For those who live in Austin, it is no secret that the city and its surrounding suburbs is a great place to live and to work. According to a recent article in Fortune magazine, even those who don’t live in the Austin area are recognizing just how much the city has to offer. Inn fact, two Austin-based companies were ranked by Fortune magazine as being among the top 100 places to work in the country.
The two companies, Whole Foods Markets Inc. and National Instruments were among 13 Texas cities to be included on the list. With 13 companies being recognized by Fortune magazine, the state of Texas actually ranked as the state with the second most top 100 companies. With 16 companies included on the list, California came in at the top position. Other Texas companies to make the list included:
· Houston’s Camden Property Trust (ranked 10th)
· Houston’s Methodist Hospital System (ranked 17th)
· Coppell’s NuStar Energy (ranked 21st)
· Coppell’s Shared Technologies (ranked 33rd)
· New Braunfels’s Scooter Store (ranked 38th)
· Dallas’s TD Industries (ranked 39th)
· San Antonio’s USAA (ranked 45th)
· Houston’s EOG Resources (ranked 67th)
· Houston’s Men’s Wearhouse (ranked 68th)
· Dallas’s Balfour Beatty Construction (ranked 76th)
Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market Inc. came in at the 18th position while National Instruments finished in the 87th position. Whole Foods Market Inc., which sells natural and organic products, identifies one of its “core values” as “supporting team member happiness and excellence.” This core value supports the company’s self-reported purpose of “helping support the health, well-being, and healing o both people – customers, team members, and business organizations in general – and the planet.” In order to do this, the company offers free medical coverage to employees who have worked 800 hours as well as a company-funded personal wellness account, dental and vision coverage a 401k retirement savings program, gainsharing and more.
It is also easy to see why National Instruments, which develops graphical programming software and modular hardware, is also included on the list. According to the company’s Website, it “values its employees as its most important asset” and the company strives to provide a “relaxed work environment that fosters creativity and entrepreneurism.” In addition to offering a company-matched 401k retirement plan, 10 paid holidays and vacation time, the company also offers benefits such as tuition reimbursement and even an on-site fitness center.
Of course, these are just a couple examples of the employers that call Austin home. A number of high-tech companies, including Cirrus Logic, 3M, Google and Hewlett-Packard are also major employers in the area.