California is home to millions of businesses, operating in industries ranging from high tech and health care to restaurants and insurance.
Which are the best ones to work for?
Forbes recently ranked the best employers in the United States, according to the people who work there.
The publication partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 160,000 employees working for companies with at least 500 people within the United States.
A total of 1,294 organizations landed on Forbes’ list of America’s Best-In-State Employers for 2024.
So, who were the best employers in California?
Why is Progressive the best employer in California?
Progressive Corp ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ list of the best employers in California.
Founded in 1937, the insurance holding company led by CEO Susan Patricia Griffith is based in Mayfield Village, Ohio, and has 61,400 employees.
Progressive made $65 billion in annual revenue, with $5.8 billion in profits.
As of Monday afternoon, it had a share price of $243.59.
“We’re dedicated to a diverse, inclusive environment and continually recognize employees for their hard work and commitment,” Progressive said on its website.” Our people and our culture are why Progressive is successful, and continually recognized as a great place to work.”
Forbes named Progressive No. 2 on its 2024 list of America’s Best Employers for Women .
In-N-out Burger came in second on the list. The company, which was founded in 1948, is headquartered in Irvine and has a total of 27,000 employees.
In third place was Google , based in Mountain View. The tech company has 190,711 employees.
What are the top 10 companies to work for?
These are the top 10 companies to work for in California, according to Forbes:
- Progressive
- In-N-Out Burger
- Google
- NVIDIA
- Microsoft
- Ford Motor
- Apple
- Caltech
- Sony
- Nike
Which industries rank the highest among California workers?
Tech companies dominated Forbes’ list of the best employers in California, with four companies in the informational technology software services industry landing in the top 20.
Ranking below Google and Microsoft were LinkedIn , at No. 11, and IBM at No. 16.
In addition, three companies in the top 20 specialize in semiconductors, electronics and electrical engineering. Apple, NVIDIA and Sony.
Three industries — education, restaurants and drugs and biotechnology — each had two companies that were included in the top 20 list.
Caltech was No. 8 and Stanford University landed at No. 15.
Fast food chains In-N-Out Burger and Chick-Fil-A landed at No. 2 and No. 14, respectively.
Meanwhile, drug company Pfizer was No. 13 and another pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson, was No. 18
Other industries represented in the top 20 include automotive, clothing, health care and aerospace and defense.
How did Forbes come up with its rankings?
Forbes worked with Statista to survey more than 160,000 employees in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
“Survey participants were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10,” Forbes said.
They were also asked to “evaluate employers they’d worked for within the past two years, and organizations they knew within their industry or through friends or family who worked there,” the publication said.
Researchers then tallied and incorporated those responses into a scoring system, along with survey data from the past three years
Companies that received the highest scores in each state made our list,” Forbes said.
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