Good places to work are close by

Led by coffee retailer Starbucks, six Washington-based companies ranked among the “100 Best Companies to Work for” in America, according to a poll released Monday by Fortune Magazine.

Starbucks finished 16th in the annual poll, ahead of Nordstrom (24th), REI (27th), Russell Investment Group (30th), Microsoft (50th) and Perkins Cole law firm (64th).

Other companies on the list with headquarters elsewhere but with a presence in Washington, include Adobe Systems, Google and PCL Construction. No companies based in either Idaho or Montana made the top 100.

Nike, based in Beaverton, Ore., ranked 69th.

Nationally, Google was the top-ranked company in its first appearance on the list, and was commended by Fortune for free meals, swimming and spa facilities and doctors on-site. Its engineers are allowed to spend up to 20 percent of their time on independent projects.

The biotechnology leader, Genentech, ranked second, followed by Wegmans Food Markets, storage retailer Container Store, and Whole Foods Market.

California led the nation with 13 companies in the top 100, followed by Texas with 11 and New York with nine. Washington tied for fourth with Georgia, Massachusetts and Virginia.

The poll is based on a survey conducted by the Great Places to Work Institute, and corporate information submitted by each company covering workplace culture, benefits and policies.

For a full list, see the Fortune Web site at money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007.