H-E-B ranked among the top employers by Forbes

H-E-B is the leading grocer in Forbes magazine’s list of the best large employers in the U.S.

In rankings based on a survey of about 45,000 workers at U.S. companies and institutions with 5,000 or more employees, Forbes listed H-E-B fifth overall in its top-500 list.

Other ranked grocers include Trader Joe’s (16), Costco Wholesale (25), Wegmans (44), Publix (82), Aldi (85), Whole Foods (306), Target (312), Amazon (375), and Meijer (439).

In comprising the rankings, survey participants were asked if they would recommend their current employers to friends and family (on a scale of 0 to 10), and to cite any other employer they would also recommend.

The Forbes listing is the latest accolade for San Antonio-based H-E-B, which operates more than 430 stores in Texas and Mexico with annual sales of $38 billion.

In January, H-E-B was named the top grocer in the U.S. by Chicago-based customer data science firm dunnhumby.

The ranking was based on the results of dunnhumby’s retailer preference index, which is comprised of insights from more than 10,000 U.S. shoppers about what matters to them most when shopping at the 63 largest grocery retailers.

Drivers impacting consumer perceptions were price, promotions, and rewards; speed and convenience; quality; digital; and operations, dunnhumby reported.

The next highest-ranking grocers were Costco, Amazon, Wegmans, Sam’s Club, Market Basket, Amazon Fresh, Trader Joe’s, WinCo, BJ’s Wholesale, Target, Aldi, Shoprite, Walmart Neighborhood Market, and Walmart.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans, meanwhile, was also ranked number-one last year on the list of best workplaces in New York by Fortune magazine and certification organization Great Place to Work. Wegmans was the only grocer on the list of the top 35 workplaces.

In addressing its Forbes ranking, Publix said in a statement that the company ownership model, dedication to promoting from within, and helping associates prepare for advancement contributed to the high listing.