Where to Work

24 Dallas companies declared best places to work by U.S. News

Out of the 48 best companies to work for in Dallas-Fort Worth, 24 are based in Dallas.

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A new U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best employers has named 95 Texas companies among the best companies to work in the South, and more than half of them are based right here in Dallas-Fort Worth.

U.S. News' prestigious "2026-2027 Best Companies to Work For" ratings examine 3,900 public and privately owned companies across 14 industries to help employees and job seekers make decisions about workplaces that may be a good fit.

Each company is rated on a scale of 1-5 across six metrics: quality of pay and benefits; work-life balance and flexibility; job and company stability; physical and psychological comfort; belongingness and esteem; and career opportunities and professional development.

"Job seekers' definitions of 'best' evolve with their needs," said Carly Chase, vice president of Careers at U.S. News. "From new grads in the AI era and seasoned pros seeking a career change, to HR leaders researching organizational trends, the ratings are a central hub that highlights businesses that U.S. News found effectively support their staff."

The number of employers headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth that made the cut for 2026-2027 has skyrocketed over previous years. A total of 48 DFW-based public and private companies made the list this year, up from 16 companies in 2024 and 11 in 2025.

The highest concentration of top employers is located in Dallas (24), followed by Irving (13), and Plano (5). Three Fort Worth companies were featured in the rankings, and one each in Carrollton, Hurst, and Richardson.

A few familiar names North Texans will recognize include semiconductor company Texas Instruments, event services company Freeman, Dallas' own public transportation agency DART, utility corporation Atmos Energy, the American Heart Association, and Southwest Airlines.

Here are the remaining 18 best Dallas-based companies to work for:

AMN Healthcare
Ashford Hospitality Trust
Comerica
Veritex
AECOM
Resources Global Professionals (RGP)
CBRE
WorldWide Express
Integrity
Sammons Industrial
Remington Hospitality
Lincoln
Smarter Technologies
Highmark Residential
Omni Hotels & Resorts
The Beck Group
Unishippers
Stream

These are the best companies to work for in Irving:

Salem Media Group
Vistra
Kimberly-Clark
Caterpillar
Builders FirstSource
Commercial Metals Co. (CMC)
Fluor
WebTPA
Vizient
Exeter Finance
Consolidated Electrical Distributors
NCH
Gainwell

These are the 11 best companies to work for elsewhere in Dallas-Fort Worth:

All My Sons Moving & Storage, Carrollton
Farmer Brothers, Fort Worth
2020 Companies, Fort Worth
Pier 1 Imports, Fort Worth
Westdale Asset Management, Hurst
Tyler Technologies, Plano
Alkami, Plano
Ryan, Plano
Hilti, Plano
Highland Homes, Plano
Lennox, Richardson

For the second consecutive year, U.S. News has listed data center services company Digital Realty among Dallas' top employers, but the company's website (and it's own U.S. News profile) state its corporate headquarters is based in Austin. CultureMap previously reported that Digital Realty relocated from San Francisco to Austin in 2021.

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best in the world

6 DFW universities named best in the world on 2026 U.S. News list

The University of Texas at Dallas/Facebook

UT Dallas ranked 7th in Texas and No. 110 nationally.

Six Dallas-Fort Worth universities have been named among the best universities worldwide in U.S. News & World Report's just-released comprehensive list for 2026-2027.

U.S. News' Best Global Universities report ranks more than 2,250 schools based exclusively on their academic research performance and international reputation. Only 275 universities from the U.S. were included in the global ranking, and 21 based in Texas.

Harvard University topped the list for 2026-2027, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University claimed the coveted No. 2 and No. 3 spots worldwide.

Dallas' University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center topped the list of the best local schools, and it ranked as the 113th best university in the world.

Earlier in June, UT Southwestern ranked No. 69 in a separate list of the best universities in the world from the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), which compared 2,000 schools globally.

Here's how the rest of Dallas-Fort Worth's local institutions ranked:

No. 503 – University of Texas at Dallas
No. 739 – University of North Texas, Denton
No. 875 – University of Texas at Arlington
No. 944 – Southern Methodist University
No. 1,906 – Texas Christian University

In a statement explaining global university trends, the managing editor for Education at U.S. News, LaMont Jones, Ed.D., said schools in the U.S. have continued to rank "disproportionately high" while major universities from other countries in China and South America are starting to catch up.

"The continuing strength of [American university] reputations and academic research are, for the most part, unmatched," he said. "It's why students all over the world flock here to learn."

Top-ranking Texas universities
The University of Texas at Austin ranked No. 1 statewide and No. 56 worldwide, further cementing the university's reputation as the top choice for students seeking a higher education in Texas. CWUR also ranked UT Austin as the 35th best university in the world.

Here's where other Texas universities stand among the top 1,000 in this year's global rankings:

No. 144 – Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
No. 177 – Texas A&M University, College Station
No. 201 – Rice University
No. 296 – University of Texas at San Antonio
No. 324 – University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
No. 390 – University of Houston
No. 451 – Baylor University, Waco
No. 562 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
No. 599 – University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston

Additionally, five other Texas universities ranked outside the top 1,000: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (No. 1,153); University of Texas El Paso (No. 1,238); Texas State University in San Marcos (No. 1,531); Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock (No. 1,871); and Sam Houston State University in Huntsville (No. 2,141).

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