Uab — The University of Alabama at Birmingham is one of Alabama’s best employers in 2023 according to Forbes. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

We all want to be satisfied with our jobs—compensation, culture, the whole thing. To answer the question, “Where should I work?” Forbes compiles an annual list of “America’s Best Employers by State.” This year, 44 Alabama employers made the cut out of 1,392 organizations total.

Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers By State 2023”

Space And Rocket Center — NASA was another employer in Alabama that made Forbes’ list. (Lacey Spear / The Bama Buzz)

Compiling a list of the best employers in the nation is a pretty big task—but Forbes is on their fifth year of doing so.

Without getting into the nitty-gritty of how the list is compiled, here’s the gist. Forbes partners with a market research firm, which conducts a lot of worker surveys. The result? “America’s Best Employers By State 2023.”

Key takeaways from Forbes’ list for Alabamians

Children'S Of Alabama — Alabama’s healthcare employers took several spots on Forbes’ list. (The Bama Buzz)

If you don’t have quite enough time to parse through the full list of 44 employers, here’s the key takeaways to know.

Taking the #1 spot in Alabama was Southern Company. While this employer isn’t headquartered in Alabama, we all know how much of an imprint Alabama Power has in the state.
Books-A-Million, headquartered in Birmingham, ranked #2 in Alabama’s best employers, and The University of Alabama at Birmingham was on its heels at #3.
Out of the 44 Alabama employers on Forbes’ list, 15 are headquartered in Alabama.
The education industry made several appearances, with a few school districts (Jefferson County, Etowah County, Hoover City) making the list along with Auburn University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The healthcare + social industry was another standout, with Wind Creek Hospitality taking the #6 spot and several healthcare firms making the list.