These are Alabama’s best employers—according to a new Forbes report

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”

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

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.

Alabama employers included in Forbes’ list

Here are the 44 Alabama employers that made Forbes’ list. The ones in bold indicate that the employer is headquartered in Alabama.

1. Southern Company
2. Books-A-Million (Birmingham)
3. University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham)
4. Northrop Grumman
5. Evonik Industries
6. Wind Creek Hospitality (Atmore)
7. Home Instead Care
8. Clayton Homes
9. Edward Jones
10. Honda Motor
11. Polaris Inc.
12. Publix Super Markets
13. Boeing
14. Hoover City School District (Hoover)
15. AIRBUS
16. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama (Birmingham)
17. Etowah County School District (Gadsden)
18. United States Department of Defense
19. PNC Financial Services
20. Auburn University (Auburn)
21. Leidos
22. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
23. Alabama Department of Public Health (Montgomery)
24. Infirmary Health (Mobile)
25. Marriott International
26. NASA
27. The Home Depot
28. U.S. Social Security Administration
29. Mercedes-Benz USA
30. Siemens
31. 3M
32. Jefferson County School District (Birmingham)
33. General Electric
34. Children’s of Alabama (Birmingham)
35. WestRock
36. Southeast Health (Dothan)
37. United Parcel Service
38. Georgia-Pacific
39. Raytheon Technologies
40. East Alabama Health (Opelika)
41. JCPenney
42. North American Lighting
43. State of Alabama (Montgomery)
44. Alfa Insurance (Montgomery)

Want updates like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter today.