Home Depot starting pay begins at $15 an hour, the floor the company set for every U.S. market in February 2023, but most posted store jobs start higher. Across 554 Home Depot store postings that listed a pay range on November 5, 2026, the typical low end was $18.50 an hour.
Where you land depends on your state, your store and the role you apply for. A cashier in Kennesaw, Georgia is posted at $15.00 to $16.00, while a customer service/sales job in Tukwila, Washington is posted at $23.00 to $24.00. In Texas, Florida and Georgia most postings leave the Home Depot starting pay field blank, so you’ll need to ask the store.
What Home Depot postings list as starting pay
The company floor comes from a February 21, 2023 memo from CEO Ted Decker, which announced an extra $1 billion in hourly wage increases and said the starting wage in every U.S. market is at or above $15 per hour. That’s a minimum. It doesn’t tell you what your store will offer you.
The postings do. Every hourly store requisition on the Home Depot careers site has a “Pay Range” line, and in states and cities with pay-disclosure rules it carries real figures.
We pulled 3,092 postings through the careers site’s own search feed on November 5, 2026 and kept the four main store titles: Cashier, Customer Service/Sales, Pro Customer Service/Sales and Freight/Receiving. That left 1,256 store postings, a sample rather than every listing, since each role search returns at most 300 results. Of those, 554 showed a range and 702 showed a blank one. The table covers the 12 states with at least 15 ranged postings.
| State | Store postings with a range | Lowest posted start | Typical low end (median) | Highest top of range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 96 | $20.00 | $20.50 | $24.00 |
| Washington | 85 | $18.50 | $18.50 | $24.00 |
| Maryland | 57 | $16.00 | $18.50 | $21.50 |
| New York | 53 | $16.00 | $18.50 | $21.50 |
| Virginia | 44 | $15.00 | $15.00 | $19.00 |
| Connecticut | 41 | $18.00 | $18.00 | $21.00 |
| Massachusetts | 34 | $16.50 | $18.25 | $22.00 |
| Illinois | 27 | $16.00 | $20.50 | $23.50 |
| New Jersey | 23 | $17.00 | $17.00 | $20.00 |
| Minnesota | 22 | $15.50 | $17.50 | $20.50 |
| Nevada | 22 | $16.00 | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Colorado | 16 | $16.00 | $18.00 | $23.00 |
Which number is yours? Each posting says starting pay “may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, position offered and location,” so plan on the low end unless you’re offered a higher position type. Only 32 of the 554 postings start at exactly $15.00.
Two limits apply to the table. The figures are posted starting ranges, not what current associates earn after raises. And Home Depot keeps store requisitions open for years, so a posting’s open date says nothing about when the store last hired.
City matters inside a state, too. In Washington, Spokane’s customer service/sales posting reads $18.50 to $20.50, while Tukwila, near Seattle, reads $23.00 to $24.00. A Chicago cashier posting reads $20.50 to $21.50, well above the $16.00 low end found elsewhere in Illinois.
Why a cashier and a freight associate start at different rates
Freight/Receiving starts highest of the four store titles. Its 133 ranged postings run from $17.00 to $24.00, with a median low end of $19.50, while Cashier runs from $15.00 to $22.00 with a median low end of $17.50.
Customer Service/Sales covers 136 postings from $15.00 to $24.00, with a median low end of $18.50. Pro Customer Service/Sales, the desk that serves contractors, covers 187 postings from $15.00 to $23.50, with a median low end of $18.00. Why are those spreads so wide? Home Depot writes one requisition for several jobs.
The Tukwila posting spells it out. Under one “Customer Service/Sales” requisition it lists the position types and their rates: Pro Associate at $21.00, Sales Associate and Customer Service Associate at $22.00, six titles at $23.00, including Appliance Sales Associate and Project Specialist,, and Designer at $24.00. Two people hired off the same posting can start a dollar or more apart.
The cashier range works the same way. The Chicago and Kennesaw cashier postings both describe the Head Cashier role inside the cashier listing, with a preferred year of cashier experience. If you’re applying for a regular register spot, plan on the low end.
