2 Local Companies Top List Of 500 Best In U.S.

ISSAQUAH, WA — Two companies based in the Seattle area made Forbes' list of the top 500 best employers in the U.S. Issaquah-based Costco took the No. 1 spot, beating out favorites like Google and Wegman's. REI, based in Kent, made its first appearance on the list, and came in No. 3.

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, mid-sized — companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees — and large employers — companies with 5,000 or more employees.

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

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

>>>See the full list here.
According to Forbes, America's best mid-sized employers are:

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

>>>See the full list here.

Image via Creative Commons

Patch.com reporter Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report