While two companies with headquarters in Delaware received recognition from U.S. News & World Report in the “Best Companies to Work For” rankings, only one made the overall 300 best list, released earlier this month.

Sallie Mae, based in Stanton, was honored among the top 300 with additional recognition as “best in financial services” and “best companies in the South.”

In the financial services business, Sallie Mae describes itself as “the nation’s saving, planning and paying for college company.” Founded in 1972, the business has about 1,740 employees in the U.S., with headquarters in Stanton and offices near New Castle and in Sterling, Virginia; Newton, Massachusetts; Indianapolis; and Salt Lake City.

Employees at the Stanton headquarters, the largest of Sallie Mae’s offices, work in credit, collections, risk, customer experience, product marketing, corporate marketing and human resources, according to the company’s website.

At the New Castle-area office, the company has its operations teams, including servicing, school assist, collections, underwriting, fraud, office of the customer advocate and customer communications.

See when company opened second office: New Sallie Mae office brings new jobs to Delaware

Here’s how Sallie Mae ranked in the six categories that U.S. News & World Report used to compile the rankings, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest:

• Sense of belonging, 5
• Quality of pay, 4
• Stability, 4
• Comfort, 4
• Professional development, 4
• Work life balance, 3

Chemours gets U.S. News & World Report nod

While not listed among the top 300, one other company with headquarters in Delaware received recognition in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Companies to Work For” list.

In the listings by industry and region, Chemours, headquartered in Wilmington, was honored as “Best in Chemicals.”

Meanwhile, Evolent Health, which is registered in Delaware but has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, was honored as “Best in Health Services” and “Best Companies in the South.”

More business news: Plans revived for a Newark Wawa. Where else is Wawa coming in Delaware?

How did U.S. News & World Report select Best Companies?

In compiling the rankings, U.S. News & World Report looked at businesses with publicly traded stock in the Russell 3000 index of largest companies as of June 2023. The businesses also needed to have a minimum of 75 U.S.-based Glassdoor reviews between 2020 and 2023. Companies were grouped into various categories using a combination of industry classification benchmark standards and U.S. News’ editorial judgment.

Here are the six metrics that determined the best companies to work for, according to U.S. News & World Report:

• Quality of pay and benefits, “whether employees feel adequately compensated for their work, as well as living wage data and a company’s compensation vs. its competitors.”
• Work/life balance and flexibility, based on flexible work policies and “employee perception of opportunities for work/life balance and flexibility.” 
• Job and company stability, using data on “corporate governance quality and the attrition rate of a company’s senior leadership….”
• Physical and psychological comfort, “defined as a safe work environment.” 
• Sense of belonging and esteem, “whether employees feel connected to the organization and appreciated for their contributions.” 
• Career opportunities and professional development, considering “factors like mobility rates within a company and opportunities for benefits like tuition assistance, as well as growth opportunities perceived by employees.”

Reporter Ben Mace covers business, development and real estate news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.