Want to know what the store screens you for before it gets to pay? The Home Depot interview questions follow the same role split.
When the posting shows a blank pay range
More than half of the store postings in the sample, 702 of 1,256, show a blank range. Of those, 186 were in Texas, 97 in Florida and 91 in Georgia. A San Antonio cashier posting, for example, reads “The pay range for this position is between * *” with nothing in the gap.
Does a blank range mean lower pay? Not necessarily. Texas, Florida and Georgia have no statewide rule that puts pay on job ads, so the number simply isn’t printed. One Kennesaw, Georgia cashier posting does show $15.00 to $16.00.
To get the number for the store you want, take these three steps in order:
- Open a posting for the same title at a nearby store or state that shows ranges. It won’t be your store’s rate, but it shows you the band Home Depot uses for that title.
- Call the store and ask for the hiring manager or the HR associate on shift. Ask for the starting rate for the exact title and shift you applied for.
- Ask again at the end of your interview, and get the rate in the offer before you schedule orientation.
I spent years as a corporate interviewer, including at Walmart, and “What’s the starting rate for this position?” was a question I expected near the end. It’s fair, and a manager who can’t answer it can find out.
Say this: “Before we wrap up, what does this position start at per hour?” Not this: “How much do you pay?” in the first five minutes, before you know which position type you’re being considered for. The Home Depot drug test and background check usually come after the offer, so you’ll have the rate before onboarding.
What the starting rate adds up to
At the $18.50 median low end, a 40-hour week is $740 before taxes and a full year of 2,080 hours is $38,480. At the $15.00 floor, the same math gives $600 a week and $31,200 a year.
Those numbers are arithmetic on posted rates, and full-time hours aren’t guaranteed. ZipRecruiter’s estimate for Home Depot customer service pay, dated November 4, 2026, is about $18.80 an hour, close to the posted median.
Home Depot postings don’t show a separate part-time rate; each lists one hourly band for the title and store. What part-time can change is what comes with the wage. One garden associate put it plainly in r/HomeDepot in January 2026: “I’m a lawn and garden associate getting paid 16.00/HR, no benefits.”
Your starting rate can also travel with you. In a March 2026 thread, an associate hired at a $21 store transferred to a hometown store that starts at $16 and kept the $21. The top reply:
“You were hired in a larger HCOL market and transferred to a smaller, LCOL market…..you will keep your pay rate.”
– r/HomeDepot, March 2026 (88 upvotes)
That’s associates’ experience, not written policy, so confirm it with HR before you count on it.
Beyond the hourly rate, the Home Depot careers benefits page lists profit-sharing bonuses that associates “may be eligible” for, a 401(k) with a company match, tuition reimbursement and a stock purchase plan at a 15% discount. None of those change the hourly figure on your first paycheck. If you’re weighing another big-box chain, the Walmart starting pay breakdown uses the same kind of posting data.
Home Depot starting pay questions
Does Home Depot pay $15 an hour?
Home Depot pays at least $15 an hour in every U.S. market, per its February 2023 wage memo. In the 554 ranged store postings read on November 5, 2026, only 32 started at exactly $15.00; the median low end was $18.50.
What is Home Depot starting pay for part-time jobs?
Home Depot starting pay for part-time jobs isn’t posted separately: each posting shows one hourly band for the title and store, with no part-time line. Ask whether your offer is part-time and which benefits come with it before you accept.
How much does a Home Depot cashier make per hour?
A Home Depot cashier’s posted starting rate ran from $15.00 to $22.00 across 98 postings on November 5, 2026, with a median low end of $17.50. Cashier postings also describe the Head Cashier role, which likely accounts for the top of the range.
Does Home Depot pay more for freight and overnight?
Freight/Receiving postings start higher than the other store titles: $17.00 to $24.00 across 133 postings, with a median low end of $19.50. If you’re applying for overnight, ask the store whether that schedule changes the rate, since the posting range doesn’t say.