These Are The Top 33 Employers In MD In Forbes Ranking

The best employer in Maryland is College Park-based University of Maryland, according to a new Forbes ranking released last week.

Forbes’ 2025 ranking of America’s Best Employers By State is based on surveys of more 169,000 employees who work for a company of at least 500 within the United States.

They were asked on a scale of zero to 10 how likely they were to recommend their current employer, and also evaluate their workplace on such things as wages, parity, work culture, and paths to professional advancement, and whether their employer takes action on serious issues, such as sexual harassment.

The survey, conducted by market research firm Statista, also asked respondents to evaluate other recent employers and organizations they knew through their industry or through family and friends who work there.

The top 33 companies in Maryland are:

1. University of Maryland — Education, College Park, founded in 1858
2. University of Maryland in Baltimore — Education, Baltimore, founded in 1807
3. Under Armour — Clothing, shoes, sports equipment, Baltimore, founded in 1006
4. Towson University — Education, Baltimore, founded in 1866
5. Lockheed Martin — Aerospace and defense, Bethesda, founded in 1912
6. University of Maryland Medical System — Healthcare and social services, Baltimore, founded in 1807
7. Johns Hopkins Medicine — Healthcare and social services, Baltimore, founded in 1889
8. Meritus Health — Healthcare and social services, Hagerstown, founded in 1904
9. Mercy Medical Center — Healthcare and social services, Baltimore, founded in 1874
10. The Community College of Baltimore County — Education, Baltimore, founded in 1957
11. Johns Hopkins University — Education, Baltimore, founded in 1876
12. Choice Hotels International — Travel and leisure, Rockville, founded in 1939
13. Cecil County Public Schools — Education, Elkton, founded in 1960
14. McCormick — Food, soft beverages, alcohol and tobacco, Hunt Valley, founded in 1889
15. Marriott International — Travel and leisure, Bethesda, founded in 1927
16. T. Rowe Price — Banking and financial services, Baltimore, founded in 1937
17. Carroll County Public Schools — Education, Westminster, founded in 1837
18. Clark Construction — Construction, Chemicals, Raw Materials, Bethesda, founded in 1906
19. Kennedy Krieger Institute — Healthcare & Social Services, Baltimore, founded in 1937
20. Wicomico County Public Schools — Education, Salisbury, founded in 1868
21. Adventist HealthCare (Maryland) — Healthcare & Social Services, Gaithersburg, founded in 1907
22. Mission BBQ — Restaurants, Glen Burnie, founded in 2011
23. Baltimore County — Government Services, Baltimore, founded in 1659
24. Harford County Public Schools — Education, Bel Air, founded in 1907
25. LifeBridge Health — Healthcare & Social Services, Baltimore, founded in 1998
26. MedStar Health — Healthcare & Social Services, Columbia, founded in 1998
27. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield — Insurance, Baltimore, founded in 1934
28. Westat — Professional Services, Rockville, founded in 1963
29. Baltimore Aircoil Company — Engineering, Manufacturing, Jessup, founded in 1938
30. Frederick County Public Schools — Education, Frederick, founded in 1889
31. State of Maryland — Government Services, Baltimore, founded in 1634
32. QIAGEN — Drugs & Biotechnology, Germantown, founded in 1984
33. Baltimore Washington Medical Center — Healthcare & Social Services, Glen Burnie, founded in 1964

The rankings are based on four years of survey data. Greater weight was given to the more recent data and to the responses from current employees within the state, Forbes said. Companies that received the highest scores in each state made Forbes’ final lists.

As in other years, companies in the health care, social services and education industries dominated the list. But employers from other industries were also prominent in multiple states, including retail giant Amazon (ranked in 33 states), transportation and logistics provider United Parcel Service (ranked in 25 states) and Bank of America (ranked in 25 states), according to Forbes.

• Related: Forbes Names 20 Colleges ‘New Ivies,’ Notes Employers Prefer Them