The company Americans say is the best place to work in 2026 isn’t who you think

For as much as we heard about AI in the past year, the top two best places to work in the U.S. are decidedly AI-free.

Crew Carwash, an Indianapolis-based chain of car washes with 55 locations in the Midwest, claimed the top spot on Glassdoor’s list of the best places to work in 2026. In-N-Out Burger, the beloved chain with 400-plus locations, also moved up one spot this year to rank as the second-best place to work in the U.S.

From there, however, tech and AI companies dominated nearly one-quarter of Glassdoor’s ranking of the top 100 companies with Nvidia claiming the third spot. But this industry’s representation on the list has actually come down somewhat in recent years, a reflection of shifting dynamics at some of these companies. 

“This is part of an ongoing trend where many tech employers are trimming some of the things that made the job so appealing over the last year,” Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao told CBS News. “They are pushing harder and harder on efficiency and productivity.”

In addition to Nvidia, ServiceNow and EPAM Systems rounded out the top three companies on an inaugural list of the best tech and AI companies. These companies are redefining what “tech-first” means and they’ve scaled rapidly without losing a human element to the workplace, according to a blog post. 

UNCERTAINTY IN THE JOB MARKET

The past year has seen some new career trends emerge that reflect the uncertainty many workers are feeling lately—including so-called “job hugging,” or employees who sit tight in their roles, and “Shrekking,” when some workers opt to take jobs that are “beneath” their qualifications. In 2025, U.S. employers added only 584,000 new jobs, down from two million in 2024, making it the worst year for job growth since 2020 when the COVID pandemic rocked the economy.

Glassdoor’s annual ranking, now in its 18th year, honors those companies that its employees love working for based on feedback provided on the platform. It comes at a time when many employees are fed up with work, and overall U.S. employee engagement is at a decade low.

“Even amid the uncertainty of 2025, these standout employers have shown resilience, sustaining high levels of employee satisfaction and trust as they navigate change,” Owen Humphries, president at Glassdoor, said in a statement. 

Bragging rights for those companies with 1,000 employees or more is based entirely on the anonymous reviews that employees posted on the site between October 2024 and October 2025, as there’s no nomination process nor survey of employees.

FOCUS ON WORKPLACE CULTURE

While identifying those employers that are “getting workplace culture right” is inherent to the ranking, this year’s winners are maintaining high levels of trust and satisfaction among employees, even amid a shifting economic landscape, according to a blog post.

Even though they span vastly different industries, the top three employers—Crew, In-N-Out, and Nvidia—share a common theme: They’ve operationalized cultural values, according to Glassdoor. “The best workplaces in 2026 aren’t doing anything revolutionary. They’re doing the fundamentals exceptionally well—and doing them consistently, even when it’s hard.”

SHAKEUPS ON LIST

Each year, some employers fall off the list to make room for new companies to make their debut—a cohort that included Alaska Airlines and Dutch Bros. this year. There were some other notable shakeups in this year’s ranking.

Bain, the top-ranked employer in 2025, fell to the No. 8 spot this year, marking the lowest-ever ranking for the perennial top-5-rated company. Other shakeups saw representation decline among San Francisco-area companies, with only 13 companies making this year’s list, down from 23 in 2025. Meanwhile, New York-area employers have been rising in employee satisfaction, gaining ground with 10 companies represented on the list, up from six last year.

HIRING ACTIVITY

In addition to charting such shifts in the industries and locations of the best employers, the annual list is intended to help job seekers navigate a competitive job market, according to Humphries. The number of weeks someone is unemployed has been creeping higher to more than 24 weeks, on average, as of December. 

Combined, this year’s top 10 employers—Crew Carwash, In-N-Out, Nvidia, Ryan, Keller Williams, Mars, ServiceNow, Bain, Houston Methodist, and EPAM Systems—currently have more than 11,000 job postings active on Glassdoor.

These awards are intended to be a “trusted guide” for job seekers, Humphries said, by “helping candidates connect with workplaces that reflect their values and career ambitions.”