ISSAQUAH, WA — Two companies based in the Seattle area made Forbes' list of the top 500 best employers in the U.S. Issaquah-based Costco took the No. 1 spot, beating out favorites like Google and Wegman's. REI, based in Kent, made its first appearance on the list, and came in No. 3.

Costco, Google and REI rank at the top on Forbes' list of 500 best large employers. To compile the rankings, Forbes split employers into two groups, mid-sized — companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees — and large employers — companies with 5,000 or more employees.

According to Forbes, America's best large employers are: