.

First, the basic fight

Costco currently charges $65 a year for its standard Gold Star membership and $130 for Executive membership. The Executive level includes 2% rewards on qualifying Costco and Costco.com purchases, up to $1,250 annually.

BJ’s standard Club membership is $60 a year, while Club+ is $120. Club+ includes 2% back on most eligible BJ’s purchases, plus an extra 5 cents off per gallon at BJ’s Gas.

So, on the basic membership, BJ’s wins by a whole five bucks.

Congratulations, BJ’s. You can buy half a burrito with the savings.

But price isn't where this gets interesting.

Costco: The carefully curated giant

Costco's whole business model is basically this: sell fewer things, but make those things count.

Costco says its warehouses average fewer than 4,000 products at any given time. That sounds like a lot until you realize a normal grocery store can have tens of thousands of individual products. Costco deliberately keeps the selection tight.

That is one of Costco's biggest strengths.

You don't walk down an aisle looking at 14 brands of peanut butter wondering which one was secretly placed there to destroy your afternoon.

You get a few options. One is Kirkland. One is the name brand. Maybe there is a third one.

Done.

And Kirkland Signature is a huge part of Costco's appeal. The company has built a private-label brand with a reputation strong enough that shoppers actively seek it out.

Where Costco wins

Kirkland Signature. This is probably Costco's secret weapon. Kirkland products cover everything from paper towels and food to clothing and household goods, and the brand is a major reason people become Costco loyalists.

The food court. Say what you want about Costco, but the cheap food court is basically a civic institution at this point. The legendary pizza and $1.50 hot dog combo are difficult for competitors to match on sheer cultural importance.

Pharmacy. Forney Costco has a full pharmacy, along with optical and hearing services. Costco also offers its Member Prescription Program, which can provide members with discounted prescription prices.

Rotisserie chicken. It remains one of those Costco products that can turn a trip for laundry detergent into dinner.

Seasonal and “I didn't know I needed this” merchandise. Costco is extremely good at putting a giant patio umbrella, a kayak, an air fryer, a television and a three-pack of socks in front of you and convincing you that all five belong in your life.

There’s Another Reason to Like Costco: The Employees

Here's something that doesn't show up on the price tag next to the giant jar of mayonnaise.

Costco has built a pretty unusual reputation in retail for how it treats its employees.

The company reported that its average hourly wage for U.S. in-store and distribution-center employees was about $30 in fiscal 2025, while the average hourly rate at the end of the fiscal year was approximately $32 an hour. Costco also raised its U.S. and Canadian starting wage to at least $20 an hour in March 2025. Costco reported a 10% voluntary turnover rate for in-store and distribution-center employees in fiscal 2025, down from 14% in fiscal 2023.

For a company whose employees spend their days moving giant boxes of everything from televisions to toilet paper around a warehouse, that's pretty notable.

Costco also reports benefits for employees and their dependents, along with programs designed to develop hourly workers into future supervisors and leaders.

And you can actually feel the difference when you shop at a company where employees tend to stick around.

It's not scientific, but there is something to be said for walking into a store and seeing people who look like they have been there longer than your last cell phone.

What about BJ's?

This is where Costco has a little more evidence on its side.

BJ's certainly isn't throwing its employees into the warehouse with a broom and telling them good luck. The company promotes benefits, flexible scheduling, career development and opportunities to move into management.

But BJ's does not publicly report a directly comparable company-wide average hourly wage for its warehouse employees the way Costco does, so it's difficult to make a clean apples-to-apples comparison.

Independent employee reviews currently lean toward Costco on this issue. Indeed's current comparison shows Costco with a 4.2 out of 5 rating for compensation and benefits, compared with 2.9 for BJ's. Indeed also shows higher reported or posted average pay for several comparable jobs, although that data is based on employee reports and job postings rather than company payroll data.

So if you're the kind of shopper who pays attention to how the companies you support treat their workers, Costco gets a pretty significant point here.

And honestly, that's worth something.

You might save another dollar somewhere else, but it's nice knowing the person loading your 40-pound bag of dog food into the cart isn't necessarily wondering why they didn't apply somewhere else.

Where Costco loses

The selection is limited by design. Costco's limited SKU strategy is great when you love what they carry. It is less impressive when you walk in looking for a very specific brand or size and discover Costco has decided you don't need that thing.

Bulk is really bulk. Costco can be fantastic for larger families, but smaller households can run into the warehouse-club problem: congratulations, you saved 37 cents per ounce on strawberries and now you have enough strawberries to begin a jam business.

Coupons aren't really Costco's thing. Costco uses its own instant savings and promotions, but shoppers looking to stack manufacturer coupons have a major advantage at BJ's.

Hours are shorter. The Forney Costco currently closes at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday for regular members.

That Sunday 6 p.m. closing time is not exactly friendly to the person who suddenly realizes at 5:41 that they forgot diapers.

BJ’s: More choices, more coupons, more ways to shop

BJ's takes a somewhat different approach.

