When analyzing how well a company pays, salary figures alone don't tell the whole story. Instead, it's important to note how well a company pays compared to competitors in the same industry.
Business Insider recently released its list of the 50 best companies to work for in America in partnership with compensation software and data company PayScale. The ranking took six factors into account: high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay (for employees with at least five years of experience), and whether a company pays above or below market price for their employees. (You can read the full methodology here.)
The last factor — also referred to as the salary delta — is reflected as a percentage showing how much more or less a company pays compared with their industry. A larger percentage means the employer pays a high premium for talent, and conversely a negative percentage would indicate employees are underpaid.
We reranked the list based on this metric to find great places to work where employees are compensated well above market value — a premium of at least 10% — breaking any ties using the company's experienced median pay.
With a salary delta of 25%, social media giant Facebook topped the list, followed by Microsoft and Salesforce.com in second and third.
Keep reading to see the 22 best companies to work for who pay a premium to attract the best employees.
22. 3M
Headquarters: Maplewood, Minnesota
Experienced median pay: $85,100
Salary delta: 10%
Nearly 90,000 employees are dedicated to this industrial conglomerate's five diverse business groups: consumer, electronics and energy, healthcare, industrial, and safety and graphics. The company also offers a bevy of benefits, including on-site fitness centers, stress-management coaching, and an on-site pharmacy and medical center.
21. Intel
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
Experienced median pay: $118,000
Salary delta: 10%
Intel wants every employee to build the career of their dreams, and it helps them do it by providing access to career advisers, networking events, certifications, and tuition assistance. Outside of the workday, employees at the semiconductor and computer-technology company enjoy perks such as on-site fitness centers, tickets to local sporting and cultural events, and discounted shopping programs.
20. NetApp
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California
Experienced median pay: $129,000
Salary delta: 10%
NetApp, a data-storage and cloud-management company, has a slew of employee benefits that have become typical of tech companies competing for top talent, including gourmet food and on-site fitness centers, as well as coworker training programs and time off to volunteer.
Senior software engineers draw the largest salaries at NetApp, pulling in $145,000 on average, followed closely by senior product managers, who make $143,000, according to PayScale.
19. Ameren
Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri
Experienced median pay: $88,100
Salary delta: 11%
The holding company oversees operations for Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois, two of the largest energy providers in their respective states. Ameren employs more than 8,500 people, and PayScale reports that 74% of employees say that their job has high meaning.
18. NRG Energy
Headquarters: Houston, Texas, and Princeton, New Jersey
Experienced median pay: $96,700
Salary delta: 11%
Employees at green-energy company NRG can take advantage of benefits like college scholarships, rewards for outstanding work, and discounts on appliances and services to make their homes more sustainable, such as solar-panel installation, smart thermostats, and electric vehicles. The company's Houston campus is LEED-certified, and the Princeton headquarters will receive a number of upgrades to make it more environmentally friendly.
17. Procter & Gamble
Headquarters: Cincinnati, Ohio
Experienced median pay: $98,200
Salary delta: 11%
To Procter & Gamble, employee well-being is imperative. To ensure that employees take care of themselves, the household-products company offers training on stress and time management, as well as career-growth courses on topics like business writing, effective leadership, and energy management. P&G employees enjoy flexibility in their work schedules as well, and 35% reported having the ability to work from home.
16. PPL
Headquarters: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Experienced median pay: $103,000
Salary delta: 11%
Electric utility PPL — formerly Pennsylvania Power and Light — employs 13,000 people across its three regional energy entities in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and the UK. The most frequently hired positions include engineers, finance and accounting professionals, and plant operators. PayScale reports that 19% of employees consider their job low stress.
15. Fannie Mae
Headquarters: Washington, DC
Experienced median pay: $114,000
Salary delta: 11%
The government-sponsored mortgage-servicing giant is headquartered in the country's capital, with six other regional offices around the country as well. Through the SERVE initiative, employees can take up to 10 paid hours per month to participate in volunteer opportunities. The company even holds an annual week-long event, 7 Days to SERVE, in which the entire company gets involved in charity work. In 2015, it volunteered a total of 11,000 hours.
14. Amgen
Headquarters: Thousand Oaks, California
Experienced median pay: $121,000
Salary delta: 11%
The biopharmaceutical company employs about 18,000 people worldwide. Nearly 90% of them report having a high job meaning — not surprising given that Amgen has developed several successful cancer treatments as well as drugs to address autoimmune diseases and osteoporosis.
Amgen is committed to career development and education opportunities, offering tuition reimbursement as well as formal and technical training within the company for those looking to advance their skills.
13. eBay
Headquarters: San Jose, California
Experienced median pay: $125,000
Salary delta: 11%
The e-commerce platform jumped up 23 spots on our list this year. The company champions employees to go beyond the work they do in the office and make an impact globally. That includes a "Green Team," in which employees and eBay sellers work together to improve eBay’s sustainability, as well as a match program for philanthropic gifts.
