Best Places to Work Contests
Information on National and Regional Best Places to Work contests.
In this article:
- Qualifying Questions for Quantum Workplace Customers
- National Contests
- National & Industry-Specific Contests
- Employee Requirements
- Regional Contests
For the most up-to-date information on contest dates, please visit our BPTW website.
Note: With the exception of the Inc Magazine contest, for current Quantum Workplace customers (Limited Support excluded), the fees associated with entering a BPTW contest are waived, and the nomination process is not required.
Qualifying Questions for Quantum Workplace Customers
For organizations using Quantum Workplace to survey their employees, the recommended Engagement survey template includes questions to qualify interested organizations for their respective Best Places to Work contest(s). Learn more about the Best Places to Work qualifying questions included in Quantum Workplace's Engagement survey template.
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
Company Guidelines: Companies must meet each of the following qualifications
.- Be Independent (not a subsidiary or division of another company)
- Be Based in the United States
- Have at least 5 employees
- Been in business at least 2 years
- Have total annual revenue less than $1 Billion
NOTE: For the Inc. Magazine contest only, Quantum platform clients transferring data from a QW survey must complete the application.
Contest Dates: Inc Magazine Timeline
National & Industry-Specific Contests
Staffing (SIA)
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
Contest Dates: Staffing North American Timeline
Staffing UK & IRE (SIA)
Program & Partner: Best Staffing Firms to Work For via Staffing Industry Analysts
Contest Area: United Kingdom and Ireland
Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners
Employee Requirements: Full/Part-Time, permanent, internal, working for 30 days
Note: UK/IRE does not offer a TEMP Staffing award
Contest Dates: Staffing UK & IRE Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Sports Magazine Timeline
Regional Contest 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
- Check region guidelines for specifics regarding remote employees
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
Contest Dates: Albany Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Albuquerque Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Atlanta Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Austin Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Baltimore Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Birmingham Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Boston Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Bufallo Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Charlotte Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Cincinnati Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Columbus Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Dallas Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Dayton Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Denver Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Greensboro Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Hawaii Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Houston Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Huntsville Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Jacksonville Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Kansas City Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Lincoln Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Louisville Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Madison Timeline
Memphis, Tennessee (MEM)
Program & Partner: Best Places to work in Memphis via American City Business Journals
Contest Areas: Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton, counties in TN, Crittenden, Cross, Lee, Mississippi, Poinsett, and St. Francis counties in AR, and Benton, Coahoma, De Soto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate, Tippah, Tunica and Quitman counties in MS.
Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners
Contest Dates: Memphis Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Milwaukee Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Minneapolis Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Nashville Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Omaha Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Orlando Timeline
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHI)
Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in Philadelphia via American City Business Journal
Contest Areas:
- Pennsylvania: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties
- New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties
- Delaware: Kent and New Castle counties
Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners
Contest Dates: Philadelphia Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Phoenix Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Pittsburgh Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Portland Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Puget Sound Timeline
Raleigh, North Carolina (RAL)
Program & Partner: Best Places to Work in the Triangle via American City Business Journal
Contest Areas: Chatham, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Nash, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren and Wilson.
If Remote: The location of the remote employee must be in the contest area counties listed above.
Minimum Employee Count: 10 eligible employees, cannot include partners or owners
Contest Dates: Raleigh Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Reno Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Sacremento Timeline
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
Contest Dates: San Francisco Timeline
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
Contest Dates: San Antonio Timeline
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
Contest Dates: South Florida Timeline
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
Contest Dates: St. Louis Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Tampa Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Washington, D.C. Timeline
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
Contest Dates: Wichita Timeline