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Amazon Raises U.S. Starting Pay to $20 and Adds Grocery and Banking Perks

The company says the moves are a more than $1.5 billion investment in its U.S. operations to help workers’ costs and support its faster-delivery expansion.

Overview

  • Amazon announced Wednesday that it is increasing minimum starting pay for U.S. full-time core operations roles to $20 an hour, saying average hourly pay for eligible workers will reach nearly $24.
  • The company said it will invest more than $1.5 billion to fund the U.S. wage increase and highlighted existing benefits that push average total compensation above $32 an hour when included.
  • U.S. employees will get uncapped grocery discounts starting October 1, 2026: 10% off eligible items online at Amazon and Whole Foods and 20% off in-store at Whole Foods.
  • Amazon will roll out Day 1 Financial, a lifetime First Tech Federal Credit Union membership for qualified employees and their families, beginning late 2026 and broadly available in 2027.
  • Separately, Amazon confirmed UK frontline pay rises of roughly 5.2%–5.6% for about 70,000 workers from September 27, and reporting of internal plans to expand same-day delivery facilities to over 1,000 by 2031 suggests the pay and benefits are tied to broader operational scaling and workforce demand.