Best Employers In Washington: New Forbes List

WASHINGTON — Forbes has released a new list that identifies the best employers in the country.

In Washington, the best employer is the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane, Forbes said.

Costco Wholesale and ConocoPhillips were the only companies taking the No. 1 spot in more than one state, according to Forbes. Among the companies that appear in the top 100 in many states include FedEx, which appears in 27 states, and Amazon, which appears in 23.

School districts and colleges hold the top spot in eight states. Hospitals and health care systems were the top employers in five states.

According to Forbes, the best Washington employers are:

1. Northern Quest Resort & Casino
2. Bethel School District
3. REI
4. Best Buy
5. Kaiser Permanente
6. Philips
7. UPS
8. Regence BlueShield
9. The Department of Transportation
10. BECU

Other highlights are Alaska Airlines, which ranked 12th, and the City of Seattle which placed 15th.

An anonymous survey consisting of 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 500 employees was used to come up with the rankings.

You can read more about the methodology and see the full rankings here.