Sixty-eight Illinois companies have been named among the best places to work in the country in a new report Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.
The 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Companies to Work For ratings evaluate 3,900 public and privately owned companies across 14 industries. For the first time, U.S. News included public and private companies in a single release.
Employers from Illinois include:
Health Care Service Corporation
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Crescent Electric Supply Company
The ratings are intended to help job seekers and employees compare workplaces based on pay and benefits, work-life balance and flexibility, job stability, physical and psychological comfort, sense of belonging, and opportunities for career growth and professional development.
The 2026-27 ratings recognize the top 25 percent of companies evaluated across industries, including finance and insurance, manufacturing and agriculture, and consumer products.
“Job seekers’ definitions of ‘best’ evolve with their needs,” Carly Chase, vice president of Careers at U.S. News, said in a news release. She said the ratings are meant to help both employers looking for workplace best practices and job seekers comparing companies.
The 2026-27 ratings also include lists recognizing companies that support family caregivers and companies rated highly for internship experiences. U.S. News also launched a Durable Skills Assessment, available through July 31, 2026, to help workers identify core skills and professional strengths.
Chase said the ratings come as workers are navigating changes tied to artificial intelligence, parental leave policies and a competitive job market.
U.S. News said its ratings are based on publicly available employee sentiment, expert input and other data on how companies support workers.
To be considered, private companies had to have at least 1,000 employees and more than $500 million in annual revenue, while public companies were drawn from the 5,000 largest by market capitalization. Companies also needed at least 75 Glassdoor reviews written from 2021-25.
U.S. News said it used data from QUODD, ZoomInfo, Revelio Labs and Good Jobs First to calculate the six metrics used in the ratings.
The full list of companies can be searched by industry, size and other factors on the U.S. News website.
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