Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work 2026

Hawaii Business Magazine’s annual survey of Hawai‘i's Best Places to Work shows top companies deliver great benefits and best practices to keep workers engaged, happy and productive. But some employees still say they can’t afford to live here.

Table of Contents

Large Companies | Medium Companies | Small Companies | Other Categories | Benefits

Hawaiʻi employers not only have to produce quality products and services to survive in a competitive market, they must also contend with a unique paradox that affects businesses operating across the Islands.

Employers here know that residents – including their employees and colleagues – enjoy a quality of life that inspires superlatives: We’re surrounded by a pristine natural environment, a climate envied around the world and a diverse population that continues to value fairness, respect and aloha.

At the same time, employers must grapple with the fact that a large section of the state’s population struggles to stay above the poverty line even while juggling two or three jobs, because the cost of living is among the highest in the nation.

In that context, employers that show a commitment to being among the best places to work deserve well-earned accolades. Every April, Hawaii Business Magazine celebrates these organizations – profitmaking and nonprofit alike – with our latest roundup in Hawaiʻi’s Best Places to Work 2026.

The 91 employers featured in this issue understand the special challenges of operating in Hawaiʻi and strive to make their employees fulfilled, rewarded and welcomed in an environment where they can also be productive.

In this year’s survey of Hawaiʻi employees, conducted by Workforce Research Group, workers said they most agreed with the statements: “I like what I do for this organization,” and “I believe in this organization’s leadership.”

“One of the strongest trends we’re seeing across Hawaiʻi-based organizations, across sectors, across islands, is that employees feel like they have a really great relationship with their direct supervisor,” says Tracie Foglia, talent solutions manager at the Hawaii Employers Council.

“So to be a best place to work, how can you really leverage direct supervisors as change agents? Have senior leadership really explain to them changes and improvements that are coming up… and have that supervisor talk with the team about that change. That way it strengthens something that we already have going for us in Hawaiʻi – that strong employee-supervisor relationship.”

Survey Shows Wins, Challenges

Judging from the results of the Workforce Research Group survey of employees and employers, many organizations are hitting the right notes, but there’s also room for improvement. And the challenges in the current economic environment are particularly sharp.

Overall, the state’s employment outlook is still anemic. In its latest forecast in late February, the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaiʻi (UHERO) predicted a gradual recovery after “last year’s mild jobs recession.”

“The local labor market has improved modestly after contracting in the first half of 2025,” it stated. “We now expect a small net increase in payroll jobs this year. Construction, health care, and the accommodations and food service sectors will continue to add jobs, while federal civilian employment losses will pull down growth numbers.”

Within that environment, this year’s Hawaii Business survey provides interesting insights into the programs and employment practices aimed at attracting and retaining top talent.

Employers across the board are generous with retirement programs, with 98% offering some form of retirement benefit. Company matching of employee contributions rises with the size of the organization, with 50% for small companies and nonprofits providing a match, while 73% of medium and 94% of large organizations do so.

For health insurance costs, employers pay 69% of premiums, on average.

The survey results also show that nonprofit organizations can be just as welcoming for employees as profit-making companies. At least one nonprofit organization, Parents & Children Together, was among the top three best places to work in the latest ranking of the large employers’ category. (See list of survey winners and top benefits offered, starting on page 50.)

Modeling Best Practices

“Surveys like the Best Places to Work show leaders of organizations who aren’t already at that level what could be,” says Foglia. “I can absolutely see a future where almost all of our Hawaiʻi employers are best places to work. It’s not a competition. We can really learn from each other about best practices and how to get there.”

In aggregate, work-life balance scores lowest among the benchmark measures evaluated by workers. Foglia says this is the result of the “brilliance of Gen Z” that has forced employers to reckon with the issue. She says it’s also the area where current managers are the biggest offenders by not setting the right tone or leading by example.

