What are the best companies to work for in NC? Here’s the Forbes 2025 list

Forbes’ updated list of the best employers in North Carolina is out.

This year’s ranking includes eight universities and two county school systems.

Other top industries represented include banking and financial services (eight employers), health care and social services (11 employers), retail and wholesale (15 employers) and restaurants (eight employers).

The 2025 list was completed in partnership with the market research firm Statista and included a survey of more than 160,000 employees who work for a company with at least 500 people in the United States.

Workers were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer and to evaluate their workplace based on factors including wage parity, work culture and paths to professional advancement. They were also asked to evaluate their previous employers and organizations they knew within their industry or through friends or family who work there.

Forbes and Statista then tallied responses and incorporated them along with survey data from the past three years into a scoring system. More recent data and responses from current employees were weighted more.

This year, 1,417 companies were included in at least one of Forbes’ state lists. North Carolina’s list includes 100 employers.

Best employers in North Carolina 2025

Here are the 10 best companies to work for in North Carolina, and where they’re headquartered:

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, North Carolina)
• Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Maryland)
• Microsoft (Redmond, Washington)
• Epic Games (Cary, North Carolina)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Durham, North Carolina)
• Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
• USAA (San Antonio, Texas)
• JLL (Chicago, Illinois)
• FirstHealth of the Carolinas (Pinehurst, North Carolina)
• Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)

Best employers in the Triangle and Charlotte

Several companies based in the Triangle and Charlotte area were included on this year’s list:

• No. 4: Epic Games (Cary)
• No. 5: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Durham)
• No. 10: Duke University (Durham)
• No. 17: Duke Energy (Charlotte)
• No. 21: Duke University Health System (Durham)
• No. 27: City of Durham (Durham)
• No. 30: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill)
• No. 37: North Carolina State University (Raleigh)
• No. 38: Sonic Automotive (Charlotte)

• No. 40: Lowe’s (Mooresville)
• No. 48: UNC Health Care (Chapel Hill)
• No. 49: Bank of America (Charlotte)
• No. 65: CaroMont Health (Gastonia)
• No. 76: Lenovo (Morrisville)
• No. 79: WakeMed (Raleigh)
• No. 86: University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Charlotte)
• No. 87: Syneos Health (Raleigh)
• No. 90: Belk (Charlotte)
• No. 100: State of North Carolina (Raleigh)

Other North Carolina-based companies that made the Forbes list include:

• Appalachian State University (Boone, No. 26)
• Labcorp Holdings (Burlington, No. 42)
• Volvo Group (Greensboro, No. 52)
• Old Dominion Freight Line (Thomasville, No. 57)
• Cleveland County Schools (Shelby, No. 66)
• Novant Health (WInston-Salem, No. 69)
• North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, No. 78)
• Cumberland County Schools (Fayetteville, No. 80)
• Alex Lee (Hickory, No. 93)

Forbes’ best NC employers in 2024

While many companies at the top of last year’s list remained in 2025, some dropped significantly. And a few companies, including Cary’s Epic Games and Pinehurst’s FirstHealth of the Carolinas, broke into the top 10 this year, after not being mentioned in the 2024 ranking.

Renee Umsted

The News & Observer

202-383-6008

Renee Umsted is The News & Observer’s Affordability Reporter. She writes about what it costs to live in the Triangle, with a consumer-focused approach. She has a degree in journalism from TCU.