The company offers more than 7,000 products per club, giving it a broader selection than Costco. BJ's also sells a mix of private-label brands including Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen alongside national brands.

That means BJ's feels a little more like a traditional grocery store that swallowed a warehouse.

And for some shoppers, that's exactly what they want.

Where BJ’s wins

Coupons. This is the big one.

BJ's accepts BJ's coupons and manufacturers' coupons, and its policy allows shoppers to combine certain BJ's and manufacturer offers.

For people who actually enjoy finding coupons rather than considering coupon hunting a part-time job, this can be a serious advantage.

More variety. More than 7,000 products versus Costco's roughly 4,000 means BJ's generally gives you more choices.

Smaller package sizes. One of the underrated differences is that BJ's offers more regular-sized and smaller multipack options. That can matter if you're shopping for a smaller household or simply don't want to purchase enough snacks to supply a Little League team.

Shopping technology. BJ's has ExpressPay, which lets members scan products through the app as they shop and skip the traditional checkout line. The Forney club also offers curbside pickup, pickup in the club and same-day delivery.

Longer hours. BJ's Forney location is open until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday.

That alone could matter to families who don't believe bedtime should determine whether they can buy a 40-pack of water.

Where BJ’s loses

The house brands aren't Kirkland. Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen are established brands, and some shoppers love them. But Costco has spent decades building Kirkland into one of the strongest private-label names in retail.

That doesn't mean BJ's products are worse. It means Costco has a head start in the “I trust this random warehouse-brand item with my money” department.

BJ's is newer here. The Forney club is part of BJ's first major Texas push, so Costco obviously has a much longer-established national presence. BJ's is still proving itself to North Texas shoppers.

You may have to work harder for the best price. BJ's coupon system is potentially a huge advantage, but that advantage comes with homework. If you are the sort of person who walks past a coupon and says “I'll deal with it later,” Costco's simpler pricing structure may be more your speed.

Head-to-head: Who wins?

Costco's Forney warehouse also has a gas station, food court, pharmacy and tire center. BJ's Forney club has gas, optical, tires, bakery, deli, curbside pickup, same-day delivery and ExpressPay.

And then there is the gas question

This may be the thing that decides the argument for a lot of Forney families.

Both stores have gas stations.

That matters because a warehouse membership starts looking a lot more attractive when you're already filling up an SUV every week.

BJ's says Club+ members receive an additional 5-cent-per-gallon discount on BJ's Gas, while Costco Executive members get their 2% reward on qualifying Costco purchases, but gas purchases are excluded from that Executive reward.

So the better gas deal depends on how much you drive and which membership level you choose.

In other words, yes, you can spend an hour comparing memberships to save five cents a gallon.

This is what adulthood has become.

Which one should Forney shoppers choose?

Here's where I'd split it.

Costco is probably better for you if...

You love Kirkland.

You buy a lot of meat, household goods and larger bulk packages.

You actually use the pharmacy or other Costco services.

You like the Costco food court.

You want a smaller, more curated selection and don't want to think too hard about every purchase.

You tend to walk into Costco with a list and leave with a patio heater anyway.

BJ’s is probably better for you if...

You like name brands and want more choices.

You use coupons.

You don't want enormous package sizes for everything.

You care about curbside pickup and same-day delivery.

You want later store hours.

You like being able to scan your own stuff while walking around the store.

Or you simply hate waiting behind the guy at checkout who is buying three televisions and somehow needs to discuss each one with the cashier.

The real winner might be... both

This is the part nobody wants to hear after they've already paid the membership fee.

For some Forney households, having both memberships could actually make sense.

The clubs aren't identical. Costco's tightly curated selection and Kirkland products appeal to a different shopper than BJ's broader assortment and coupon-heavy approach.

And because the two Forney stores are in different parts of town, convenience may ultimately be the deciding factor.

Costco is at 150 FM 460, while BJ's is at 11150 E. U.S. Highway 80.

If you're on one side of Forney, that drive may be enough to settle the argument before you ever get to the paper towels.

The Forney verdict

If I had to pick just one for the average Forney family, I'd give Costco the slight overall edge.

Not because BJ's is bad. It isn't.

Actually, BJ's has some very legitimate advantages, especially coupons, product variety, smaller package sizes and shopping convenience.

But Costco has spent decades building an unusually loyal customer base around Kirkland, its curated product selection, pharmacy, food court and broad collection of services. Those things add up.

And Costco gets another point for the way it has historically paid and retained its employees. For shoppers who care where their money goes after it leaves the register, that is not a trivial advantage.

That said, BJ's may be the better deal for a very specific kind of shopper.

If you love coupons, want more brand choices, prefer smaller quantities and want to get in and out with ExpressPay, BJ's makes a very strong case.

So maybe the real winner isn't Costco.

Maybe it isn't BJ's.

Maybe it's Forney residents, who went from having to drive to other cities for warehouse-club shopping to having two major competitors practically daring each other to lower prices.

And honestly, that's the kind of competition we can all get behind.

Just don't go to both stores hungry.

That's how you end up with 14 pounds of chicken nuggets.

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