Does Starbucks pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Starbucks employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Starbucks. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Starbucks?

56% of Starbucks employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Starbucks 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.3 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Starbucks?

Barista (44832) , Shift Supervisor (9765) , Cashier/Barista (4299) , Store Manager (3086) , Supervisor (1115) , Barista, Shift Supervisor (956) , Barista Trainer (841) , Starbucks-Barista (735) , Manager (652) , Shift Manager (585) , Cashier (458) , Assistant Manager (373) , Partner (331) , Assistant Store Manager (323) , Shift Lead (288)

What are the pros of working at Starbucks according to real employee reviews?

"The benefits are great and the fact that they offer them for all partners is amazing." ((in 11743 reviews)); "you get at least one free drink and food item each day you work which is nice and convenient" ((in 4301 reviews)); "pretty much always great coworkers and very pro lgbt enviroment (ive worked at 3 now)" ((in 3696 reviews)); "Tips are great and the free coffee is good." ((in 3635 reviews)); "Met some great people there but the revolving door ratio is very high and not much people stay long" ((in 3562 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Starbucks according to real employee reviews?

"the pay is low and the way to climb is long and need to please a lot of people" ((in 4815 reviews)); "Poor management at my specific store (new people/supervisors were inexperienced or simply unwilling to help)" ((in 4441 reviews)); "Bad managers sometimes picked on me or withheld competition prizes from me after I won." ((in 2519 reviews)); "No work life balance or ability to use PTO due to chronic understaffing and union busting" ((in 863 reviews)); "Poor upper management." ((in 777 reviews))

What are employees saying about Starbucks layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Starbucks layoffs and their outlook for job security at Starbucks in 2026.

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Starbucks

Starbucks reviews

3.5

56% would recommend to a friend

(85,181 total reviews)

Brian Niccol

31% approve of CEO

40% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Culture & values

3.3

Career opportunities

3.2

Work/Life balance

2.8

Senior management

Starbucks has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 85,181 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Starbucks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants and food service industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

85K reviews

3.0

Mar 10, 2026

oK

Barista

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- People can be supportive depending on the branch - Manager can be good depending on the branch - Employee Bev / Snacks

Cons

- Pay too low - Can be toxic depending on the people

4.0

Nov 8, 2025

Good start

Barista

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Alot of traininng to onboard - Free drinks - Easy to relocate to different stores - Depending on the store you're in, People are normally quite supportive of each other

Cons

- Pay is really low - Career opportunities can be qiute limited

Starbucks Response

6mo

Hi there. We appreciate you taking the time to share this review. We’ll share this with our teams to support continued growth and improvement. Starbucks pay ranges are assessed on an annual basis to ensure they are tied to the appropriate benchmarks, accurately reflect geography, and remain market competitive. We also encourage our partners to share this feedback with their PRO business partner so we can have further dialogue in this space.

1.0

Oct 31, 2025

Too hard

Barista

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

working with young and energetic people

Cons

physically and mentally demanding at times. The workload could be stressful, and it often required more energy than I expected.

Starbucks Response

7mo

Thank you for your valuable insights. We’re glad that you enjoyed the benefits and the connections you’ve made with your community, but we are disappointed to hear you did not feel supported. We understand that peak hours can become challenging and strive to provide the resources our teams need to excel during these moments. This includes having enough partners to continue the seamless experience that we champion in our stores. If this wasn't the case in your store, we encourage you to reach out to Customer Contact Center so we can better understand your experience and take the appropriate next steps

Viewing 1 - 3 of 85,181 Reviews

Jobs at Starbucks

process operator, 12-hour Rotating Shift

barista - Store# 08301, SPRINGTREE & UNIVERSITY

barista - Store# 08328, SUNRISE & BAYVIEW

barista - Store# 06799, SOLEDAD

barista - Store# 08620, OLIVE & KNUDSEN