Each year, Axios partners with Harris Poll to “gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America,” and ranks the top 100. This year, Atlanta has six companies on the list.
Of the six on the Axios Harris Poll 100 ranking, two were “good,” three were “very good” and one was “excellent.” Companies could also be ranked as “fair,” “poor” or “very poor.”
Good companies
Arby’s: The fast food restaurant was the Peach State’s lowest-ranking business, but still made a good showing at No. 69, with a 2023 score of 72.6. Arby’s, founded in 1964, has more than 3,500 restaurants in nine countries.
Delta Air Lines: At No. 58, Delta just missed being classified “very good.” It’s overall score of 74.9 still ranked it higher than all other airlines in the poll and propelled it up eight spots from last year.
Very good companies
Coca-Cola Co.: Moving up nine spots from 2022, Coca-Cola ranked No. 49, with an overall score of 75.6. That’s nine spots higher than last year. The first Coke was served May 8, 1886, at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta.
Home Depot: The home improvement store that opened June 29, 1978, in Marietta also has a very good reputation. It broke the top 25 — ranking No. 25 — with an overall score of 78.2. Although still in “very good” company, Home Depot fell seven spots from 2022.
UPS: Started by two teens with $100 in 1907, UPS is now the No. 14 most reputable company in the country. It’s overall score of 79.8 moved the delivery service up two spots from the previous year. UPS has been headquartered in Atlanta since 1994.
Excellent company
Chick-fil-A: The first standalone Chick-fil-A restaurant, which opened in the Greenbriar Mall food court more than a half-century ago, closed last week, but that didn’t hurt the company’s reputation. With an overall score of 81.4, Chick-fil-A rose a whopping 23 spots to finish at No. 5 this year.
According to previous AJC reporting, S. Truett Cathy trademarked the name Chick-fil-A in 1963. The “A” at the end represents “top quality.” He didn’t create the iconic sandwich until the next year, however, and the recipe has not changed in nearly 60 years.
Methodology
This year’s rankings were based on a survey of 16,310 Americans from a nationally representative sample conducted March 13–28. Respondents were asked which two companies — in their opinion — stand out as having the best reputation and which two have the worst. Subsidiaries and brands are included with the parent company. Respondents then rated the 100 “most visible” companies on nine dimensions of reputation to calculate the company’s “reputational quotient” score.
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