Here are the best US employers for high school graduates to start careers

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FILE - Graduating seniors are pictured in a file image dated May 20, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas. (Photo credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

SEATTLE - Which U.S. companies best set up high school graduates for long-term success? A new ranking shares the top 50 employers for young individuals entering the workforce without a college degree, ranging from retailers and restaurants to banks and insurance companies.

Seven retailers and restaurants topped the list, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Lowe's, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Foot Locker, Gap Inc., Best Buy and Starbucks. 

The ranking, called the 2024 Best Places for High School Graduates to Start a Career, is based on data from the American Opportunity Index – which measures how well America's largest companies utilize their internal talent to drive business and individual employee growth.

The American Opportunity Index, and the new ranking for high school graduates, is a joint project of Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project, and the nonprofits Burning Glass Institute and the Schultz Family Foundation.

The ranking is based on an assessment of the career trajectories of hundreds of thousands of entry-level workers over the past five years, according to the groups behind it. It also uses three key metrics: how well companies hire entry-level workers, promote them internally and prepare them for better opportunities when they leave.

"Excelling in these areas can have a profound impact in the early stages of a person’s career," the report said.

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Best US employers for high school graduates: Key findings

The retail sector has "become a pathway of opportunity," the report says. 

Twenty of the top 50 companies on this list are retailers: Lowe’s, Walgreens, Foot Locker, Gap, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, TJX, Ulta Beauty, Bath & Body Works, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Publix Super Markets, Ross Stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Burlington Stores, Kohl’s and Dollar Tree. 

Banks and insurance companies have also been shown to propel high school graduates to opportunity, according to the report. Companies in the top 50 include: PNC Financial Services Group, M&T Bank, KeyCorp, Fifth Third Bancorp, State Farm Insurance, Nationwide and Western & Southern Financial Group.

Overall, employers on the 2024 Best Places for High School Graduates to Start a Career list were found to offer young people strong upward mobility – either by promoting them within the company or serving as a launchpad for them to land better jobs at other companies in the future, according to the report.

"For instance, although entry level jobs in the lodging, travel and restaurant sectors often have been seen as placeholders, some companies have transformed these roles to be career accelerators," the report states, naming Chipotle, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Marriott and Hilton as examples of this.

Top 50 US employers for high school graduates 

1. Chipotle Mexican Grill
2. Lowe's
3. Walgreens Boots Alliance
4. Foot Locker
5. PNC Financial Services Group
6. Gap Inc.
7. Goodyear Tire & Rubber
8. Best Buy
9. Chewy
10. Starbucks
11. Sherwin-Williams
12. Target
13. Walmart
14. TJX
15. Ulta Beauty
16. Bath & Body Works
17. Nordstrom
18. Macy's
19. PVH
20. J.M. Smucker
21. Tractor Supply
22. Nike
23. Live Nation Entertainment
24. Home Depot
25. PepsiCo
26. Skechers U.S.A.
27. Amazon
28. M&T Bank
29. Mondelez International
30. Publix Super Markets
31. Ross Stores
32. Graybar Electric
33. Keurig Dr Pepper
34. Dick's Sporting Goods
35. Cintas
36. FedEx
37. McDonald's
38. KeyCorp
39. Marriott International
40. Burlington Stores
41. Kohl's
42. Fifth Third Bancorp
43. CDW
44. State Farm Insurance
45. Charter Communications
46. UPS
47. Nationwide
48. Western & Southern Financial Group
49. Dollar Tree
50. Hershey