Which employers are the best in upstate New York? Some have ties to Utica

Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch
·3 min read

Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, with an office in Utica, is the best mid-size employer in upstate New York.

It’s also the second-best in the state and number eight nationwide.

That’s according to the recently released Forbes list of America’s Best Midsize Employers. Of course, No. 8 is a slight drop from the company’s No. 2 spot on last year’s list.

Seven more midsize firms headquartered upstate also made the list. And seven upstate companies made the Forbes list of America’s Best Large Employers.

And five of those 14 companies on the lists are, like Excellus, located in the Rochester area.

Excellus BCBS headquarters in Rochester.
Excellus BCBS headquarters in Rochester.

Excellus isn’t the only company on the list with a presence in Oneida County. The two lists also include: NBT Bank, M & T Bank and the New York State Bank. And many Oneida County residents shop at another company that made the lists: Wegmans Food Markets.

Forbes defines midsize employers as having between 1,000 and 5,000 workers and large firms as having more than 5,000 employees. The midsize list contains 400 companies and the large employer list contains 600.

Excellus named top employer, again

Excellus leaders are thrilled to be named a top employer again, an honor that stems from employees’ commitment to an inclusive, supportive and collaborative culture, President and CEO Jim Reed said.

“We remain committed,” he added, “to cultivating an environment where our employees can thrive by focusing on employee wellbeing, growth and development, diversity, equity and inclusion, comprehensive employee benefits, a flexible work environment and more.”

The companies on the list are not chosen by third-party surveyors. Instead, the lists are based on the results of a survey given to more than 170,000 U.S. workers at companies with at least 1,000 employees. Workers were asked to evaluate their own employer — or a former employer for whom they worked in the past two years — on criteria such as work-life balance, compensation, gender pay equity, training programs, opportunities for career advancement, diversity and health benefits. They were also asked if they would recommend their employer to others.

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Participants were also allowed to rate other employers if they were familiar with them through family, friends or peers in their industry. These ratings did not count as much in the final results as the direct employee surveys.

Here are the other midsize upstate employers who made the list and their ranking:

  • Kodak Alaris, Rochester: 43

  • The Raymond Corp., Greene: 99

  • Glens Falls Hospital: 185

  • Mediacom Communications, Blooming Grove: 193

  • NBT Bank, Norwich: 200

  • New York State Insurance Fund, Albany: 289

  • Cannon Design, Niagara Falls: 371

Excellus wasn’t the only repeat from last year’s list. Kodak Alaris was on the list in 25th place last year. The Raymond Group was ranked number 337, Mediacom ranked number 477 and NYS Insurance Fund ranked number 145 on last year’s list.

Several employers that made the list last year did not make it again this year: Syracuse University; HealthNow New York, Buffalo; National Fuel Gas, Williamsville; Rochester Institute of Technology, Henrietta; Arnot Health, Elmira; Stewart’s Shops, Ballston Spa; and Life Storage, Buffalo.

Here are the large employers headquartered in upstate New York who made the 2024 Forbes list:

  • Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, 53,000 employees: 93

  • Paychex, Rochester, 15,000 employees: 162

  • M&T Bank, Buffalo, 22,690 employees: 213

  • Cornell University, Ithaca, 10,828 employees: 214

  • New York State Police, Albany, 127,273 employees: 452

  • Corning, Corning, 57,500 employees: 473

  • Sutherland Global Services, Pittsford, 38,000 employees: 541

Wegmans and Paychex also made last year’s list, Wegman’s at number 44 and Paychex at number 174.

SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse was ranked number 245 on last year’s list, but did not make the cut this year.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Upstate NY businesses on Forbes list of best midsize, large employers