Guide · Plan types

What Is an ESOP?

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a defined-contribution retirement plan designed to invest primarily in employer stock. Form 5500 filings let readers compare the reported assets of plans tagged as ESOPs for plan year 2024; the plan document, not this ranking, controls an individual's benefits.

ESOP landscape · 2024 filings

5,582 ESOP filings in the Form 5500 extract for plan year 2024. The largest by assets and the largest by headcount are typically different plans.

5,582
ESOP filings in this extract
$23.9B
largest ESOP assets
149,213
largest ESOP by headcount
CA
state with most ESOP filings

Sammons Enterprises, Inc. asset #1 is not Publix Super Markets, Inc. participant #1

According to DOL Form 5500 2024 filings tagged in this ESOP pool, Sammons Enterprises, Inc. ranks #1 of 5,269 by reported end-of-year assets ($23.9B, 3,284 participants, participant rank #46). Publix Super Markets, Inc. ranks #1 of 5,269 by participants (149,213 covering $14.3B, asset rank #3). The largest reported balance is not the largest headcount.

  • Sammons Enterprises, Inc. $23.9B assets · participants rank #46
  • Publix Super Markets, Inc. 149,213 participants · assets rank #3

Form 5500 ESOP pool

Largest ESOP assets is not largest ESOP headcount

5,269
ESOP filings in pool
$23.9B
Asset #1 (Sammons Enterprises, Inc.)
149,213
Participant #1 (Publix Super Markets, Inc.)
Sammons Enterprises, Inc.3,284Publix Super Markets, Inc.149,213
Reported participants for the ESOP asset #1 and participant #1 filings. DOL Form 5500 plan year 2024. Vintage 2026-08-25.

ESOP filings by participant headcount

Plan-year 2024 ESOP-tagged Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, a headcount mix, not the industry or state count tables below.

How ESOPs Work

The IRS describes an ESOP as a qualified defined-contribution plan that is designed to invest primarily in qualifying employer securities. The plan's governing documents determine how shares are acquired and allocated, when a participant becomes vested, and how distributions work. Those details vary by plan. ESOPs are one of several defined-contribution plan structures alongside 401(k) and profit-sharing plans.

  • Read the Summary Plan Description for eligibility, allocation, vesting, and distribution rules.
  • Use the annual Form 5500 filing to understand the plan's reported assets and filings, not to infer an individual account balance.
  • Ask the plan administrator about the plan document and trust agreement when a benefit question turns on a plan-specific rule.

ESOP Advantages and Risks

Employee ownership can give workers a financial stake in their employer, but it can also concentrate employment income and retirement savings around the same company. The Department of Labor notes that an ESOP's governing documents and the applicable federal rules determine participant rights, including any diversification or distribution options. For a broader view of how plan assets compare across types, see the national retirement plan statistics. This page is explanatory, not individual retirement, tax, or legal advice.

Largest ESOPs by Total Assets (2024)

Top 25 Form 5500 filings tagged as ESOPs, ordered by reported end-of-year assets. Participant counts are plan-level, not individual account balances.

# Plan Name State Participants Total Assets
1 Sammons Enterprises, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan TX 3,284 $23.9B
2 Procter & Gamble Profit Sharing Trust & Employee Stock Ownership Plan OH 33,639 $22.0B
3 Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust FL 149,213 $14.3B
4 Wawa, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan PA 37,745 $5.5B
5 Burns & Mcdonnell, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan MO 9,902 $5.5B
6 Winco Employee Stock Ownership Plan ID 17,054 $5.0B
7 Parsons Employee Stock Ownership Plan CA 8,040 $5.0B
8 Schreiber Foods, Inc Employee Stock Ownership Plan WI 6,519 $3.8B
9 Amsted Industries Incorporated Employees' Stock Ownership Plan IL 4,909 $3.7B
10 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan WA 4,281 $3.2B
11 Houchens Industries, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan KY 7,785 $2.6B
12 W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Restated Associate Stock Ownership Plan DE 8,976 $2.4B
13 Jasper Holdings, Inc Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust IN 4,295 $2.2B
14 Kehe Distributors, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan IL 4,815 $2.2B
15 The Garland Industries, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust OH 1,118 $2.0B
16 Mccarthy Employee Stock Ownership Plan MO 2,983 $1.8B
17 Bradford White Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust Agreement PA 544 $1.8B
18 Acco Employee Stock Ownership Plan CA 1,499 $1.7B
19 Mcnaughton-Mckay Electric Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan MI 1,780 $1.6B
20 Rosendin Electric, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan CA 1,998 $1.5B
21 The Sundt Companies Employee Stock Ownership Plan AZ 3,220 $1.5B
22 Scot Forge Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan IL 491 $1.4B
23 Nvr, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan VA 6,515 $1.3B
24 Border States Industries, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan ND 3,256 $1.3B
25 Evapco, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan MD 1,803 $1.1B

Largest ESOPs by Participants (2024)

Same Form 5500 ESOP cohort, ordered by reported participant count. Rankings by assets and by participants diverge when a large-asset plan covers fewer workers.

# Plan Name State Participants Total Assets
1 Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust FL 149,213 $14.3B
2 Wawa, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan PA 37,745 $5.5B
3 Procter & Gamble Profit Sharing Trust & Employee Stock Ownership Plan OH 33,639 $22.0B
4 U-Haul Holding Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan AZ 21,253 $561M
5 Winco Employee Stock Ownership Plan ID 17,054 $5.0B
6 Raymond James Financial, Inc. & Affiliates Employee Stock Ownership Plan FL 16,036 $1.1B
7 Sheetz, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan PA 14,939 $721M
8 Andersen Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan MN 12,104 $963M
9 Charleston's Restaurant Group, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan OK 11,991 $47M
10 K-Va-T Employees Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan VA 11,521 $147M
11 Burns & Mcdonnell, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan MO 9,902 $5.5B
12 Quad/Graphics ESOP WI 9,479 $17M
13 Polaris Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan MN 9,360 $183M
14 Bdo USA Employee Stock Ownership Plan IL 9,258 $1.1B
15 W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Restated Associate Stock Ownership Plan DE 8,976 $2.4B

ESOPs by State (2024)

Top 10 states by ESOP filing count. 5,582 ESOP filings nationwide. CA leads with 706 filings, but OH holds more ESOP assets, count and scale diverge.

# State ESOP Filings Total Participants Total Assets
1 CA 706 127,254 $25.7B
2 OH 290 79,057 $32.2B
3 TX 273 53,508 $32.9B
4 PA 258 104,082 $14.8B
5 NY 251 55,478 $6.5B
6 IL 244 58,788 $14.9B
7 WI 206 56,180 $10.8B
8 MN 203 68,584 $9.4B
9 FL 200 197,039 $21.3B
10 MI 184 29,717 $6.8B

ESOPs by Industry (2024)

Top 10 industries by ESOP filing count. Professional & Technical Services files the most ESOPs, while Manufacturing holds the most ESOP assets.

# Industry ESOP Filings Total Assets
1 Professional & Technical Services 1,183 $37.9B
2 Construction 1,069 $41.3B
3 Manufacturing 1,063 $78.8B
4 Wholesale Trade 523 $25.3B
5 Finance & Insurance 512 $10.3B
6 Retail Trade 323 $39.8B
7 Administrative & Support Services 163 $4.1B
8 Transportation & Warehousing 123 $3.2B
9 Healthcare & Social Assistance 115 $2.5B
10 Information & Media 104 $2.2B

ESOP concentration patterns

ESOPs cluster in industries where private ownership transitions are common, construction, professional services, and manufacturing together account for over half of all ESOP filings. Geographically, California leads by count but not by assets: states like Texas and Ohio hold more ESOP wealth in fewer plans, reflecting larger average plan sizes in those markets. For how these states compare across all plan types, see the top states by retirement plan participants.

What the Form 5500 data can show

The ranking above uses the plan-level records in the Department of Labor's public Form 5500 dataset. It can compare reported end-of-year assets across the plans that are tagged as ESOPs in the selected plan year and link each row to its record on this site. It does not establish how many shares a particular worker holds, whether a worker is vested, or when a distribution is due.

Official sources

What to do next

Ways to act on what you've just read.

  • The largest ESOP in PlainRetire's database, Sammons Enterprises, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan, holds $23.9B. View its full profile
  • ESOPs are one of several defined-contribution plan structures, see how they compare to a standard 401(k). Compare plan types
  • Every ESOP ranked here is drawn from the same public Form 5500 dataset PlainRetire uses sitewide. Read the methodology
  • Look up any specific ESOP by company name, state, or plan size. Browse all plans

This guide combines editorial explanation with figures pulled directly from PlainRetire's Form 5500 database; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-25.