Best Places to Work Contests
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      Best Places to Work Contests

      Information on National and Regional Best Places to Work contests.

      In this article: 

       

      Employee Requirements

      For every regional contest in this list, unless otherwise specified, the employee requirements are:

      • Full and Part-Time
      • Permanent
      • Have been working for a minimum of 30 days
      • If Remote: works close to or reports to the contest city 
        • Can only participate in one regional program 

      National Contests

      Inc. Magazine

      Program & Partner: Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces via Inc. Magazine

      Contest Area: The US

      Minimum Employee Count: 5 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Fee: $295- $495, nomination fee goes up as the deadline approaches

      Employee Requirements: Full and Part-Time, Permanent, working for 30 days

      Unlike other contests in this list, the client must complete the application.

      National & Industry-Specific Contests

      Staffing

      Program & Partner: Best Staffing Firms to Work For via Staffing Industry Analysts
      Contest Area: North America
      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners
      Employee Requirements:
      • Main Staffing Award: Full/Part-Time, permanent, internal, working for 30 days
      • Option TEMP Award: All recent temporary/contract workers, i.e. those placed on assignment after June 30 must be invited

      Sports (SBJ)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Sports via Sports Business Journal

      Contest Area: North America

      Minimum Employee Count: 7 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Employee Requirements: Full and Part-Time, Permanent, working for 30 days

      Regional Contests

      Albany, New York (ALB)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in the Capital Region via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Warren, Washington and Schoharie counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners 

      Alburquerque, New Mexico (ALQ)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in New Mexico via American City Business Journal

      Contest Area: State of New Mexico 

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners 

      Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Atlanta via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties; You may also include Barrow, Carroll, Coweta, Forsyth, Newton, Paulding, and Spalding counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Austin, Texas (AUS)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Central Texas via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Burnet, and Caldwell counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Baltimore, Maryland (BAL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Baltimore via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, and Carroll counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Birmingham, Alabama (BIR)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Birmingham via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Walker, Bibb, Chilton, and Blount counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Boston via American City Business Journal

      Contest Area: State of Massachusetts

      Minimum Employee Count: 20 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Buffalo, New York (BUF)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Western New York via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, and Orleans counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Charlotte, North Carolina (CHA)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Charlotte via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • North Carolina: Alexander, Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties
      • South Carolina: Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster, and York counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Cincinnati, Ohio (CIN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Cincinnati via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Ohio: Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, and Warren counties
      • Kentucky: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton counties
      • Indiana: Dearborn, Franklin, and Ohio counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Columbus, Ohio (COL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Central Ohio via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Franklin, Delaware, Union, Madison, Pickaway, Fairfield, Licking, Morrow, Perry, and Hocking counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Dallas, Texas (DAL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Dallas via American City Business Journal 

      Contest Areas: Dallas, Collin, Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall, Ellis, and Kaufman counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Dayton, Ohio (DAY)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Dayton via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Montgomery, Miami, Clark, Darke, Greene, Preble, Shelby, Butler, and Warren counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Denver, Colorado (DEN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Denver via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Greensboro, North Carolina (GRN)

      Program & Partner: Triad's Best Places to Work via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Oahu, Hawaii (HAW)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Hawaii via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Oahu and all neighboring islands

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Houston, Texas (HOU)

      Program & Partner: Houston, Texas via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Walle counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Huntsville, Alabama (HUN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Huntsville/Madison County via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Huntsville and Madison counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Jacksonville, Florida (JAX)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Jacksonville via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Flagler, and Putnam counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Kansas City, Missouri (KC)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Kansas City via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Missouri: Ray, Cass, Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties
      • Kansas: Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte counties 

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Lincoln, Nebraska (LIN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Lincoln via Woods Aitken

      Contest Area: Lancaster County

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Louisville, Kentucky (LOU)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Louisville via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Kentucky: Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham, and Shelby counties
      • Indiana: Floyd, Clark, and Harrison counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Madison, Wisconsin (MAD)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Madison via Madison Magazine

      Contest Areas: Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MIL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Milwaukee via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, and Waukesha counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Minneapolis, Minnesota (MIN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Minnesota via American City Business Journal

      Contest Area: Minnesota

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Nashville, Tennessee (NAS)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Nashville via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Omaha, Nebraska (OMA)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Omaha via Baird Holm

      Contest Areas: 

      • Nebraska: Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders, and Washington counties
      • Iowa: Harrison, Mills, and Pottawattamie counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 25 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Orlando, Florida (ORL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Orlando via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, and Lake counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHI)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Philadelphia via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties
      • New Jersey: Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties 

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Phoenix, Arizona (PHO)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in the Valley via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Maricopa and Pinal counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania (PIT)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Allegheny, Lawrence, and Armstrong counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Portland, Oregon (POR)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Oregon and Southwest Washington via American City Business Journal 

      Contest Areas: 

      • State of Oregon
      • Washington: Clark County

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Puget Sound Region, Washington (PUG)

      Program & Partner: Washington's Best Workplaces via American City Business Journal

      Contest Area: Washington

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Raleigh, North Carolina (RAL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in the Triangle via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Reno, Nevada (RNO)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Reno/Tahoe via Northern Nevada Human Resources Association

      Contest Areas: Reno, Tahoe, Carson City, and Sparks metro region

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Sacramento, California (SAC)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Sacramento via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      San Francisco, California (SAN)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in the Bay Area via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Marin counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      San Antonio, Texas (SANA)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in San Antonio via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Bexar, Comal, Gonzalez, Kendall, Guadalupe, Wilson, Medina, Atascosa, and Bandera counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 25 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Miami & South Florida, Florida (SFL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in South Florida via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      St. Louis, Missouri (STL)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in St. Louis via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Missouri: St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin counties
      • Illinois: Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Tampa, Florida (TAM)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Tampa Bay via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, Polk, and Hernando counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Washington D.C., District of Columbia (WAS)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Washington, D.C. via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas:

      • Virginia: Washington D.C., City of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties
      • Maryland: Montgomery and Prince George counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners

      Wichita, Kansas (WIC)

      Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Wichita via American City Business Journal

      Contest Areas: Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, Sumner, and Kingman counties

      Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners