Building and construction company Brasfield & Gorrie ranked first among large workplaces in the AJC’s 2025 Top Workplaces survey. To compete in this category, businesses were required to have at least 500 employees. Fifty-four were designated as Top Workplaces, including these that rounded out the top five.
2. Fairway Home Mortgage
Fairway Home Mortgage places a strong emphasis on its people.
In its almost 30 years in business, the privately held mortgage lender has established three charitable arms: Fairway Foundation, assisting employees facing personal or national disasters; Fairway Cares, providing help and comfort to people facing critical illness or trauma; and the American Warrior Initiative, giving 409 service dogs and grants to some of the nation’s wounded veterans.
The generosity of the company, previously known as Fairway Independent Mortgage, doesn’t stop there. Its 4,500 employees can receive a discounted interest rate when they finance their homes through the company. During the pandemic, each employee also had a treadmill or other exercise equipment sent to their homes, compliments of Fairway founder Steve Jacobson. He spent millions doing this out of concern for the health of employees who were working remotely.
Management boasts about the company’s flexible work model and industry-leading benefits, including fertility and parenting programs, student loan repayment plans, and company-funded Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).
With headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, and Carrollton, Texas, Fairway is known for some of the fastest loan approvals in the industry. The company has about 150 employees at 20 locations in Atlanta. Learn more at fairway.com.
3. LJA Engineering
Employees at LJA Engineering Inc. have a vested interest in their firm’s success — they own it.
Even interns have the opportunity to invest in the company through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. This has been the case since the company was founded in 1972.
The company can seamlessly create successful project teams comprising civil, structural, and electrical engineers, as well as hydrologists, planners, landscape architects, construction managers, GIS designers and surveyors.
The firm is organized around eight comprehensive sectors: Land Development, Transportation, Public Works, Energy Services, Rail Services, Environmental Surveying and Telecom.
Company leadership aims for its operations to achieve three key goals: having fun, making money and making a difference.
Staff members are actively involved in their community through LJA Cares, donating their time and resources to support events and charity drives that benefit children, seniors and schools.
Unique benefits of the 100% employee-owned company include a Christmas Party at one of the top hotels in Houston, Texas, with invitations to all 2,800 employees nationwide, including the 77 at its two metro Atlanta offices.
For more information, go to lja.com
4. Ryan
Ryan is a global, award-winning tax services and software provider with an office of 176 employees in the metro Atlanta area.
According to its website, Ryan represents 97% of the companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The company’s tax experts recover more than $5 billion annually in tax savings for its global clients.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the firm provides federal, state, local and international tax services to more than 77,000 clients in more than 80 countries. These services include tax recovery, consulting, advocacy, compliance and technology services.
Ryan has received numerous awards, including recognition from Newsweek and A-Insights Group as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Mental Well-Being in 2025.
In 2020, the company established the RyanMOSAIC Council, a diverse group of global team members collaborating with leadership to foster a company environment that celebrates all cultures and perspectives in the workplace.
For more information about the company, go to ryan.com.
5. Alston & Bird LLP
Founded in 1893 and headquartered in Atlanta, Alston & Bird LLP has grown into an international legal powerhouse.
With 754 employees in Atlanta and 1,715 worldwide, Alston & Bird has built its reputation on an enduring culture of client service, collaboration and innovation.
The firm works diligently to secure the strongest and broadest array of legal talent and expertise needed to meet the clients’ needs in an ever-changing and fast-paced environment.
Alston & Bird’s legal footprint spans 13 offices worldwide, including key markets such as New York, Chicago, London, Brussels, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The firm is considered one of the nation’s best employers, appearing for 26 years on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for” list. That’s an unprecedented accomplishment for a United States law firm, and the recognition reflects a workplace environment that values teamwork, constant learning and long-term professional development.
Locally, Alston & Bird is deeply involved in the Atlanta community.
For more information on Alston & Bird LLP, go to alston.com.
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