“As leaders, we’re taking more on our plate and having less time for life,” she says. “We’re taking more time for work with the intent to alleviate that work for the team. But that was kind of blowing up the entire box, when people take on more in hopes of saving the team, they’re really setting the tone, for now we work after-hours, now we’re answering emails on the weekend, instead of having the intent of ‘I’m going to save my team from this, I’m going to take it on myself.’

“The real impact is, I’m reaching out to my team with emails after-hours, and I’m actually creating more work for them by creating that example.”

She suggests that managers focus on one or two ways to signal to their teams that personal and family time can take precedence over work outside of normal working hours.

Within the category of work-life balance, the lowest agreement among employees – and therefore an area with greatest potential for improvement – came in response to these questions: “My organization encourages me to take time off,” and “I rarely miss personal events because of work.”

To be fair, it’s not just managers; companies are also complicit. Years of cost-cutting cycles that cut staffing to bare minimum means that remaining employees can’t turn to colleagues for backup. Either they and their managers do the work, or it doesn’t get done. Competitive pressures cascade down through an organization, and that causes dedicated and task-oriented employees to sacrifice personal time. It’s a vicious cycle.

Remote work gave employees increased flexibility, for a while. Winning companies said 27% of their employee population works remotely, with that percentage falling to 20% for large companies, a number that has remained fairly steady since dropping after the pandemic ended.

Even remote work became an opportunity to intrude on personal time, Foglia says. “A lot of us realized we could do this work from a different place, and we can do it at different hours. But boy, instead of really monitoring our time – okay I’m working past 5 pm, so maybe I’ll take a break during the day – a lot of us keep chugging along.”

DEI Important, But Childcare Lags

Other trends touch on corporate priorities while maintaining diversity and welcoming work environments despite a federal government attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Of the 91 winning companies, 68% disclosed that women make up half of their workforce or more. Meanwhile, about 70% of companies said they have specific protections against discrimination based on sexual identification or gender identity. And 15% of companies have initiatives specifically aimed at recruiting LGBTQ+ employees.

At the same time, while 85% of companies said they give training in cybersecurity, only 52% provide racial sensitivity training and 69% require training to reduce sexual harassment.

One area ripe for improvement includes options for childcare. Only 5% of companies provide full or partial payment of costs for childcare and 2% offer on-site childcare services, according to the survey. Labor studies have shown that participation in the labor force, especially for women, is limited by scarce options for parents who would like to enter the workforce but need someone to care for children while doing so. Some employees are fired for taking off too much time to attend to children who are sick or need care during working hours.

“It is a big issue, and I think we’re going to see this becoming more of a trend,” says Foglia. “When employees are looking at companies that offer a great benefit package, [they expect] that some sort of childcare support be included in that. It’s something that hasn’t been part of the conversation that is becoming something that we realize is a need.”

A Living Wage

In the Hawaii Employers Council’s own surveys, the question that ranks lowest is: “I am satisfied with my total compensation package.” Similarly, the lowest score among all questions in the Workforce Research Group survey was in response to: “I am paid fairly for the work I perform.”

“We have a lot of employees who work multiple jobs to be able to afford to live here,” says Foglia. “And we continue to come up against the talent crisis that we have amazing people leaving Hawaiʻi to work on the mainland where they can make a higher salary and the cost of living is less.”

It’s known locally as the “luxury tax,” meaning salaries in Hawaiʻi are less than the cost of living, but those who accept the tradeoff get to live in an amazing place. Often, employees find the tax too high.

“Time and time again I come across employees born and raised in our island community, love their job, love their company, their family is so happy where they are,” says Foglia. “It almost breaks their heart when they tell me, ‘I’m thinking of leaving this company,’ and it’s not because of any of these engagement things … [or] categories we’re talking about in best places to work. It’s ‘I can’t afford to live here anymore.'”

