JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – East Tennessee State University (ETSU) was recognized by Forbes as one of the 2023 Best Midsize Employers.

Forbes creates the list of 500 employers through a partnership with Statista, and rankings are based off of a survey of roughly 45,000 employees. Employees were asked if they would recommend working at their organization to others.

Employers that fall into the midsize range employ 1,000-5,000 people.

ETSU was ranked by Forbes as the 48th Best Midsize Employer. No other companies in the education industry were included on the midsize employer list.

A release from ETSU lauded the ranking, calling attention to previous inclusions on other Forbes lists.

“This recognition confirms what so many already know,” Lori Erickson, assistant vice president for Human Resources, said in the release. “The value of ETSU goes beyond salary. The benefits of working at our university, from helping staff further their education to promoting healthy lifestyles, are many.” 

Other regional institutes and companies that made it onto the Best Midsize Employer list included Western Carolina University (97th) and Dollywood (438th).

Forbes also released its Best Large Employers list. Notable rankings related to the region on that list included:

• Dominion Energy (137th)
• BAE Systems (151st) which is represented in Kingsport
• The State of Tennessee (218th)
• International Paper (313th) which has a corrugated sheet plant in Elizabethton.