While other school districts were still trying to hire hundreds of teachers at the start of the school year, 99% of Cobb teachers signed on for another year, and about 1,500 professionals attended the District’s spring job fair for an opportunity to work in Cobb Schools. Teachers move from other states and commute long distances in order to work in Cobb Schools. So, it is no surprise that Cobb Schools again ranks among the Best Employers in Georgia, according to Forbes. 

“When teachers come to Cobb, they stay. They stay because of the students and the community. They stay because we invest in our teachers with programs like Georgia’s BEST and salaries that top the metro. Our teachers stay because, in Cobb, they can focus on academics and students’ success,” said Cobb Schools Board Chair Brad Wheeler. 

Only a handful of K-12 school districts made the list, and Cobb ranks at the top for metro Atlanta districts.

Across the entire state, Cobb ranks in the top 50 Best Employers in Georgia ahead of Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Georgia Southern University, Cox Enterprises, Kroger, and State Farm.

The Best Employers list includes Fortune 500 companies like Apple, Home Depot, and Target and educational institutions including Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Georgia.

This year marks the 5th year in a row that Forbes has recognized Cobb Schools as among America’s Best Employers.

Cobb Schools has been ranked as one of Georgia’s best employers since 2019 when Forbes launched the award in conjunction with Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

According to Forbes, “Work satisfaction is correlated with compensation—workers with higher incomes tend to like their situation more than workers with lower incomes.” That is one of the areas where Cobb has an advantage. In May, the Cobb Board of Education approved Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s recommended 7.5-12.1% raise for ALL non-temporary employees. Thanks to the healthy raise of 2023 and prior historic raises, Cobb teachers are among the highest paid in the state, with more than 94% of the district’s budget being directed toward our One Team.

The 2023 recognition was based on a survey of 70,000 U.S. employees who anonymously evaluated their employer and others on “working conditions, diversity, compensation packages, potential for development, company image, and more.” Nationwide, less than 1,400 companies earned a spot on the list, and even fewer have done it for five years in a row, making Cobb unique in Georgia and the nation.