Toward that end, leaders across government, business, education, nonprofits and philanthropy are promoting a 20-year statewide goal – called Hawaiʻi’s Generational Workforce Commitment – to ensure residents have living-wage jobs and can continue to live in the state.

In a statement, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green praised the effort, what he called a “generational change” instead of “quick fixes.”

“When we align our schools, our university system, our employers and our state agencies around a common goal, we create real pathways for Hawaiʻi’s families to earn living wages and thrive in our state.”

Large Companies
250 or more Hawaiʻi employees

The remaining large companies are listed in alphabetical order.

Adventist Health Castle
Headquarters: Kailua
Employees: 985
adventisthealthcastle.org

AlohaCare
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 292
alohacare.org

American Savings Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 999
asbhawaii.com

Bayer Hawaii
Headquarters: Kunia
Employees: 414
hawaii.bayer.us

Central Pacific Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 743
cpb.bank

Child & Family Service
Headquarters: Ewa Beach
Employees: 321
childandfamilyservice.org

Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc.
Headquarters: Aiea
Employees: 790
dlslab.com

First Hawaiian Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,883
fhb.com

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 376
hawaiistatefcu.com

Island Palm Communities
Headquarters: Schofield Barracks
Employees: 351
islandpalmcommunities.com

Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 572
panadarg.com

Prince Resorts Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,543
princeresortshawaii.com

ProService Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 366
proservice.com

Servco Pacific Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,152
servco.com

Y. Hata & Company, Limited
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 470
yhata.com

Medium Companies
50-249 Hawaiʻi employees

The remaining medium companies are listed in alphabetical order.

Ala Moana Dental Care
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 51
alamoanadentalcare@gmail.com

Alexander & Baldwin
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 91
alexanderbaldwin.com

Aloha Pacific Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 174
alohapacific.com

Atlas Insurance Agency
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 123
atlasinsurance.com

Bristol Hospice Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 242
bristolhospice.com/location/bristolhospice- hawaii/

Corteva Agriscience
Headquarters: Waimea
Employees: 160
corteva.com/our-impact/communities/hawaii/

CWA, CPAs
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 70
cwa.cpa

Diamond Bakery
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 70
diamondbakery.com

ELCCO, Inc.
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 86
elccoelectric.com

EnviroServices & Training Center LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 56
gotoetc.com

Finance Factors Ltd.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 113
financefactors.com

G70
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 96
g70.design

Goose’s Edge, Inc.
Headquarters: Kailua-Kona
Employees: 53
GoosesEdge.com

Hale Kipa
Headquarters: Ewa Beach
Employees: 110
halekipa.org

Hawaii Community Foundation
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 82
hawaiicommunityfoundation.org

Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology Services
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 65
hawaiidrs.com

HEMIC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 118
hemic.com

Hickam Communities
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 86
Hickam Communities, LLC

Imua Family Services
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 52
discoverimua.com

Island Insurance Company, Limited
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 125
islandinsurance.com

Kapili Roofing & Painting
Headquarters: Waipahu
Employees: 123
kapiliroof.com

Kilauea Pest Control
Headquarters: Kailua
Employees: 95
kilaueapest.com

Kupu
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 58
kupuhawaii.org

LŌKAHI Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 103
lokahifcu.com

Maui Resort Rentals
Headquarters: Wailea
Employees: 100
mauiresortrentals.com

N&K CPAs Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 76
nkcpa.com

New York Life Insurance Company
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 51
hawaii.nyloffices.com

Noa Botanicals
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 55
noacares.com

Noguchi & Associates
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 54
nogins.com

Nordic PCL Construction Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 166
nordicpcl.com

Pacific Biodiesel Technologies, LLC
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 83
biodiesel.com

Pacific Guardian Life Insurance Co.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 115
pacificguardian.com

Pacxa
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 91
pacxa.com

Pyramid Insurance
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 69
pyramidins.com

Ronald N.S. Ho & Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 66
rnsha.com

Seagull Schools
Headquarters: Kailua
Employees: 140
seagullschools.org

Service Rentals & Supplies LLC
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 64
service-rentals.com

St. Andrews Schools
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 80
standrewsschools.org

The Systemcenter
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 56
systemcenter.com

UHA Health Insurance
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 181
uhahealth.com

Small Companies
15-49 Hawaiʻi employees

The remaining small companies are listed in alphabetical order.

