Best places to work in US? 85 California companies earn spots on national list
California is home to some of the best top places to work in the country, according to business magazine Inc.
The magazine recently published its 2025 list of the top U.S. companies “that prioritize their people,” featuring a total of 514 workplaces in industries ranging from financial services and tech to advertising, marketing and public relations.
“These honorees aren’t just talking the talk,” Inc. said. “Their benefits, growth opportunities and team values are having a real impact on the employee experience.”
Four Sacramento companies were among the 85 California workplaces that made the list, and one of them shared insight on what it means to put its employees first.
Top companies in the capital region
- 34 Strong, a workforce development company in Elk Grove, called the recognition “an incredible honor” in a statement posted to LinkedIn. “This achievement is so much more than an award — it’s a reflection of the trust our amazing clients have placed in us over the years,” the company said. “You’ve invited us into your organizations, your teams, and your visions, and we’re deeply grateful for the opportunity to help them thrive.”
- Alabaster Co., a consumer products company that produces versions of the Bible reimagined for millennials, said in a statement on LinkedIn that the recognition means “a lot” to the company. “We’re a small, growing team — but every person here leads with humility, pushes for excellence, and genuinely cares about doing meaningful work,” the company said in the post. “Our culture is what makes this place special.”
- Goodness, an advertising, marketing and PR company, said in a statement on LinkedIn that the “recognition is a testament to our 20+ year commitment to healthy business and healthy humans. We’ve built something special here — a culture where real work-life balance isn’t just a buzzword, it’s how we operate.”
- Wintersteen|Casarez, a woman-owned and operated worker’s comp defense law firm, celebrated the achievement on its social media accounts. “Over the past three years, WC Law Corp has achieved an incredible 616% revenue growth and expanded our team by 388%,” the firm said in the posts. “This success has earned us the rank of #678 amongst America’s fastest-growing private companies, #14 nationwide in the legal industry, #111 in California, and #4 in the Sacramento region! We are so proud to be an #Inc5000 honoree and we recognize that we could not have done it without our amazing staff, attorneys, and clients!”
Insight from a Sacramento CEO
Angel Casarez, one of two founders and CEO of the WC Law Corp, told the Sacramento Bee she credits the company’s growth to its values and commitment to diversity.
When they launched WC Law Corp in August 2020, it consisted only of Casarez, co-founder Erin M. Wintersteen, and a legal assistant, she said. Each of the founders had worked as defense attorneys for over 20 years — and they had hit the ceiling, so to speak.
They were promised partnership and ownership opportunities at firms that never actually came to fruition, she said.
“Law firms don’t have diversity,” she said. “If you look at partnership pages, it’s still to this day straight white men.”
So they started their own firm, where they vowed to do things differently, she said. They would be able to hire, promote, and mentor a more diverse group of people — and offer partnership and ownership opportunities to more of them than a traditional law firm would be able to, she said.
“We always made sure we were investing in our employees first,” she said. “We made sure we had a very positive culture, where we invest in growth, and have a very low tolerance for old rules. You have to be a team player, kind, smart, hardworking.”
They wanted to have 50 attorneys within the firm’s first five to seven years, she said. They now have just under 80.
