Top 10 HR Companies in USA
SUMMARY
Human Resources (HR) is the part of a business that manages employees, including hiring, payroll, benefits, and employee records. HR technology helps companies manage these tasks using software and digital tools.
In the United States, HR technology has a long history. Today, the market includes both traditional HR companies and newer cloud-based platforms serving businesses of all sizes.
Below is the list of the top 10 Human Resources companies in the US, with their founding years, headquarters, primary focus, and services.
Quick Comparison Table
| Rank | Company | Founded | Owner / Founders | Headquarters | Core Focus |
| 1 | ADP | 1949 | Founded by Henry Taub & Joe Taub; publicly traded (NASDAQ: ADP) | Roseland, New Jersey | Payroll & HR Management |
| 2 | Workday | 2005 | Founded by Dave Duffield & Aneel Bhusri; publicly traded (NASDAQ: WDAY) | Pleasanton, California | Cloud Human Capital Management |
| 3 | Paychex | 1971 | Founded by Tom Golisano; publicly traded (NASDAQ: PAYX) | Rochester, New York | Payroll & HR for Small Business |
| 4 | UKG | 2020 (merger) | Formed from Kronos (1977) & Ultimate Software (1990); privately held | Lowell, MA / Weston, FL | Workforce Management & HCM |
| 5 | Gusto | 2011 (as ZenPayroll) | Founded by Josh Reeves, Tomer London & Edward Kim | San Francisco, California | Payroll & HR for Small Business |
| 6 | BambooHR | 2008 | Founded by Ben Peterson & Ryan Sanders | Lindon, Utah | HR Software for Small & Mid-Size Business |
| 7 | Paycor | 1990 | Founder-led; publicly traded (NASDAQ: PYCR) | Cincinnati, Ohio | HCM & Payroll for Mid-Market |
| 8 | Dayforce (formerly Ceridian) | 1992 (as Ceridian) | Publicly traded (NYSE: DAY) | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Cloud HCM & Payroll |
| 9 | Insperity | 1986 | Founded by Paul Sarvadi; publicly traded (NYSE: NSP) | Houston, Texas | Professional Employer Organization (PEO) |
| 10 | TriNet | 1988 | Founded by Martin Babinec; publicly traded (NYSE: TNET) | San Leandro, California | Professional Employer Organization (PEO) |
1. ADP – The Company That Automated American Payroll
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 (Automatic Payrolls, Inc.) |
| Owner | Founded by Henry Taub and his brother Joe Taub; publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol ADP |
| HQ | Roseland, New Jersey |
ADP started in 1949 as a small payroll company. It began by helping businesses manage payroll and later started using technology to make payroll processing faster and easier. Over the years, ADP expanded its services to include HR, employee benefits, and workforce management.
Today, ADP is one of the biggest payroll and HR companies in the US. It serves businesses of different sizes and helps them manage important employee-related tasks.
What ADP does: Provides payroll processing, HR management, and workforce support to businesses of different sizes.
Services offered: Payroll processing and tax compliance, benefits administration, talent management software, and professional employer organization (PEO) services.
2. Workday – Built by the Founders of PeopleSoft, Twice Over
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2005 |
| Owner | Founded by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri; publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol WDAY |
| HQ | Pleasanton, California |
Workday was founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri. They wanted to create modern HR software that businesses could use through the cloud. Instead of relying on software installed on company computers, Workday made it possible to manage HR and other business tasks online.
Today, Workday is mainly used by large businesses and organizations. Its platform helps companies manage employees, payroll, finances, and workforce planning in one place.
What Workday does: Provides cloud-based human capital management, financial management, and workforce planning software for large companies.
Services offered: Human capital management and payroll, workforce planning and analytics, financial management software, and AI-powered talent and skills tools.
3. Paychex – A Payroll Powerhouse Built From Rochester
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| Owner | Founded by B. Thomas Golisano; publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol PAYX |
| HQ | Rochester, New York |
Paychex was founded in 1971 by Tom Golisano. He started the company after seeing that many small businesses needed better and more affordable payroll services. Paychex focused on helping these businesses manage payroll and other HR tasks.
Today, Paychex serves close to 800,000 clients across the US. It provides payroll, HR, retirement, benefits, and employee management services.
