Portillo’s among top restaurant chains with the happiest workers, study finds

(NEXSTAR/WGN) – Among the nation’s major restaurant chains, In-N-Out is still supreme when it comes to the satisfaction of its workers, according to a new study. But an eatery that got its start in the Chicago area also fared well amongst happy restaurant workers.

While the California-based burger chain, In-N-Out, took the top spot for a 10th straight year, according to an analysis by William Blair, an investment bank and financial services company, Portillo’s finished in the study’s top-10 list, ranking eighth overall.

The annual report spans 11 years and is built on over 530,000 reviews of almost 90 restaurant brands, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

This year’s study found that when they weren’t serving up Double-Doubles and Animal-Style fries, 91% of In-N-Out workers would recommend the job to a friend. The percentage marked a 5% jump from last year’s study, according to industry publication QSR Magazine.

The top three chains in terms of employee satisfaction remained unchanged from 2024 to 2025, with In-N-Out followed by Raising Cane’s and Dutch Bros. Hardee’s was the lowest-ranked brand, at 39%.

See the top 10 below:

Rank	Chain	Recommendation Percentage
1.	In-N-Out	91%
2.	Raising Cane’s	82%
3.	Dutch Bros	78%
4.	Chuy’s	78%
5.	Peet’s Coffee & Tee	76%
6.	Caribou Coffee	74%
7.	Lazy Dog	74%
8.	Portillo’s	73%
9.	Longhorn Steakhouse	73%
10.	Chick-fil-A	72%

In-N-Out is the only chain that has been in the top 10 every year for a decade, according to an analysis by William Blair.

So what is it that’s making workers at In-N-Out, Raising Cane’s and others feel good about their job?

Getting a raise isn’t everything, according to the study. In fact, the authors found that compensation and benefits had the lowest correlation of six measured attributes, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

The top factors were instead culture/values, senior management and work/life balance.