These Idaho companies landed on Forbes ‘best’ lists

Seven companies in the Gem State have been chosen as some of the best in the country by employees and ranked in the 10th anniversary of Forbes Best Employers lists.

From educational institutions to health care and groceries, four companies made it to the magazine’s midsize best employers list and three made it to the large best employers list.

According to Forbes, “each employer was given a score, and the 1,199 organizations with the highest scores landed on one of our two final lists — 498 companies on America’s Best Midsize Employers 2025, and 701 organizations on America’s Best Large Employers 2025.”

The publication worked with research firm Statista, polling 217,000 employees across the country to find out what their priorities were when it came to their employers. In their findings, employees placed the most value on compensation, employee development and advancement, meaningful work, supportive colleagues and workplace well-being and flexibility.

On the midsize employers list, University of Idaho ranked highest out of companies based in the state, ranking at 138 out of nearly 500 companies. Jacksons Food Stores ranked 170, while Scentsy ranked 292, and Norco ranked 370.

Out of 701 large companies, WinCo Foods ranked 67, Saint Alphonsus ranked 187 and JR Simplot ranked 631.

At Saint Alphonsus, leadership highlighted the importance co-worker support during an employee’s time with the health care system.

“As a mission-based health system, we have focused on enhancing the colleague experience across all stages of the colleague lifecycle,” said Brooke Thrasher, Saint Alphonsus chief human resources officer. “We are passionate about building a culture where colleagues feel recognized, engaged and supported.”