As it has been for all 10 years the list has existed, Amtrak is among companies named as one of America’s best large employers by Forbes magazine.
The list of 701 companies with more than 5,000 employees, along with an accompanying list of the 498 best midsize employers — those with 1,000 to 5,000 workers — was released today by the New Jersey-based magazine.
CSX Transportation is the only freight railroad to make the large employers list. NJ Transit and Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, were also part of that list, while three other transit agencies with a rail component — Portland’s TriMet, Colorado’s Regional Transportation District, and Bay Area Rapid Transit — made the list of best midsize employers.
The results developed by Forbes and market research firm Statistica are based on surveys of more than 217,000 employees at companies with 1,000 or more workers. They were asked if they would recommend their employer, and to rate it on criteria such as salary, work environment, training programs, and opportunities to advance. This year’s survey results considered along with data from the last three years to assess companies that consistently rank well, Forbes says.
Amtrak, ranked No. 390 this year, is among 77 companies that have been on all 10 of the best employers list. The company, with 21,800 employees, ranked No. 120 in 2024, when it also ranked No. 389 on the list of Forbes best employees for diversity, and was No. 29 in 2023 [see “Amtrak named to Forbes list …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 17, 2023].
Caltrans, which has the nation’s largest fleet of state-owned intercity passenger trains — running on the Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor, and San Joaquins services — ranked No. 204. The state agency, which ranked No. 363 a year ago, employs some 21,322 people.
CSX, with approximately 23,000 employees, ranks No. 574. No freight railroad made the list a year ago. CSX was also the highest-ranked railroad on the recent Wall Street Journal list of best-managed companies of 2024, placing No. 283 [see “Railroads shut out of 250 best-managed companies list,” News Wire, Feb. 11, 2025].
NJ Transit ranked No. 591. The agency, with some 11,000 employees, ranked No. 178 a year ago. The top-ranked company in the transportation and logistics category of the list is Delta Airlines, which placed No. 9. Overall, Notre Dame University ranked No. 1, while grocery retailer Trader Joe’s was No. 2 and nonprofit healthcare provider Houston Methodist was No. 3. The full large employers list is available here.
In the midsize employers group, TriMet ranked No. 228, while Colorado’s RTD was No. 363 and BART ranked No. 497. Trucking company TMC Transportation of Des Moines, Iowa, was the top transportation and logistics firm on the midsize list at No. 153. That list, available here, was led overall by the Shriners Hospitals for Children network; the Federal Communications Commission ranked No. 2 and Western Carolina University was No. 3.
