Iowa

What are the best companies in Iowa? See which 30 made Forbes 2024 ‘Best Employers’ list.

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2024

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What are the best companies in Iowa? See which 30 made Forbes 2024 ‘Best Employers’ list.

Principal Financial Group, Ankeny Community School District among top employers

Each year, Forbes releases its “America’s Best Employers By State,” list which includes nearly 1,300 companies nationwide.

Thirty employers in Iowa were featured on this year’s list, with 14 companies headquartered in the state and seven based in the Des Moines metro area. The companies that made the list fall into a range of industries, including education, health care social services, and government.

To create the list, Forbes worked with data company Statista to survey more than 160,000 U.S. employees at companies with at least 500 workers. Survey participants were asked a series of questions including:

How likely they were to recommend their company.
To evaluate the companies they’ve worked for within the past two years.
To evaluate organizations, they knew within their industry or through friends or family who worked there.

Responses were collected from all 50 states and Washington D.C. and weighted based on recent data to compile the list.

Here are the best employers in Iowa, according to Forbes:

Top-rated employers headquartered in the Des Moines Metro

2. Principal Financial Group

3. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield

7. Ankeny Community School District

13. Broadlawns Medical Center

22. State of Iowa

23. Des Moines Public Schools

25. UnityPoint Health

More: Looking for a new job? These Iowa companies rank among the best for pay

Top-rated employers based in Iowa

8. UI Health Care (formerly University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics), Iowa City

12. Iowa State University, Ames

16. Pella Corporation, Pella

17. Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids

18. University of Iowa, Iowa City

26. Cedar Rapids Community School District, Cedar Rapids

29. Transamerica, Cedar Rapids

What are all of the Iowa companies on Forbes’ ‘Best Employers’ list?

The list from Forbes also included companies headquartered in other states that have large presences in Iowa. Here’s the complete list of employers in Iowa ranked by Forbes along with their headquarters location:

Kwik Trip/Kwik Star, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Principal Financial Group, Des Moines
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Des Moines
United Parcel Service, Atlanta
Nationwide Mutual Insurance, Columbus, Ohio
UnitedHealth Group, Minnetonka, Minnesota
Ankeny Community School District, Ankeny
UI Health Care, Iowa City
Hormel Foods, Austin, Minnesota
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.
Amazon, Seattle
Iowa State University, Ames
Broadlawns Medical Center, Des Moines
John Deere, Moline, Illinois
Target, Minneapolis
Pella Corporation, Pella
Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids
University of Iowa, Iowa City
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Menards, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Marsh & McLennan, New York
State of Iowa, Des Moines
Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines
FedEx, Memphis, Tennessee
UnityPoint Health, West Des Moines
Cedar Rapids Community School District, Cedar Rapids
Sammons Enterprises, Dallas
United States Postal Services (USPS), Washington, D.C.
Transamerica, Cedar Rapids
PepsiCo, Purchase, New York

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_

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Iowa

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren joins growing 2nd District GOP field

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren joins growing 2nd District GOP field

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, announced her run for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday, joining a growing field of Republicans aiming to take the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson. In a social media post Tuesday morning, Lundgren announced her U.S. House campaign, kicking off by stating her early support for President Donald […]

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Iowa

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson launches campaign for U.S. Senate

Published

2 weeks ago

September 14, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson launches campaign for U.S. Senate

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson officially launched her campaign for U.S. Senate at the Radisson Hotel in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.

“In the Senate, I will fight to make America look more like Iowa,” Hinson said. “Here, we know the difference between boys and girls. We know that families deserve to keep more of what they earn, and we know the people, not the government, always come first,” she said.

Right now, Ashley Hinson represents northeast Iowa’s 2nd District in Congress.

She’s running to replace Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who announced earlier this month she would not run for re-election.

“Ashley Hinson gives me hope. Someone that I know fights for me. Someone that has my back. And somebody that will have your back,” the Jones County Sheriff, Greg Graveler said about Hinson.

Hinson told Sunday’s crowd she wants to keep deporting illegal immigrants, cut taxes, and defend farmers in agriculture.

She also addressed Democrats who she said may consider her an extremist.

“If it’s extreme to want parents in charge of our kids’ education, if it’s extreme to want safe borders and safe streets, if it’s extreme to believe that there are only two genders, then they can go ahead and call me whatever they want,” Hinson said.

While Hinson will face plenty of competition for the Senate spot from other Republicans and Democrats, she said she’s confident in her campaign.

“We can only deliver on these critical wins, and make America safer and stronger for a generation to come if we win this seat. Or correction – when we win this seat,” Hinson said.

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