These are the best Kansas and Missouri companies to work for in 2025, Forbes says
Looking for a new job? You might consider these highly rated employers in Kansas and Missouri.
Last month, Forbes released their list of best employers by state for 2025. For the last seven years, the financial publication has ranked employers with a nationwide survey.
The financial publication joined with market research firm Statista to poll more than 160,000 workers about their employers and recent companies. The survey asked about pay, advancement opportunities and if they would recommend their workplace.
Forbes ranked 1,417 companies with more than 500 employees in the United States. The length of the state lists varied by the number of responses and the size of the state, and some businesses were listed in multiple states.
If you’re interested in smaller companies, business publication Inc. shared its five top employers in the Kansas City area earlier in 2025, generally with 500 or fewer employees.
Missouri’s top employers
The Missouri top employer list includes 75 companies. The top five are:
1. Washington University in Saint Louis, a university in St. Louis
2. Fabick Cat, a heavy machinery dealership headquartered in Fenton
3. Burns and McDonnell, a engineering and construction company headquartered in Kansas City
4. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, a hotel company headquartered in Virginia
5. T-Mobile, a telecommunications company headquartered in Washington
Other Kansas City area employers on the Missouri list include:
- North Kansas City Hospital (10)
- The University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, Kansas (19)
- Commerce Bancshares, Kansas City (24)
- Children’s Mercy Kansas City (34)
- University Health (49)
- Liberty Hospital (62)
- H & R Block, Kansas City (64)
- Independence School District (69)
- Hallmark (70)
- JE Dunn Construction (73)
- Lockton Companies (75)
Kansas’ top employers
The Kansas list included 30 employers, half of which are headquartered in the Sunflower State.
1. Garmin, a GPS company headquartered in Olathe
2. The University of Kansas Health System, a hospital in Kansas City, Kansas
3. Kansas State University, a university in Manhattan
4. Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in New York
5. Johnson County, KS, county government
Other Kansas City area employers on the Kansas list include:
- Olathe Public Schools (8)
- Shawnee Mission School District (14)
- Blue Valley Schools, Overland Park (16)
- Associated Wholesale Grocers; Kansas City, Kansas (20)
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (23)
- Terracon, Olathe (26)
- Netsmart, Overland Park (27)
Have more questions about jobs in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 3:46 PM.