What Paychex does: Provides payroll processing, HR outsourcing, and benefits administration, mainly for small and medium-sized businesses.
Services offered: Payroll processing and tax filing, retirement and insurance services, HR administration and compliance support, and time and attendance tracking.
4. UKG – Two Rival HR Software Companies Merged Into One
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2020, through the merger of Kronos Incorporated (founded 1977) and Ultimate Software (founded 1990) |
| Owner | Kronos was founded by Mark S. Ain; Scott Scherr founded Ultimate Software; privately held, backed by Hellman & Friedman |
| HQ | Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida (dual headquarters) |
UKG was created in 2020 when Kronos and Ultimate Software merged. Both companies had already built strong HR and workforce management software before joining together.
Today, UKG helps businesses manage employees, working hours, schedules, payroll, and other HR activities. It is especially useful for businesses with frontline and shift-based employees.
What UKG does: Provides workforce management and human capital management software, with a focus on frontline and shift-based workforces.
Services offered: Time and attendance and scheduling software, payroll and HCM platforms (UKG Pro), workforce analytics, and AI-driven labour forecasting tools.
5. Gusto – Payroll Built for the Smallest Businesses
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 2011, as ZenPayroll |
| Owner | Founded by Josh Reeves, Tomer London, and Edward Kim; privately held |
| HQ | San Francisco, California |
Gusto started in 2011 as ZenPayroll. It was created by Josh Reeves, Tomer London, and Edward Kim to make payroll easier for small businesses. The company later changed its name to Gusto and added more HR and employee benefit services.
Today, Gusto provides several business services through one platform. It is mainly designed for small and medium-sized businesses that want an easier way to manage payroll and employees.
What Gusto does: Provides an all-in-one payroll, benefits, and HR platform for small businesses.
Services offered: Payroll processing and tax filing, health insurance and benefits administration, workers’ compensation and 401(k) plans, and HR tools including onboarding and compliance.
6. BambooHR – HR Software With a Dancing Panda Mascot
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Owner | Founded by Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders; privately held |
| HQ | Lindon, Utah |
BambooHR was founded in 2008 by Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders. They created the company to help small and mid-sized businesses manage HR without using complicated enterprise software.
The platform makes it easier for businesses to store employee information and manage everyday HR tasks. BambooHR is also known for its simple and friendly brand image, including its dancing panda mascot. Today, BambooHR serves more than 34,000 customers across 190 countries.
What BambooHR does: Provides cloud-based human resources management software for small and mid-sized businesses.
Services offered: Employee database and HR record management, applicant tracking and onboarding tools, time-off and benefits tracking, and add-on payroll and performance management modules.
7. Paycor – A Cincinnati-Rooted HCM Provider for Mid-Market Employers
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Owner | Founder-led; publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol PYCR |
| HQ | Cincinnati, Ohio |
Paycor was founded in 1990 in Cincinnati. The company mainly focuses on mid-sized businesses that need more HR features than basic small-business software but may not need large enterprise systems.
Paycor helps businesses manage payroll, hiring, employee performance, compliance, and other HR tasks. It also continues to add new technology and AI-based features to its platform.
What Paycor does: Provides human capital management and payroll software built for mid-market businesses.
Services offered: Payroll and tax compliance, recruiting and onboarding software, performance management tools, and workforce analytics for leadership teams.
8. Dayforce – A Payroll Legacy Rebranded Around Its Flagship Platform
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992, as Ceridian |
| Owner | Publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol DAY |
| HQ | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Dayforce began in 1992 as Ceridian, a company focused on payroll and HR services. The company launched its Dayforce platform in 2012 and later changed its name to Dayforce in 2023.
Today, Dayforce provides one platform for businesses to manage payroll, employees, benefits, and workforce activities. It serves both mid-sized and large businesses in different countries.
What Dayforce does: Provides one unified cloud platform for payroll, human resources, benefits, and workforce management.
Services offered: Global payroll processing, workforce management and scheduling, benefits administration, and talent and compliance management tools.
9. Insperity – A Texas-Based PEO Built Around Small Business HR
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Owner | Founded by Paul Sarvadi; publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol NSP |
| HQ | Houston, Texas |
Insperity was founded in 1986 by Paul Sarvadi. The company uses a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) model to help businesses manage important HR responsibilities.
