Is REI a good company to work for?

REI has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 4,508 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 63% of employees would recommend working at REI to a friend and 34% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about REI have been left by employees working as Store Sales Specialist , Retail Specialist and Frontline Staff .

Does REI pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, REI employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at REI. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at REI?

63% of REI employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated REI 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at REI?

Sales Associate (636) , Sales Specialist (462) , Retail Sales Associate (327) , Retail Sales Specialist (179) , Sales Lead (151) , Customer Service Specialist (109) , Customer Service Representative (103) , Cashier (49) , Sales Associate/Cashier (37) , Retail Sales Manager (35) , Customer Service (31) , Warehouse Associate (31) , Sales (30) , Sales Representative (29) , Frontline Cashier (27)

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

"Great for people that enjoy the outdoors particularly if you are looking for deep discounts on outdoor product for yourself." ((in 472 reviews)); "Coworkers are great and the general technical acumen is high." ((in 353 reviews)); "Benefits including 401k and health insurance are great after you work for them for one year." ((in 349 reviews)); "REI has a great culture for those who are or want to be involved with the outdoors." ((in 191 reviews)); "Great work life balance is great." ((in 135 reviews))

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

"Low pay and even lower pay for those with over 20 years in the company." ((in 374 reviews)); "Bad management and not much growth" ((in 256 reviews)); "Some managers don't appreciate hard work and favor employees who make them feel liked." ((in 117 reviews)); "Long hours and difficult to have a consistent schedule" ((in 100 reviews)); "Layoffs Could Always Happen" ((in 29 reviews))

What are employees saying about REI layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed REI locations?

Seattle , Kent , Sumner , Denver , New York , San Diego , Portland , Atlanta , Austin , San Francisco , Chicago , Boston , Berkeley , Bellevue , Houston , Tustin , Boulder , Issaquah , Los Angeles , Goodyear , Salt Lake City , Framingham , Washington , Columbus , Bloomington , Dallas , San Antonio , Bedford , Phoenix , San Carlos

REI reviews

3.6

63% would recommend to a friend

(4,369 total reviews)

Mary Beth Laughton

38% approve of CEO

34% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (4,369 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

REI has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 4,369 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The REI employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews

4.0

May 1, 2014

AWESOME!

Sales specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

People are great...coworkers and customers. Great discount.

Cons

Hours can be hard to get in slow times...the stores are VERY budget conscience.

5.0

May 1, 2014

It's a family

Retail sales associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

REI has taken excellent care of me over the years. They've paid me tuition reimbursement for school, given me a grant of gear to run a marathon, contributed largely to my retirement savings and just clearly have the best in mind for their employees. Schedules are flexible and the team works hard to make time-off requests work so you can have a full life. The company proudly supports gay marriage, and works hard to be a good employer for minorities including but not limited to racial and ethnic minorities and sexual and gender minorities (trans people). Oh, and your coworkers will become the shining light you look forward to daily. :)

Cons

It's still a co-op and a family, which is great, but the very fact that people are so valued and trusted means no micromanagement. Sounds awesome until you have to humor someone else's dumb idea. Keep this in mind when you pitch your own dumb ideas. Everybody's opinion counts. Also, staffing varies hugely throughout the year. It's a retail necessity. I advise anyone to have REI be a second job if they're not going into management.

5.0

Apr 30, 2014

Fantastic outdoor company to work for.

Sales specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The management team is excellent. Great training, excellent benefits, the best products to sell. A pleasure to go to work. And decent pay for retail.

Cons

Couldn't get enough hours, the most in the year I was there was 20. I wanted 32 or more but a lot of the workers are part time, 10-15 hours.

Viewing 3979 - 3981 of 4,369 Reviews

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AWESOME!

It's a family

Fantastic outdoor company to work for.

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