43 Illinois Employers Make Forbes’ ‘America’s Best’ List

ILLINOIS — Forty-three companies headquartered in Illinois made Forbes’ new inventory of “America’s Best Employers By State.”

The global COVID-19 pandemic caused big shifts in the workplace, Forbes noted with the release of the list last week. More employees are working remotely, and their priorities have changed.

As a result, Forbes said in a news story revealing the ranking, “employers have had to motivate talent, combat burnout and ensure the well-being and safety of their workers, while pursuing profits amid a sensitive political landscape that spurred new levels of corporate activism — not to mention a growing divide in what people want from institutions and companies.”

Forbes partnered with the market research firm Statista to compile the list, based on an anonymous survey of 70,000 Americans working for businesses that employ at least 500 people. The final list ranks 1,382 employers receiving the most recommendations. Read more about the methodology.

In Illinois, Rush University in Chicago, topped the list. Rounding out the top five were University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Boeing in Chicago with 1,500 employees; Northwestern Medicine in Chicago with 33,700 employees; and Northwest Community Healthcare in Arlington Heights.

Other companies on the list are:

• Loyola University, Chicago
• Hyatt Hotels, Chicago Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
• Baxter International, Deerfield
• University of Chicago, Chicago
• Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods
• Carle, Urbana
• AbbVie, North Chicago
• NorthShore University Health System, Evanston
• ALDI, Batavia
• Deere & Company, Moline
• Northwestern University, Evanston
• McLean County Unified School District, Normal
• Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204, aAurora
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
• Abbott Laboratories, Chicago
• Help At Home, Chicago
• BMO Harris Bank, Chicago
• Edward-Elmhurst Health, Elmhurst
• State of Illinois, Springfield
• Exelon, Chicago
• Township High School District 211, Palatine
• State Farm, Bloomington
• United Airlines, Chicago
• OSF HealthCare, Peoria
• JLL, Chicago
• North American Lighting, Paris
• Joliet Junior College, Joliet
• UScellular, Chicago
• Beam Suntory, Chicago
• University of Illinois Chicago
• Ace Hardware, Oak Brook
• Grainger, Lake Forest
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago
• Township High School District 214, Mount Prospect
• College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn
• UL, Northbrook
• University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago
• Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield

Forbes also ranks the best employers nationally, but said its state rankings are intended to show how companies are perceived in different parts of the country.

Of the 1,382 employers ranked, 246 were ranked in more than one state. The U.S. Department of State, for example, was ranked in 31 states. Home Depot and Target were each ranked in 29 states.

The employers making the list universally value fair pay, safe working conditions and an inclusive work culture, Forbes said. This year, the survey questions addressed remote work benefits, the wage gap for women, and initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion — themes that emerged as a result of the pandemic and growing political polarization, Forbes said.