54 IL Companies Ranked Among Forbes’ Best Employers

ILLINOIS — Workers gave high marks to a handful of companies headquartered in Illinois in a survey for Forbes’ 10th anniversary edition of its America’s Best Large Employers and America’s Best Midsize Employers rankings.

The rankings are based primarily on survey responses from more than 217,000 employees working at companies within the U.S. that employ more than 1,000 people. The list for midsize companies includes those with between 1,000 and 5,000 employees. Large companies are those with 5,000 or more workers.

The 1,199 organizations that made the final cut included 701 large companies and 490 midsize companies. Illinois had 31 large companies named, along with 23 midsize companies.

The top 10 Illinois-based companies on Forbes’ America’s Best Large Employers List are:

1. Hyatt Hotels (ranked 62 overall), Travel and Leisure, 51,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1957)
2. Caterpillar (ranked 113), Engineering, Manufacturing, 113,000 employees, based in Deerfield (founded in 1925)
3. Grainger (ranked 139), Retail and Wholesale, 22,100 employees, based in Lake Forest (founded in 1927)
4. Northwestern Medicine (ranked 159), Healthcare and Social Services, 30,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 2016)
5. Levy (ranked 162), Restaurants, 10,001 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1978)
6. AbbVie (ranked 215), Drugs and Biotechnology, 50,000, based in North Chicago (founded in 2013)
7. Health Care Service Corporation (ranked 242), Insurance, 28,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1936)
8. CDW (ranked 267), IT Software and Services, 11,700 employees, based in Vernon Hills (founded in 1984)
9. State Farm (ranked 298), Insurance, 67,000 employees, based in Bloomington (founded in 1922)
10. Gallagher Bassett (ranked 328), Insurance, 5,000 employees, based in Rolling Meadows (founded in 1962)

The top 10 Illinois-based companies on the news outlet’s America’s Best Midsize Employers list are:

1. Morningstar (ranked 7 overall), Travel and Leisure, 51,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1984)
2. Silver Cross Hospital (ranked 10), Healthcare and Social Services, 3,800 employees, based in New Lenox (founded in 1895)
3. Alzheimer's Association (ranked 26), Healthcare and Social Services, 2,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1980)
4. Harper College (ranked 34), Education, 1,316 employees, based in Palatine (founded in 1967)
5. Southern Illinois Healthcare (ranked 41), Healthcare and Social Services, 4,000 employees, based in Carbondale (founded in 1875)
6. Argonne National Laboratory (ranked 74), Drugs and Biotechnology, 3,400 employees, based in Lemont (founded in 1946)
7. Eversana (ranked 90), Drugs and Biotechnology, 6,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1995)
8. Ronald McDonald House Charities (ranked 106), Healthcare and Social Services, 5,000 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1974)
9. Illinois Institute of Technology (ranked 120), Education (founded in 1890)
10. Kirkland and Ellis (ranked 159), Professional Services, 6,500 employees, based in Chicago (founded in 1909)

Forbes’ said that for 10 years, its best employers lists have tracked companies and organizations as they’ve navigated an era of lightning-speed technological innovation, economic and geopolitical instability, a global pandemic that prompted drastic changes in how and where we do business, and cultural and generational shifts that have amalgamated the composition of the country’s adult workforce.

At the same time, Forbes said, research has shown employees have remained relatively steadfast when asked what they care about most in an employer: compensation, employee development and advancement opportunities, meaningful work, supportive colleagues, and workplace well-being and flexibility.

Most recently, a global survey of business leaders conducted in 2024 by AESC, a membership association for the industry of executive search and leadership consulting, found that the top factors that attract and retain leaders in the United States workforce are, once again, compensation packages and work-life balance.

Forbes and the research firm Statista surveyed 217,000 workers at companies with 1,000 or more employees. They were asked if they would recommend their employer to others and to rate it based on a range of criteria, including salary, work environment, training programs and opportunities to advance. Participants were also asked if they would recommend their previous employers, if within the past two years, and employers they knew through their industry experience or through friends or family who worked there.

The results were tallied and analyzed alongside data from the last three years, which Forbes said allowed for a robust assessment of organizations that consistently ranked well versus those that may have had just one good year. The more recent data and the evaluations from current employees were weighted more heavily than others.