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Google tops Fortune's list of best companies to work for

Make a New Year’s resolution to snag a job you actually want to wake up for? On Thursday morning, Fortune released its 17th annual list of the 100 best companies to work for.This year’s list includes some of the usual suspects — ahem, Google — alongside a few first-timers like The Cheesecake Factory and Hyatt Hotels. And while some of the companies are techy newcomers, with trendy perks li

Make a New Year’s resolution to snag a job you actually want to wake up for? On Thursday morning, Fortune released its 17th annual list of the 100 best companies to work for.

This year’s list includes some of the usual suspects — ahem, Google — alongside a few first-timers like The Cheesecake Factory and Hyatt Hotels. And while some of the companies are techy newcomers, with trendy perks like fitness incentives and stock options, others are more traditional companies that offer top-notch health care benefits and competitive starting salaries.

The best part? All of these companies are hiring, according to the magazine. Here are Fortune’s top five companies and a few more interesting businesses that made the list.

1. Google — Mountain View, Calif.
With impressive perks like stocked microkitchens, communal bikes and massage chairs floating around Google’s Mountain View campus, it’s no wonder the 15-year-old tech company has made the number one slot on Fortune’s list five times. This past year saw Google’s stock climb to over $1,000, which directly benefits employees, all of whom are stockholders.

And now the company has a philanthropic focus: “Google donates $50 for every five hours an employee volunteers,” according to Fortune.

2. SAS — Cary, N.C.
SAS Institute is a lead developer of analytics software, known for offering unique benefits like unlimited sick time and subsidized Montessori child care. Feeling ill? The company also boasts an onsite health center with 53 medical and support staff that’s made available to family members.

3. The Boston Consulting Group — Boston, Mass.
This management consulting firm has been around for over 50 years and is well-known for its highly-compensated employees and rigorous recruitment process.

Fortune reports that at a global broadcast on the company’s anniversary, employees were given an interactive desk sculpture with a quote from founder Bruce Henderson: “Archimedes said that if he were given a long enough lever and a place to stand, he could move the world. We have a place to stand. It is BCG.”

4. Edward Jones — St. Louis, Mo.
For Edward Jones, the past year was defined by growth: the financial services company hired 3,000 employees in 2013 and now has nearly as many locations as Starbucks. It may be a big company, made up of over 38,000 people, but these financial planners and tax accountants are a loyal bunch. “Turnover is at an industry low of 8 percent, and more than a third of the firm’s financial advisors are more than 50 years old,” according to Fortune.

5. Quicken Loans — Detroit, Mich.
Detroit may be in the depths of a financial crisis, but Quicken Loans is still luring job-seekers to the city with attractive incentives like $20,000 in forgivable home loans. According to Fortune, 2,500 applicants showed up at a recent job fair in downtown Detroit.

More notables
The Cheesecake Factory made its debut at number 92, with Fortune highlighting its commitment to offering both full-timers and part-timers health insurance. And while Goldman Sachs is no newbie to the list, the magazine playfully points out that the investment bank had “the fastest corporate team in the annual race up the steps of the Empire State building.”

Nonprofit Teach for America, which "has a liberal work-from-home policy, three weeks' vacation, and paid maternity leave," made the list at number 88. And Whole Foods Market jumped from number 71 to 44, with Fortune reporting that "team members are permitted to explore hundreds of promotional opportunities and new jobs that open every year."

Check out the full list at Fortune.com.