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Beginning a career comes with challenges. That’s especially true as prospects for grads compete with an evolving work reality fractured by AI. But certain employers can give new graduates in New Jersey a leg up as they enter the workforce, according to Forbes Best Employers for New Grads list.

More than a dozen companies based in N.J. earned a spot on the 2026 Forbes list out May 19.

Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to determine this year’s rankings – the publication’s ninth such effort.

The list is based on responses from more than 100,000 young professionals working for companies with at least 1,000 employees in the U.S. Participants evaluated their employer on areas such as salary, benefits, room to grow, AI adoption, work-life balance and company image. The survey also inquired about past employers.

In New Jersey, most included companies are longstanding. The “newest” on the list, Compass International Holdings, formed in 2006. The most recent before that, Capital Health, set up in 1998. Meanwhile, five businesses date to the 19th century (Johnson & Johnson, BASF, NJIT, TD Bank, B&G Foods).

Take a closer look at the Garden State all-stars, as identified by Forbes, below.

Forbes Best Employers for New Grads | New Jersey

• No. 32 Johnson & Johnson
  New Brunswick
• No. 46 LG Electronics 
  Englewood Cliffs
• No. 116 BAYADA Home Health Care
  Pennsauken Township
• No. 132 Capital Health
  Trenton
• No. 133 BMW Group
  Woodcliff Lake
• No. 183 BASF
  Florham Park
• No. 221 PSEG (Public Service Enterprise Group)
  Newark
• No. 240 New Jersey Institute of Technology
  Newark
• No. 244 TD Bank
  Mount Laurel
• No. 297 Egg Harbor Township School District
  Egg Harbor Township
• No. 357 The Michaels Organization
  Camden
• No. 445 Compass International Holdings
  Madison
• No. 462 B&G Foods
  Parsippany
• No. 498 Spencer Gifts
  Egg Harbor Township