Need a job in Pennsylvania? These might be the best companies to work for, Forbes reports

Hoping to find a more satisfying job? New research from Forbes might help you make the switch.

The long-running business magazine recently released its 2023 “Best Employers by State” list, which examines the top companies in each U.S. state. Forbes constructed the rankings through anonymous surveys that asked workers to rate their employers in categories such as work environment, gender pay equity, opportunities for advancement, pride in the company’s product and more.

Partnering with research firm Statista, Forbes surveyed at least 70,000 workers across the country who are employed by companies that, for the most part, have at least 500 employees. According to Forbes, companies do not pay a fee to participate in its “best employers” rankings.

This year, 1,392 companies cracked Forbes’ rankings. More than 1,000 of those are ranked in only one state, while 269 appeared on lists for multiple states.

Pennsylvania’s best employers

The following 25 companies were ranked the best in Pennsylvania in 2023, according to Forbes’ research. Companies are listed alongside their approximate number of employees, and those headquartered in Pennsylvania are featured in bold.

1. Amtrak — 17,100 employees
2. Cardinal Health — 30,200 employees
3. Wegmans Food Markets — 53,000 employees
4. Thermo Fisher Scientific — 130,000 employees
5. Penn Medicine — 44,254 employees
6. HHM - Henderson, Hutcherson & McCullough — 144 employees
7. Main Line Health — 13,000 employees
8. Vanguard — 20,000 employees
9. Microsoft — 122,000 employees
10. University of Pennsylvania — 18,000 employees
11. Carnegie Mellon University — 6,094 employees
12. Hilton Worldwide Holdings — 159,000 employees
13. Erie Insurance — 6,038 employees
14. St. Luke’s University Health Network — 17,000 employees
15. SAP — 111,961 employees
16. Home Instead Senior Care — 6,500 employees
17. Ameriprise Financial — 13,500 employees
18. IBM — 281,000 employees
19. Johnson & Johnson — 155,800 employees
20. Sheetz — 24,000 employees
21. Citigroup — 240,000 employees
22. Sanofi — 91,573 employees
23. Lehigh Valley Health Network — 19,000 employees
24. Penn State Health — 17,500 employees
25. Harley-Davidson — 5,355 employees

Penn State, the largest employer in Centre County, ranked No. 61 in Forbes’ 2023 list of best employers in the commonwealth.

Other notable Pennsylvania-based companies in the rankings include the Hershey Company (No. 30), Hershey Entertainment and Resorts (No. 36), GSK (No. 43), Allegheny Health Network (No. 44), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (No. 48), PNC Financial Services (No. 52) and Independence Blue Cross (No. 80).

National trends

The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs claimed spots among the best employers in 28 states, marking the most of any companies in this year’s rankings. Companies represented in the rankings of at least 20 states include Amazon, Costco, Home Depot, Marriott, Target and UPS.

The health care and social services sectors were the most represented in 2023’s rankings, Forbes said in its methodology report. Educational institutions followed as one of the top-represented fields.

To view Forbes’ full rankings and filter results by state, visit forbes.com/lists/best-employers-by-state. You can also find varying rankings for companies based on their size, location and sector.

Matt DiSanto

Centre Daily Times

814-231-4616

Matt is a 2022 Penn State graduate. Before arriving at the Centre Daily Times, he served as Onward State’s managing editor and a general assignment reporter at StateCollege.com. Support my work with a digital subscription