This year, TIME and Statista are launching the inaugural list of “America’s Best Private Companies 2026.” The research-based ranking is a comprehensive analysis aimed at identifying the best private companies in the United States. The ranking focuses on two key dimensions: Employee Satisfaction and Company Impact.To be evaluated for the ranking, companies must be privately held (i.e., neither the company nor its parent is publicly traded). Non-profit organizations, hospitals, and universities are excluded from the ranking.MethodologyThe first dimension, Employee Satisfaction, was assessed based on survey data from a sample of approximately 217,000 employees of U.S. companies over the past three years. The evaluation encompassed recommendations from current and former employees, as well as