Top DC Area Employers for 2016 Includes Maryland Firms

The Washington Post has identified the top 150 companies in the D.C. area, in terms of their employees' opinions--and an impressive number of Maryland companies made the list for 2016.

Here's a little bit about each company that made the list, which features both large, medium-sized and small companies:

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Bozzuto Group - The real estate company boasts 118 locations in the D.C. area, with headquarters in Greenbelt. There are more than 1,200 employees, who say they appreciate the company's prioritization of "kindness over competition."

2U - Based in Landover, the company pairs with colleges and universities to offer online degrees. Employees laud their leaders' mottos of "Give a damn" and "Have fun."

Erickson Living - This Catonsville-based company provides senior care assistance across 10 states. Employees praise the company's generous benefits, including medical, tuition assistance, credential assistance, public transportation discounts, and training for advancement.

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DMI Inc. - Though this company has grown considerably in the past few years, employees reportedly love its start-up vibe. The headquarters in Bethesda has ping-pong tables, free snacks, and ean annual grilling competition called "Tech Chef."

Aronson - The accounting and consulting services company, based in Rockville, is known for caring for its employees. In addition to fun events like movie nights and feasts, they are flexible with their employees, allowing work-from-home days and rest and relaxation time.

Champion Realty - The company, based in Severna Park, has about 300 real estate agents who sell properties up and down the Maryland shore under the umbrella company Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffet.

Walker & Dunlop- Based in Bethesda, this commercial real estate financing firm has seen watershed profits the past several years. Employees applaud how the company shares its wealth with its employees as well as donating to causes such as fighting homelessness and increasing affordable housing.

United Therapeutics- The Silver Spring-based biotechnology company knows how to take care of its employees, offering complimentary coffee, smoothies and healthy snacks in addition to wellness programs and fun like Xbox, Wii, pool and foosball in the office.

Praxis Engineering Technologies - Employees of the Annapolis Junction-based firm love its generous benefits packages, including up to $10,000 in bonuses for referring new hires. The company is also philanthropic, hosting several employee events each year to raise money for worthy causes such as the Special Olympics.

NFM Lending - The Linthicum Heights-based mortgage lender inspires great loyalty, with many of the original employees still working there. The president is known to walk the floor and chat with employees every day, and the office even cares for two rescue cats.

American Society of Health System Pharmacists - A large percentage of employees of the Bethesda-based trade association have been with the company longer than 10 years. The company offers creative and generous benefits such as $5,200 a year toward tuition and on-site wellness classes like yoga, in addition to charitable efforts such as Adopt-a-Highway and other causes.

American Speech-Language Hearing Association- The Rockville-based association's self-funded benefits are generous, including a significant amount of paid time off, income protection benefits, high-end health and dental coverage, retirement benefits, and wellness benefits such as daily onsite exercise classes. Employees also receive a monetary reward if the association meets its annual goals.

Tenable Network Security - Naturally, a D.C. area cybersecurity firm like this one, based in Columbia, is busy, busy, busy. Employees say they appreciate how the company remembers to do good, though, such as raising thousands each year for science scholarships.

McCormick Paint Works - Most employees have been with this Rockville-based, family-owned paint manufacturer as many as 10 to 20 years. The company is known for its flexible closing time of 4:30 p.m. and other family-friendly policies that help employees keep a good work-life balance.

Avendra - This Rockville-based company is a joint venture of several different hospitality procurement companies, and employees enjoy generous employee discounts on items like home appliances, computers, mattresses, bedding, fitness equipment, televisions and other items.

A. Morton Thomas and Associates - The construction engineering and landscaping consultancy company, based in Rockville, is known for keeping offices tight-knit and intimate so that employees can work more closely together, which they say improves productivity and efficiency.

WeddingWire - The website aims to connect brides and grooms to vendors that meet their needs, and offer planning tips. Based in Chevy Chase, the office is known as a fun spot with daily catered breakfast, game and meditation rooms, and even an in-house speakeasy with proceeds going to charity.

Rapid Financial Services - The Bethesda-based company offers loans of up to half a million dollars to small businesses looking to expand, and employees say the intimate workplace makes everyone feel like family.

Novavax - Novavax is known for offering generous health and dental benefits to its employees, and allowing them to buy stock at a discount. The Gaithersburg-based company works on life-saving vaccines.

Bethesda Country Club - The more than 165 stable employees of this club enjoy free meals five days a week, generous leadership training, and a bookclub that discusses philosophy.

Emmes - The Rockville-based company that runs clinical trials and research projects is known for motivating employees to follow their interests, and even turning down work that employees don't feel passionate about.

Progressions Salon - Boasting 58 employees at their one location in Rockville, the salon is known for encouraging employees to "take care of themselves and each other" and offering personal coaching to learn new skills and work through tough situations.

Fitzgerald Financial Group - Employees of this Waldorf-based mortgage and housing financing firm say they love how they are treated like family in the tight-knit, friendly workplace.

Intelligenesis - The Columbia-based company, which provides software engineering, cybersecurity and intelligence analysis services for the national security community, is applauded for being a positive, woman-owned company that holds several family-friendly events outside the workplace to help people make friends with co-workers, and offers employees up to $1,000 a year toward technology like smartphones and Internet service.

Next Century - In addition to a full range of generous benefits, employees of this Columbia-based IT company are also offered career counseling and advice for life.

Insurance Associates - The Rockville-based company is known for inspiring loyalty and welcoming employees from all over the age spectrum. It also pays for out-of-the-office training to keep employees up on industry changes.

ESAC - Employees say they love how the small Rockville-based software firm offers a generous company-wide performance-based bonus program, as well as a whopping 25 days of paid time off each year.

Intact Technology - This Greenbelt-based IT consulting firm is quite out of the ordinary - it offers employees "emotional intelligence" workshops each Friday that allow employees to look back on the week's work and assess what was good and what could have been better, which 95 percent of employees tend to show up for and find valuable.

CoesterVMS - The small real estate company's employees say they love that the company likes to stay "lean" with just over 50 employees and typically no more than five hires per year, which makes it feel more like a family. It is based in Rockville.

Willco - Employees say they really care about each other and feel like a true family at this Potomac-based commercial real estate company. Plus, the company offers daily free frozen yogurt and three free meals a week.

Chasen Boscolo Injury Lawyers - Employees of this small Greenbelt firm say they love how clients are taken care of. For example, anyone waiting longer than 10 minutes in the lobby are given free lunch at Subway, and people are welcome to walk in without an appointment.

Battle Resource Management - This Chevy Chase-based software consulting and development firm is known for paying 100 percent of its employees' health, vision and dental costs, and 70 percent of hires come from internal referrals.

German, Rosenberg and Freedman - The accounting, auditing and consulting company, based in North Bethesda, is known for its robust benefits package that includes coverage for the cost of CPA review courses and testing. Employees can also buy refurbished technology items at low costs.

DigitaliBiz - The Rockville-based IT company is applauded by its employees for its commitment to work-life balance, including selecting 11 of its 250 employees each year to receive an all-expenses-paid, week-long vacation.

a2z - The event management company, based in Columbia, is known for encouraging employee collaboration and shutting down for a week each year to take employees on a training summit that focuses on reaching individual goals.

Stratus Solutions- Employees of this Fulton engineering services company say they appreciate that they can bank overtime hours and apply them to other time periods, or get them paid out in cash as a bonus at the end of the year. They also say they are always treated with respect.

Humphrey Management - The Columbia-based property management company is admired by employees for its commitment to offering affordable housing.