25 Connecticut Companies Rank Among America’s Best Employers: Forbes

Forbes has the verdict out on which company is America's best employer and the company that takes the number one spot might be a slight surprise to you.

No it's not Google — which finished in second place — but rather Costco, the wholesale retailer. As Forbes notes, the company has not fallen below third place over the past three years and a big perk offered by the company is health insurance for part-time employees.

In third place is Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI, marking the first appearance for the company on Forbes' list. And its place on the list is likely to do with the company's unique ownership structure. As explained in Forbes, REI is a consumer cooperative, and anyone who pays the one-time $20 membership fee and spends at least $10 a year receives an annual dividend.

Costco, Google and REI rank at the top on Forbes' list of 500 best large employers. To compile the rankings, Forbes split employers into two groups, midsized — companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees — and large employers — companies with 5,000 or more employees. Among the best large employers, 17 Connecticut companies made the list and among the best midsized employers, eight Connecticut companies made the list.

Topping the list of America's best midsized employers was Lush, the indulgent retail cosmetics brand. Though the company is headquartered in the United Kingdom, it operates 200 locations in the United States.

"According to respondents, Lush employees were most taken with the company’s image, its diversity, and to a lesser extent its working conditions," says Forbes.

Rackspace, a cloud computing company based in Texas, came in second. And in third place is New Seasons Market, a privately owned Portland-based chain of grocery stores. The company leaped to third place after being 42nd on the list in 2016.

To compile the rankings, Forbes worked with research firm Statista. The firm surveyed 30,000 American workers to collect opinions on the companies they work for. The most important factor in determining the rankings were how likely employers were to recommend their company to friends and family. Employees were also asked to recommend other companies, which also factored into the rankings, but to a lesser degree.

The Connecticut companies that made the list of best large employers are:

1. Yale New Haven Health, New Haven
2. Sikorsky, Stratford
3. Otis, Farmington
4. Yale University, New Haven
5. Charter Communications, Stamford
6. Praxair, Danbury
7. General Electric, Fairfield (retains a presence in Connecticut, but headquarters moved to Boston)
8. State of Connecticut, Hartford
9. Synchrony Financial, Stamford
10. Henkel, Rocky Hill
11. Pitney Bowes, Stamford
12. Eversource Energy, Hartford
13. Travelers, Hartford
14. Cigna, Bloomfield
15. Boehringer Ingelheim, Ridgefield
16. Aetna, Hartford
17. XPO Logistics, Greenwich

According to Forbes, America's best large employers are:

1. Costco Wholesale; Issaquah, Washington
2. Google; Mountain View, California
3. REI; Kent, Washington
4. Memorial Hermann Health System; Houston, Texas
5. United Service Automobile Association; San Antonio Texas
6. MD Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, Texas
7. Penn Medicine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota
9. City of Austin; Austin, Texas
10. Wegmans Food Markets; Rochester, New York

>>>See the full list here.

The Connecticut companies that made the list of best midsized employers are:

1. Gartner, Stamford
2. ESPN, Bristol
3. Webster Bank, Glastonbury
4. Lego Group, Enfield
5. People's United Financial, Bridgeport
6. WR Berkley, Greenwich
7. Ethan Allen, Danbury
8. SS&C Technologies, Windsor

According to Forbes, America's best midsized employers are:

1. LUSH
2. Rackspace Hosting; San Antonio, Texas
3. New Seasons Market; Portland, Oregon
4. Celgene; Summit, New Jersey
5. National Credit Union Administration; Alexandria, Virginia
6. Slalom Consulting; Seattle, Washington
7. Gartner; Stamford, Connecticut
8. Georgetown University; Washington D.C.
9. CDM Smith; Boston, Massachusetts
10. JM Family Enterprises; Deerfield Beach, Florida

>>>See the full list here.

Photo credit: Medicine.Yale.edu

Did your employer make the list? Let us know in the comments below.

— By Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff)