Form 5500 ranking

Largest ESOPs by Participants (Form 5500 Filings)

The 50 largest standalone employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, ranked by reported participants. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's 2024 Form 5500 filings.

Data updated 2026-08-25

149,213
#1 ESOP
50
Ranked
547,773
Combined participants

Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust leads at 149,213

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's 2024 Form 5500 filings, this ranking covers the top 50 esops by participants. Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust leads at 149,213; the full list totals 547,773 combined.

  • 547,773 combined across 50
  • 50 esops ranked

The ranking in one line

Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust leads with 149,213 in participants; the 50 esops ranked here cover 547,773.

149,213
#1 - Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust
50
esops ranked
547,773
combined participants

Context

What This Ranking Tells Us

This list ranks standalone ESOPs: Form 5500 filings that carry a DOL ESOP plan-characteristic code (2O non-leveraged, 2P leveraged, or 2Q S-corporation ESOP) and do not also operate a 401(k) salary-deferral feature. That frame matters in both directions. It excludes big-corporation 401(k) plans that merely hold an ESOP component (Walmart, Target, and many other KSOPs appear in the 401(k) ranking instead), and it cannot capture every "employee-owned company" - worker cooperatives, direct-ownership trusts, and firms with partial employee ownership do not necessarily file an ESOP-coded Form 5500. Within that filing-derived frame, the leaders are familiar names in employee ownership: Publix Super Markets, the largest ESOP in the country, followed by Wawa, U-Haul, and WinCo. Unlike survey-based lists, every row here traces to a specific public filing with a stated plan year.

Methodology

How to Read the Largest ESOPs by Participants (Form 5500 Filings) Ranking

This page ranks 50 esop records by participants, from Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust at the top (149,213) through The Sundt Companies Employee Stock Ownership Plan at #50 (3,220). The underlying dataset is drawn from the Department of Labor, Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (ESOP plan-characteristic codes 2O/2P/2Q) for the 2024 plan year. Each ranked entry links to a detail page with the full set of Form 5500 fields, plan type, sponsor EIN, state, participants, net assets, net income, and prior-year history where available.

This list ranks standalone ESOPs: Form 5500 filings that carry a DOL ESOP plan-characteristic code (2O non-leveraged, 2P leveraged, or 2Q S-corporation ESOP) and do not also operate a 401(k) salary-deferral feature. That frame matters in both directions. It excludes big-corporation 401(k) plans that merely hold an ESOP component (Walmart, Target, and many other KSOPs appear in the 401(k) ranking instead), and it cannot capture every "employee-owned company" - worker cooperatives, direct-ownership trusts, and firms with partial employee ownership do not necessarily file an ESOP-coded Form 5500. Within that filing-derived frame, the leaders are familiar names in employee ownership: Publix Super Markets, the largest ESOP in the country, followed by Wawa, U-Haul, and WinCo. Unlike survey-based lists, every row here traces to a specific public filing with a stated plan year.

Rankings based on a single metric can be misleading in isolation - "Participants" captures one dimension of a plan's profile and does not measure participant outcomes, fees, investment options, or funding health. Year-to-year movement in this ranking reflects market performance, workforce changes, plan mergers, and filing timing as much as plan quality. This page is informational only, summarizing public DOL disclosures for research and educational purposes, and is not retirement, tax, legal, or financial advice. Before relying on any ranking to evaluate an employer's plan or make retirement decisions, verify the underlying filing on EFAST2 and consult a qualified professional.

Download the underlying CSV (50 rows)

The ranked top 50

ESOP entries ordered by participants from the 2024 Form 5500 data.

The current #50 entry is The Sundt Companies Employee Stock Ownership Plan at 3,220. This is the bottom of this fixed top-50 list, not a corpus-wide eligibility threshold.

  1. 1
    Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust
    $14.3B in total assets 100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · $14.3B in total assets
  2. 2
    Wawa, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $5.5B in total assets 25.3% of the leader · rank #2 · $5.5B in total assets
  3. 3
    Procter & Gamble Profit Sharing Trust & Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $22.0B in total assets 22.5% of the leader · rank #3 · $22.0B in total assets
  4. 4
    U-Haul Holding Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $561M in total assets 14.2% of the leader · rank #4 · $561M in total assets
  5. 5
    Winco Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $5.0B in total assets 11.4% of the leader · rank #5 · $5.0B in total assets
  6. 6
    Raymond James Financial, Inc. & Affiliates Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $1.1B in total assets 10.7% of the leader · rank #6 · $1.1B in total assets
  7. 7
    Sheetz, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $721M in total assets 10.0% of the leader · rank #7 · $721M in total assets
  8. 8
    Andersen Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $963M in total assets 8.1% of the leader · rank #8 · $963M in total assets
  9. 9
    Charleston's Restaurant Group, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $47M in total assets 8.0% of the leader · rank #9 · $47M in total assets
  10. 10
    K-Va-T Employees Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan
    $147M in total assets 7.7% of the leader · rank #10 · $147M in total assets
  11. 11
    Burns & Mcdonnell, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $5.5B in total assets 6.6% of the leader · rank #11 · $5.5B in total assets
  12. 12
    Quad/Graphics ESOP
    $17M in total assets 6.4% of the leader · rank #12 · $17M in total assets
  13. 13
    Polaris Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $183M in total assets 6.3% of the leader · rank #13 · $183M in total assets
  14. 14
    Bdo USA Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $1.1B in total assets 6.2% of the leader · rank #14 · $1.1B in total assets
  15. 15
    W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Restated Associate Stock Ownership Plan
    $2.4B in total assets 6.0% of the leader · rank #15 · $2.4B in total assets
  16. 16
    Parsons Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $5.0B in total assets 5.4% of the leader · rank #16 · $5.0B in total assets
  17. 17
    Friends & Family Prevailing Wage ESOP Retirement Plan
    $71M in total assets 5.4% of the leader · rank #17 · $71M in total assets
  18. 18
    Houchens Industries, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $2.6B in total assets 5.2% of the leader · rank #18 · $2.6B in total assets
  19. 19
    Austin Industries Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $527M in total assets 5.2% of the leader · rank #19 · $527M in total assets
  20. 20
    H&m Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $5M in total assets 5.1% of the leader · rank #20 · $5M in total assets
  21. 21
    Lockheed Martin Corporation Basic Benefit Plan for Hourly Employees
    $26M in total assets 5.0% of the leader · rank #21 · $26M in total assets
  22. 22
    Lockheed Martin Corporation Capital Accumulation Plan
    $284M in total assets 5.0% of the leader · rank #22 · $284M in total assets
  23. 23
    Acct Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $90M in total assets 4.6% of the leader · rank #23 · $90M in total assets
  24. 24
    Schreiber Foods, Inc Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $3.8B in total assets 4.4% of the leader · rank #24 · $3.8B in total assets
  25. 25
    Nvr, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $1.3B in total assets 4.4% of the leader · rank #25 · $1.3B in total assets
  26. 26
    Scheels Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $963M in total assets 3.5% of the leader · rank #26 · $963M in total assets
  27. 27
    Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation Employee Stock Ownership
    $123M in total assets 3.4% of the leader · rank #27 · $123M in total assets
  28. 28
    Amsted Industries Incorporated Employees' Stock Ownership Plan
    $3.7B in total assets 3.3% of the leader · rank #28 · $3.7B in total assets
  29. 29
    Kehe Distributors, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $2.2B in total assets 3.2% of the leader · rank #29 · $2.2B in total assets
  30. 30
    Thirty Fifteen Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $725M in total assets 3.2% of the leader · rank #30 · $725M in total assets
  31. 31
    Wo Partners Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $11M in total assets 3.1% of the leader · rank #31 · $11M in total assets
  32. 32
    Hormel Foods Corporation Joint Earnings Profit Sharing Trust
    $424M in total assets 2.9% of the leader · rank #32 · $424M in total assets
  33. 33
    The Bank of America Transferred Savings Account Plan
    $1.1B in total assets 2.9% of the leader · rank #33 · $1.1B in total assets
  34. 34
    Jasper Holdings, Inc Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust
    $2.2B in total assets 2.9% of the leader · rank #34 · $2.2B in total assets
  35. 35
    Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $3.2B in total assets 2.9% of the leader · rank #35 · $3.2B in total assets
  36. 36
    Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $502M in total assets 2.9% of the leader · rank #36 · $502M in total assets
  37. 37
    Lockheed Martin Corporation Capital Accumulation Plan for Hourly Ees
    $16M in total assets 2.8% of the leader · rank #37 · $16M in total assets
  38. 38
    Gensler Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $454M in total assets 2.8% of the leader · rank #38 · $454M in total assets
  39. 39
    Coborns Incorporated Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $40M in total assets 2.7% of the leader · rank #39 · $40M in total assets
  40. 40
    Recology Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $529M in total assets 2.5% of the leader · rank #40 · $529M in total assets
  41. 41
    Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $528M in total assets 2.5% of the leader · rank #41 · $528M in total assets
  42. 42
    ESOP of Umb
    $71M in total assets 2.5% of the leader · rank #42 · $71M in total assets
  43. 43
    Ferrell Companies, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $76M in total assets 2.5% of the leader · rank #43 · $76M in total assets
  44. 44
    Stewart's Shops Corp Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $897M in total assets 2.3% of the leader · rank #44 · $897M in total assets
  45. 45
    Api Group, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $14M in total assets 2.3% of the leader · rank #45 · $14M in total assets
  46. 46
    Sammons Enterprises, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $23.9B in total assets 2.2% of the leader · rank #46 · $23.9B in total assets
  47. 47
    Telecare Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $87M in total assets 2.2% of the leader · rank #47 · $87M in total assets
  48. 48
    Border States Industries, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $1.3B in total assets 2.2% of the leader · rank #48 · $1.3B in total assets
  49. 49
    Redner's Employees Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan
    $71M in total assets 2.2% of the leader · rank #49 · $71M in total assets
  50. 50
    The Sundt Companies Employee Stock Ownership Plan
    $1.5B in total assets 2.2% of the leader · rank #50 · $1.5B in total assets

