Despite geopolitical unrest, economic turbulence and a rush of technological advancements impacting business in all sectors over the past several years, the management consulting industry has steadily grown in market size—and shows no signs of slowing in 2025. A recent report from the Business Research Company estimates that this year, the global management consulting market will reach more than $1.07 trillion (up from more than $1.02 trillion in 2024), and by 2029, that number is projected to reach upwards of $1.33 trillion. In the United States alone, the market size of management consulting businesses is more than $404 billion, according to a report from IBISWorld.
But with an estimated 955,000 consulting firms in the U.S., company executives seeking strategic help may be overwhelmed by the options. To the rescue comes Forbes’ tenth-anniversary list of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms.
The annual ratings are based on two surveys conducted by market research company Statista from mid-November 2024 to mid-January 2025: a peer-to-peer survey of more than 1,200 partners and executives at management consulting firms; and a survey of more than 1,150 clients who had worked with management consulting firms in the past four years. Both groups evaluated consulting firms within their areas of knowledge in 33 possible categories consisting of 16 different industries (including IT, insurance, energy and environment) and 17 different functional areas (including artificial intelligence, finance and risk management, and supply chain management).
All responses were combined into a scoring model that also included last year’s results to assess the consulting firms’ performance over time. Recommendations from the management consultants were weighted more heavily than those from clients, and this year’s recommendations were given more weight than last year’s. The consulting firms with the most recommendations in each category were given star ratings: five stars for “very frequently recommended,” four stars for “frequently recommended” and three stars for “recommended.” The final list highlights 191 companies that received a collective total of 913 awards. For the full list, see directly below.
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As with all Forbes lists, companies pay no fee to participate or be selected. To read more about how we make these lists, click here. For questions about this list, please email listdesk [at] forbes.com.
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