AES Hawai‘i
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 48
aes-hawaii.com

Alaka‘i Servics Group, Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 49
Alaka‘i Services Group, Inc.

Aloha Hospitality Professionals
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 15
alohahp.com

Aloha United Way
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 49
auw.org

Chamber of Commerce Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 19
cochawaii.org

Diamond Head Dental Care
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 30
diamondheaddentalcare.com

Dynamic Planning & Response LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 42
dynapnr.com

Express Employment Professionals of Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 26
expresspros.com/HonoluluHi

Hawai‘i Public Health Institute
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 42
hiphi.org

Hawaii Mortgage Experts LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 46
hawaiimortgageexperts.com

Intech Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 21
intech-hawaii.com

iQ 360
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 18
iq360inc.com

JR Doran Inc. (Ceramic Tile Plus and Exclusively Yours Design)
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 28
ceramictileplus.com

Lawson & Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 15
lawsonsafety.com

Lowney Architecture
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 17
lowneyarch.com

Make-A-Wish Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 27
hawaii.wish.org

Mitsunaga & Associates, Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 44
mitsunagaassociates.com

Okahara and Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Hilo
Employees: 39
okahara.com

Pacific Administrators, Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 44
pacadmin.com

Premier Solutions Hi LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 16
premiersolutionshi.com

USAble Life
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 28
usablelife.com

Verity CPAs
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 24
veritycpas.com

WATG
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 16
watg.com

WestPac Wealth Partners
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 46
westpacwealth.com

Windward Synergy Center
Headquarters: Kailua
Employees: 17
windwardsynergycenter.com

Zephyr Insurance Co. Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 20
zephyrinsurance.com

Other Categories
Most Family-Friendly Companies

Small Employer:

1. WestPac Wealth Partners
2. USAble Life
3. WATG

Medium Employer:

1. New York Life Insurance
2. Maui Resort Rentals
3. Corteva Agriscience

Large Employer:

1. Chaminade University of Honolulu
2. American Savings Bank
3. First Hawaiian Bank

Healthiest Companies

Small Employer:

1. WestPac Wealth Partners
2. Verity CPAs
3. Diamond Head Dental Care

Medium Employer:

1. New York Life Insurance Company
2. Swinerton
3. Nordic PCL Construction

Large Employer:

1. Hawaii State FCU
2. Bayer Hawaii
3. First Hawaiian Bank

Best Places to Work for Women

Small Employer:

1. Make-A-Wish Hawaii
2. Hawai‘i Public Health Institute

Medium Employer:

1. Edward Jones
2. Northwestern Mutual Hawai‘i
3. Atlas Insurance Agency

Large Employer:

1. Bowers + Kubota Consulting Inc.
2. Parents And Children Together
3. Chaminade University of Honolulu

Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Employees

Small Employer:

1. Hawai‘i Energy / Leidos
2. Express Employment Professionals of Hawaii
3. Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

Medium Employer:

1. Northwestern Mutual Hawai‘i
2. CWA, CPAs
3. Bristol Hospice Hawaii

Large Employer:

1. Parents And Children Together
2. Central Pacific Bank
3. American Savings Bank

Best Places to Work in Hospitality in Hawai’i

Maui Resort Rentals

Best Places to Work on the Neighbor Islands

Service Rentals & Supplies LLC

Best Young Business to Work For

Alaka‘i Services Group, Inc.

Best Places to Work Rookie of the Year

Cushman & Wakefield ChaneyBrooks

Best Family-Owned Place to Work

Service Rentals & Supplies LLC.

2026 Benefits at a Glance