Document and Entity	4 Months Ended
	Jan. 19, 2014	Feb. 14, 2014
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	WHOLE FOODS MARKET INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000865436
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-28
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jan. 19, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		371,969,999