12. Allergan
Headquarters: Parsippany, New Jersey (US headquarters)
Experienced median pay: $110,000
Salary delta: 12%
Allergan commits to environmental sustainability by using green materials, equipment, and technology whenever possible. The pharmaceutical company also coaches employees on sustainability practices through its Environmental Responsibility Program, aiming to help them improve their habits at work and at home.
11. ExxonMobil
Headquarters: Irving, Texas
Experienced median pay: $117,000
Salary delta: 12%
ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, makes employee retention a priority. Part of that plan involves significant investment in ensuring their workforce continues to grow. The company spent more than $115 million on professional training for 79,000 company participants in 2014.
9. (TIE) TIAA-CREF
Headquarters: New York, New York
Experienced median pay: $111,000
Salary delta: 13%
To affirm its culture of inclusion, TIAA-CREF — recently simplified to "TIAA" — sponsors several employee-resource groups to help everyone find their place and provide networking opportunities, community outreach, and multicultural awareness. Groups exist for minorities as well as for women, young professionals, and the LGBT community.
Flexibility is a key perk at TIAA, too. More than 40% of employees at the financial- and retirement-services company have the ability to work remotely when they need to, according to PayScale.
9. (TIE) ConocoPhillips
Headquarters: Houston, Texas
Experienced median pay: $111,000
Salary delta: 13%
The global oil and gas conglomerate, which has about 16,000 employees, prides itself on attracting strong talent and pushing career development, with programs for student recruitment, early-career development, and mentoring.
The best-paying jobs at ConocoPhillips are for geophysicists, who make about $150,000 on average, followed by petroleum and drilling engineers, who each make upward of $125,000.
8. Expedia
Headquarters: Bellevue, Washington
Experienced median pay: $115,000
Salary delta: 13%
Expedia, the parent company of Expedia.com and a host of online-travel brands and booking sites, including Orbitz and Travelocity, employs more than 18,000 people in 30 countries. Naturally, the company offers its employees travel discounts and fosters a culture that emphasizes curiosity and exploration.
7. Gilead Sciences
Headquarters: Foster City, California
Experienced median pay: $116,000
Salary delta: 13%
At Gilead Sciences, employees work to create new medicines that transform the lives of people with life-threatening illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and hepatitis C. This focus on changing lives contributes to Gilead employees finding purpose in their work, as 91% of them report having high job meaning, according to PayScale. In the US, employees also enjoy benefits such as tuition reimbursement, backup childcare options, and the ability to buy company stock.
6. Chevron
Headquarters: San Ramon, California
Experienced median pay: $122,000
Salary delta: 13%
Headquartered in California but present in more than 180 countries, Chevron runs on "Human Energy" with an employee workforce 61,500 strong, nearly half of them in the US.
The multinational oil and gas company's employees and retirees are encouraged to participate in its volunteer program, Chevron Humankind. In 2014, employees logged 350,000 volunteer service hours and donated $20 million to nonprofits and charities, which was matched by Chevron.
5. Biogen
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Experienced median pay: $93,400
Salary delta: 16%
At Biogen, employees feel like they're making a difference, with 91% reporting high job meaning, according to PayScale. The biotechnology company, which develops therapies for neurological and autoimmune diseases, emphasizes giving back to its communities, and every year the company dedicates a "Care Deeply Volunteer Day," where thousands of employees participate in local community-service projects.
4. Google
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Experienced median pay: $140,000
Salary delta: 18%
Dethroning last year's No. 1, Facebook, Google earned the title as the best company to work for this year. Notorious for its abundant perks, employees at the search giant can take advantage of free gourmet food, 24/7 tech support, on-site massages, free fitness classes and gym memberships, and a generous vacation plan.
Employees also report that Google — recently renamed Alphabet in a corporate restructuring — allows them flexibility to work on passion projects and feed their creativity. The company continues to grow, adding nearly 9,000 jobs in the last year.
3. Salesforce.com
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Experienced median pay: $136,000
Salary delta: 19%
Salesforce is a demanding workplace — only 1% of employees reported having low-stress jobs to PayScale — but the company strives to create a happy work environment, earning the highest job-satisfaction mark on our ranking behind Facebook. The customer-relationship software company offers on-site fitness and massages, standing and treadmill desks, free snacks and drinks, and dog-friendly offices.
Employee participation in philanthropic work is important as well. Workers can take seven days off a year to volunteer, and the company also coordinates volunteer trips around the world.
2. Microsoft
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington
Experienced median pay: $129,000
Salary delta: 20%
The computer-tech stalwart jumped up five spots on the list from last year. Employees find the company very flexible — more than 40% reported being able to work from home, according to PayScale. And Microsoft moved to ease its work-life balance even more in October 2015 by implementing a parental-leave policy that allows men and women to take up to 12 fully paid weeks off.
1. Facebook
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Experienced median pay: $135,000
Salary delta: 25%
The 12-year-old social network cum global tech giant is consistently lauded as one of the best places to work thanks to unrivaled employee perks including gourmet food courts, on-site doctors and chiropractors, laundry and dry-cleaning services, bikes to commute around campus, an inclusive company culture, and four months of paid parental leave for mothers, fathers, and same-sex couples.
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