“This award celebrates our growth, which is really the point,” she said. “If this wasn’t hitting a nerve, we wouldn’t be growing at the rate we’re growing, that’s for certain.” Here’s the other California businesses that made the list:
Top companies in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Abridge, artificial intelligence & data, San Francisco
- Aha! Labs, software, Menlo Park
- Aisera, software, Palo Alto
- Akraya, human resources, San Francisco
- Babylist, retail, Emeryville
- Claritas Rx, healthcare & medical, San Francisco
- CloudBees, software, San Jose
- Coalesce, software, San Francisco
- Coalition, insurance, San Francisco
- CoBUILD Construction Services, construction, Castro Valley
- Cowbell, insurance, Pleasanton
- Domino Data Lab, software, San Francisco
- Epic Cleantec, environmental services, San Francisco
- Guttmann & Blaevoet, engineering firm, San Francisco
- Hatch, consumer products, Palo Alto
- Hinge Health, health products, San Francisco
- Infinite Equity, financial services, San Francisco
- IT Management, IT Services, Santa Clara
- InVision Communications, business products & services, Walnut Creek
- Middesk, software, San Francisco
- Monte Carlo, software, San Francisco
- Moveworks, software, Mountain View
- OLIPOP, food & beverage, Oakland
- OneSignal, software, San Mateo
- OpenSpace.ai, software, San Francisco
- PagerDuty, software, San Francisco
- PATH, food & beverage, Fremont
- Premier Talent Partners, human resources, Lafayette
- PURE Property Management, real estate firm, Los Gatos
- Questus, advertising, marketing & PR firm, San Francisco
- SafelyYou, health products, San Francisco
- SavvyMoney, financial services, Dublin
- Search Manipulator, business products & services, San Francisco
- ServiceUp, software, Los Gatos
- Skyline Construction, construction, San Francisco
- State Compensation Insurance Fund, insurance, Pleasanton
- Vannevar Labs, artificial intelligence & data, Palo Alto
- Vanta, security firm, San Francisco
- Writer, software, San Francisco
Top companies in southern California
- Bird Rock Systems, IT services, San Diego
- BKM Capital Partners, real estate firm, Newport Beach
- Blue Street Capital, financial services, Huntington Beach
- BuildOps, software, Los Angeles
- CIRE Equity, real estate firm, San Diego
- Copia, software, Laguna Beach
- D.Law, legal firm, Glendale
- DISQO, software, Glendale
- Doing Good Works, business products & services, Irvine
- Financial Finesse, financial services, El Segundo
- For Purpose Law Group, legal firm, San Diego
- Golden Star Technology, IT services, Cerritos
- Harbinger, logistics & transportation, Garden Grove
- Hennessey Group, advertising, marketing & PR firm, North Hollywood
- Ignite Media Group, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Encinitas
- Invoca, software, Santa Barbara
- Law Offices of Sabrina Li, legal firm, Pasadena
- Lohman & Associates, financial services, San Diego
- Mangomint, software, Los Angeles
- Marketing Six, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Valencia
- Mattered, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Lake Forest
- Media Intercept, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Los Angeles
- Mission Wealth Management LP, financial services firm, Santa Barbara
- Morrison Insurance Services, insurance, Carlsbad
- Murphy O’Brien, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Beverly Hills
- Objective, Investment Banking & Valuation, financial services, Los Angeles
- Optima Office, business products & service, San Diego
- ParentSquare, education, Goleta
- Point, financial services, Palo Alto
- Portofino Labs, retail, Palo Alto
- Proven Recruiting, human resources, San Diego
- PureSpectrum, software, Westlake Village
- Sambazon, consumer products, San Clemente
- Sayva Solutions, business products & services, San Diego
- Spectacular Academy, education, Ontario
- thinkPARALLAX, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Encinitas
- Upsellit, advertising, marketing & PR firm, Camarillo
- Vineskills, Inc., IT Services, Los Angeles
- Vuja Dé Digital, media, San Diego
- We Crush Events, business products & services, Santa Clara
- WestPac Wealth Partners, financial services, San Diego
- Wonderist Agency, advertising, marketing & PR firm, San Diego
What makes them the top companies to work?
In order to be considered for the list, interested companies must meet certain criteria in order to apply.
Quantum Polls, Inc.’s partner in Best Workplaces, quizzes the company on “which 37 key benefits they offer to at least 50 percent of their workforce, including insurance benefits, financial benefits, paid leave, employee experience offerings, and wellness benefits,” the magazine said.
After that, employees answer open-ended questions about their work environment and respond to 40 prompts about pay, management, and senior leadership. A certain number of employees must participate based on the size of the company.
Finally, each of the companies are vetted for “accuracy, fairness, transparency, and ethics.”
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Best places to work in US? 85 California companies earn spots on national list."
