Des Moines Area Community College was named the best employer in Iowa in a Forbes list that ranks the top employers by state. To come up with the list, which was published Aug. 24. Forbes partnered with market research company Statista, which surveyed 80,000 Americans working for companies with at least 500 employees. The surveys were anonymous, and participants were asked to rate their employer on various criteria, such as safety of work environment, competitiveness of compensation, opportunities for advancement and openness to telecommuting. Participants were then asked how likely they would be to recommend their employer to others. DMACC ranked No. 1 on the list of top Iowa employers, followed by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, St. Louis-based Emerson Electric, Principal Financial Group, and Deere and Co., based in Moline, Ill., to round out the top five.