Through its services, Insperity can help businesses with payroll, employee benefits, HR support, and compliance. This can be useful for small and mid-sized businesses that do not have a large
HR team.
What Insperity does: Provides professional employer organization (PEO) services, co-employing client workforces to handle payroll, benefits, and HR compliance.
Services offered: PEO and co-employment services, payroll and benefits administration, HR consulting and compliance support, and talent management technology.
10. TriNet – A California-Founded PEO for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
| INFORMATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Owner | Founded by Martin Babinec; publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol TNET |
| HQ | San Leandro, California |
TriNet was founded in 1988 by Martin Babinec. The company was created to help small businesses manage payroll, HR, and compliance work that can take a lot of time.
TriNet uses a PEO model and also provides HR services designed for different industries. This allows businesses to get payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR support through one provider.
What TriNet does: Provides professional employer organization (PEO) services and HR solutions tailored to specific industries.
Services offered: PEO and co-employment services, industry-specific benefits packages, payroll and compliance administration, and HR platform and consulting services.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Which HR company on this list is the oldest?
ADP, founded in 1949, is the oldest company on this list. It was one of the first companies to provide outsourced payroll processing services in the United States.
Here is the formatted version with questions in H4 headings and bold, followed by answers in paragraphs:
2. What is a PEO, and which companies on this list are PEOs?
A professional employer organization (PEO) co-employs a client company’s workforce and helps manage payroll, benefits, and compliance responsibilities. Insperity and TriNet are the two companies on this list that mainly operate as PEOs.
3. Which companies on this list target small businesses specifically?
Gusto and BambooHR are the two companies on this list that are most focused on the HR and payroll needs of small businesses. Both provide tools that help smaller companies manage everyday HR tasks without having to use complicated enterprise systems.
4. How did UKG come to be a company?
UKG was formed in 2020 through the merger of Kronos and Ultimate Software. Kronos was founded in 1977, while Ultimate Software was founded in 1990. Both companies had previously been owned by the same private equity firm.
5. Which company was founded by the same person who founded PeopleSoft?
Workday was co-founded by Dave Duffield, who had founded PeopleSoft, and Aneel Bhusri, who was PeopleSoft’s former chief strategist. They started Workday shortly after Oracle acquired PeopleSoft.
6. Which company’s founder later became a US Senator?
ADP’s early partner Frank Lautenberg later left the company and became a United States Senator from New Jersey. His transition is one of the more interesting stories connected with a company on this list.
7. Which company renamed itself after the software product it makes?
Ceridian renamed itself Dayforce Inc. in 2023. The company took the name from its Dayforce cloud HCM platform, which was launched in 2012 and later became a major part of the business.
8. Which companies on this list focus on mid-market businesses?
Paycor and Dayforce focus mainly on mid-sized and larger businesses. Their solutions serve organizations ranging from growing companies to larger enterprises.
9. Which companies on this list are publicly traded, and which are private?
ADP, Workday, Paychex, Paycor, Dayforce, Insperity, and TriNet are publicly traded companies. UKG, Gusto, and BambooHR are privately held.
10. Why has the US produced so many different types of HR companies instead of one dominant platform?
Businesses have different HR needs depending on their size, industry, workforce, and location. A five-person startup may only need basic payroll and employee management, while a Fortune 500 company may require global payroll, workforce planning, analytics, and advanced HR systems.
Since businesses require different types of HR solutions, many companies have been able to build successful platforms for specific markets rather than having one company serve every type of business.
Conclusion
The top HR companies in America come from diverse backgrounds and serve different types of businesses. On one end, there are traditional payroll and workforce management companies such as ADP, Paychex, and Kronos. These companies helped businesses move from manual payroll and employee management processes to more structured and technological systems.
On the other hand, there are more modern cloud-based companies such as Workday, Gusto, and BambooHR. These companies built more modern HR platforms with a focus on cloud tech and businesses that required simpler ways to manage employees and payroll.
There are also PEO companies such as Insperity and TriNet, that help businesses take some of the burden off their shoulders regarding HR responsibilities.
As businesses continue to become more reliant on technology to manage their employees, payroll, and workforce, these companies will likely continue to hold their place as important HR market players. Their diverse approaches also prove why the HR industry holds room for both enterprise platforms and simpler solutions for small and mid-sized businesses.
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