You’ve probably seen the green apron everywhere. From airport terminals to that weirdly quiet corner of a suburban strip mall, Starbucks is basically the wallpaper of modern life. But have you ever stopped to wonder about the sheer scale of the army required to keep those espresso machines humming? It’s a lot. Like, "small country" levels of a lot.
As of the fiscal year ending September 28, 2025, Starbucks Corporation employs approximately 381,000 people worldwide.
That’s a staggering number. It’s a 5.54% jump from 2024, when the headcount dipped to about 361,000. If you’re tracking the vibe of the company, this recent growth is a bit of a "bounce back" after two years of shrinking staff numbers. In 2022, they actually peaked at over 402,000 employees before things started getting a little leaner.
Breaking Down the 381,000 Headcount
Most of these folks aren't sitting in glass offices in Seattle. The vast majority—around 97%—are "partners." That’s Starbucks-speak for the people actually making your latte.
Honestly, the way they split the workforce is pretty telling about where the company is putting its energy right now. While they operate in dozens of countries, the bulk of the muscle is in North America. In the United States alone, Starbucks employs roughly 240,000 people across more than 10,000 company-operated stores.
Where the "Partners" Actually Work
It’s not just retail. While the baristas are the face of the brand, the machine behind them is massive:
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- Retail (The Front Lines): About 350,000+ of the total global workforce.
- Corporate (The Support Center): A few thousand people handling tech, marketing, and logistics.
- Manufacturing & Distribution: The folks roasting the beans and keeping the supply chain from collapsing.
How Many Employees Does Starbucks Have in the U.S. vs. International?
If you look at the 2025 data, the U.S. is still the heavyweight. Out of that 381,000 total, about 228,000 to 240,000 are stateside. China is the second biggest player, but here’s the kicker: the employment structure there is a bit different because of how licensed versus company-operated stores work.
In the U.S., Starbucks owns a huge chunk of its stores directly. In many other countries, they use a "licensed" model. This means the people working there are technically employees of a partner company, not Starbucks Corp itself. If you counted every person wearing a green apron globally—including those at licensed kiosks in grocery stores or Marriott hotels—the number would likely clear half a million.
The Demographics: Who Is Wearing the Green Apron?
The 2025 workforce reports give us a pretty clear window into who actually works there. It’s a young, diverse, and heavily female workforce.
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- Gender: Roughly 71% of the U.S. workforce identifies as female.
- Race: In the U.S., the retail staff is approximately 48% White, 31% Hispanic or Latinx, and 8% Black.
- Retention: Interestingly, Starbucks claims its turnover rates are about half the industry average for retail. Still, they hired over 80,000 new baristas in the U.S. alone during the last fiscal year to keep up with the "churn."
Why the Employee Count Keeps Shifting
You might notice the numbers fluctuate like a volatile stock. In late 2024 and early 2025, Starbucks went through a bit of a mid-life crisis. They closed several hundred underperforming stores, particularly in North America, as part of a restructuring plan.
But then came the "Back to Starbucks" strategy.
New leadership (shoutout to the Brian Niccol era transitions) realized that stores were understaffed. Customers were waiting too long. The solution? Pour money back into labor. In 2025, they invested roughly $500 million specifically into "partner hours." This means they aren't just hiring more people; they're giving the people they already have more hours on the clock.
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The Union Factor: 11,000 and Counting
We can't talk about Starbucks employees without mentioning the elephant in the room: Starbucks Workers United.
As of late 2025, the union represents about 11,000 workers across more than 550 stores. While that’s only a small fraction of the 240,000 U.S. employees (less than 5%), their influence is massive. They’ve been the driving force behind recent changes in how Starbucks handles scheduling and credit card tipping.
The relationship is... complicated. There have been strikes, legal battles, and more recently, a tentative "framework" to actually start bargaining. But for now, those 11,000 "partners" are technically a distinct group within the larger workforce with very different demands than the corporate office.
What It Costs to Run This Army
Starbucks spent billions on "store operating expenses" in 2025. A huge chunk of that is payroll. The average hourly wage for a U.S. barista is now hovering around $18.73, but when you add in the "total compensation" (like health insurance and the Arizona State University tuition program), Starbucks claims that number is closer to $30 an hour.
Whether you're a job seeker or an investor, these numbers matter because they dictate the speed of your morning coffee. More employees usually means faster mobile orders, but it also means higher overhead for a company trying to navigate a tricky global economy.
What You Should Know If You're Looking to Join
If you're thinking about becoming one of the 381,000, here are a few actionable takeaways based on the latest 2025-2026 workforce trends:
- Internal Growth is Real: Starbucks has set a goal to hire 90% of retail leadership from within. If you start as a barista, the path to Shift Supervisor or District Manager is statistically much wider than at other chains.
- Check the Benefits Early: The "Starbucks College Achievement Plan" is still one of their biggest retention tools. They've already graduated over 14,000 partners from ASU, and they're aiming for 25,000 by the end of next year.
- Hours are Stabilizing: Thanks to the 2025 labor investments, 85% of partners are now getting their "preferred hours," which was a massive pain point in previous years.
- Application Volume: They get over 1 million applications a year in the U.S. If you want in, personalizing your application to show you understand their "Third Place" culture is actually more important than your previous latte art skills.
The workforce is growing again, but it’s becoming more automated and specialized. While the total headcount is 381,000 today, the focus is shifting from "how many people do we have" to "how many hours can we give them." For the person waiting in the drive-thru, that’s the number that actually determines if you get your caffeine fix on time.