What this shows Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust is the leader on participants; each bar is that entry's share of the leader so you can scan relative scale without reading every number. Hover a row for share-of-leader and rank.

Source Department of Labor, Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (ESOP plan-characteristic codes 2O/2P/2Q) · plan year 2024

Where the #50 cutoff sits in this top-50 ranking

Participants spread across the displayed entries only; it does not represent the full Form 5500 corpus.

3,220 2nd percentile higher than 2% of 50 entries in this top-50 ranking

#50 cutoff 0 149,214 participants, bucketed by value

Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among entries in this top-50 ranking.

Source Department of Labor, Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (ESOP plan-characteristic codes 2O/2P/2Q) · plan year 2024

Source: Department of Labor, Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (ESOP plan-characteristic codes 2O/2P/2Q).

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as an ESOP in this ranking?

A Form 5500 filing that reports an ESOP plan-characteristic code (2O non-leveraged ESOP, 2P leveraged ESOP, or 2Q S-corporation ESOP) without a section 401(k) feature code. Plans that combine an ESOP component with a 401(k) arrangement (KSOPs, common at large public companies) are classified as 401(k) plans here and appear in the largest 401(k) ranking instead.

Is this the same as a list of the biggest employee-owned companies?

Not exactly. "Employee-owned" is a broader idea than an ESOP filing: it can include worker cooperatives, employee ownership trusts, and companies with partial employee ownership that never file an ESOP-coded Form 5500. Organizations like the NCEO publish survey-based employee-ownership lists; this ranking is narrower but fully reproducible, each entry is a specific DOL filing with a participant count the sponsor reported.

Do participant counts equal current employees?

No. Form 5500 participant counts include active employees plus separated and retired participants who still hold account balances. An ESOP with 20,000 reported participants may have meaningfully fewer current employees.

Nearby Rankings

Other leaderboards cut from the same Form 5500 dataset, ranked by different metrics.

Largest by Assets Most Participants Highest Income Largest Pensions Largest 401(k)s Top States Biggest Asset Growth Biggest Asset Declines Biggest Participant Gains Biggest Participant Declines
Compare Largest ESOPs by Participants (Form 5500 Filings) side-by-side with 3 other rankings →

What to do with this ranking

Ways to act on this ranking's numbers.

  • Publix Super Markets, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust leads this ranking at 149,213, see its full Form 5500 profile. View esop profile
  • Compare this ranking side-by-side against 3 other Form 5500 leaderboards. Compare rankings
  • A single-metric ranking like this one doesn't measure fees, funding health, or participant outcomes, read how these rankings are built before drawing conclusions. Read the methodology
  • Browse the full Form 5500 plan database to look up any individual plan by name, sponsor, or state. Browse all plans

Retirement Plans by State

See how retirement plans in this ranking break down geographically. Each state page shows plan counts, participants, and total assets for that jurisdiction.

CA NY TX IL NJ PA WA OH VA MN MA MI GA NC CT FL MD TN MO WI DC IN RI AZ OR CO IA AR KY NE UT LA SC AL DE OK KS ME NM ID NV HI NH ND WV MS AK PR VT MT SD WY GU VI MP AP

Browse by Plan Type

Filter the retirement universe by plan structure, each type has distinct contribution rules, vesting schedules, and asset profiles.

401(k) Plans Defined Benefit Profit Sharing ESOP Money Purchase

Source: Department of Labor, Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (ESOP plan-characteristic codes 2O/2P/2Q). Rankings rebuilt from the publicly released 2024 plan-year file.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - original Form 5500 filings retrievable by plan sponsor EIN or plan name.

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Understanding retirement data

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA). See our methodology for details.

How Plan Rankings Are Constructed

Ranking retirement plans is more subtle than ranking, say, restaurants or stocks. A "largest" plan is unambiguous when measured by participant count or asset total, both are reported in Form 5500 and audited by an independent accountant once a plan crosses the 100-participant threshold. But a "best" plan is contextual: the right benchmark for a multi-employer pension fund is different from the right benchmark for a single-employer 401(k), and both are different from the benchmark for an ESOP. PlainRetire's ranking pages stick to clearly defined, source-derived metrics, participant counts, plan assets, net contribution, employer contribution as a share of pay, and year-over-year asset growth. Each metric has its own page so readers can decide which framing is relevant for their question.

Each ranking includes the underlying source (Form 5500 schedule and line item), the plan-year vintage, and a footnote when an aggregate excludes plans with incomplete or amended filings. Where a plan has filed multiple amendments, a sometimes-routine but sometimes-meaningful signal, the ranking uses the most recent accepted filing and notes the amendment count on the plan detail page. This approach lets readers see who is at the top of a particular ladder without conflating different scales of "size" or "growth."

Methodology and Limitations

Rankings are computed against the most recent annual dataset released by the Department of Labor. New plans, terminations, and significant amendments will not appear until the next annual release, which has roughly a seven-month publication lag from plan year end. Plans that file Form 5500-EZ (single-participant plans) are not included in the public datasets and therefore do not appear in PlainRetire rankings. International plans, government plans, and church plans (which are exempt from Title I of ERISA) are similarly outside the dataset and outside these rankings. When evaluating a ranking, consider the universe being compared: a national ranking of 401(k) sponsors will be dominated by Fortune 500 employers, while a state-level ranking will surface regionally significant plans that don't appear in the national list.

Asset and participant counts are reported by the plan sponsor and certified by an auditor for plans above 100 participants. Smaller plans rely on plan-sponsor attestation. Both are subject to standard data-quality caveats: corrections appear as amended filings in subsequent years, and PlainRetire reflects amendments as soon as DOL releases updated datasets.

Every figure on PlainRetire is rendered directly from the Department of Labor's Form 5500 annual return filings, no number 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.