The 40 most attractive employers in America, according to LinkedIn

In the fierce battle for talent, we have a winner: Google.

The search giant claimed the top spot in LinkedIn's first-ever release of its Top Attractors list, which includes a ranking of the 40 most sought-after employers in America.

LinkedIn used its extensive data from more than 433 million members to craft the list, which was created using data on job applications, views on companies' career pages, member engagement and retention of new hires.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, tech companies, known for high growth coupled with lucrative perks (hello, free food!), snagged 45 percent of the top spots in the U.S.

Read below for the full rankings of the top 40:

Morgan Stanley is one of just two Wall Street banks that cracked LinkedIn's top 40 in the U.S. With roughly 55,000 workers, Morgan Stanley touts high pay. Based on filings, LinkedIn says employees took home an average of $284,891 last year.

One former Yelp employee recently made headlines went she penned an open letter to the CEO complaining about low pay; she was subsequently fired for unrelated reasons. The chief executive, Jeremy Stoppelman, took to Twitter and acknowledged that the cost of living in San Francisco was too high and highlighted his efforts to lessen this burden for employees.

The company also emphasizes the diversity of its workforce. In fact, 45 percent of employees at the manager level and above are women. Among the perks Yelp offers are gym subsidies, unlimited snacks and health-care benefits.

Founded in 1984, the technology company has more than 71,000 employees. Cisco offers several programs to help employees maintain work-life balance, including fitness centers, adoption support and child care services.

The Fortune 500 company reaches nearly 1.5 billion customers in more than 50 countries. Perks at its Fox Studios lot in California include a car wash, salon services, employee movie screenings and discounted food.

Headquartered in Reston, Virigina, Leidos has 18,000 workers and generates the majority of its revenue from government contracts. About 40 percent of its workers hold degrees in the STEM fields.

With about 127 million subscribers across the globe, HBO sells programming in more than 150 countries under the HBO and Cinemax umbrellas. Perks at the company include tuition reimbursement, an on-call tailor and intramural sports.

The live event and ticketing business offers workers access to events through its employee ticket concierge. The company has jobs in five areas: concert promotion and venue operation, sponsorship and advertising, ticketing, e-commerce and artist management.

Even as a very public internal struggle for power plays out at the media giant, Viacom remains a highly sought-after place to work. The company's media brands include networks targeted at a wide range of audiences — from MTV to Nickelodeon.

Splunk has one of the smaller workforces on the LinkedIn list, with more than 2,700 employees worldwide. The company's generous benefits include three weeks of paid time off plus a week of sick leave, commuter benefits and education reimbursement.

The coffee brand is known nearly as much for its perks as for its java. Employees who clock in 20 or more hours per week get access to a range of benefits, including bonuses, discounted stock purchase options, adoption assistance and enrollment in the Starbucks College Achievement plan with full tuition reimbursement for each year of college completed through Arizona State University's online programs.

The beauty brand has 44,000 workers. It offers programs to help workers develop the skills that are key to their long-term success.

At Edelman, which operates under an opening seating plan, even the CEO works from a cubicle. Its generous perks include flexible work arrangements, family leave for elder care emergencies, pet and child adoption assistance and the "Edelman Escape" program, which offers select employees one-week sabbaticals and $1,500 to pursue a dream or goal that will enrich their lives.

The only real estate services firm to make the list, Jones Lang LaSalle employs 58,000 people and specializes in investment management and services for the commercial real estate industry.

Although Wall Street has long been known for its generous pay and bonuses, overall compensation and benefits actually declined by about $270 million last year. Still, the average Goldman worker took home a hefty $345,000 last year, a large package for employees able to snag one of these competitive positions.

It's no surprise the medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and health services company has a bevy of benefits tied to keeping employees healthier. Among them are free biometric screenings, gym discounts and a free activity tracker linked to its wellness program.

Like many tech companies, file-sharing firm Box offers a number of perks to draw talent in. These include "free lunch and fully stocked kitchens with lots of snacks and drinks," a shuttle to and from San Francisco, weekly yoga classes and a subsidized gym membership.

The consultant firm offers employees health and fitness subsidies, sabbaticals and flexible work options. Bonus: For employees who travel often, those frequent flier miles and hotel points quickly add up. The company remains firmly committed to developing talent with a $300 million strategic investment in Deloitte University.

McKinsey managed to top its consultant rival Deloitte in the rankings. The firm has more than 9,000 consultants. One key perk at the company is its "Take Time" program, which offers workers an extra five to 10 weeks each year to pursue interests and passions.

At the computer technology company, flexibility is king. Dell's goal is to have 50 percent of its global employees working flexible schedules by 2020, Steve Price, senior vice president of human resources, told Fast Company. Currently, about a quarter have already made these arrangements.

The marketing company regularly lands on lists of best places to work. It employs more than 7,000 people in 70 offices.

Perks include a credit union, a matching gift program, education benefits and more for its workforce of more than 120,000 people worldwide.

The financial planning and investment management company has more than 12,000 employees. It stresses the three "Es" in career development: experience learned on the job, exposure to coaching and networking, and education through online courses and in-person reading and classes.

The business intelligence and analytics software company is on the smaller side of those mentioned on the list, with more than 3,000 employees. Expect office parties and a start-up feel.

The athletic apparel retailer's perks go beyond just discounts on merchandise: Try homebuying assistance, a stock purchase plan and generous financial benefits geared toward keeping employees healthy.

At Pandora, employees can join one of a number of employee recourse groups, including ones geared toward rock climbers, runners and even vegan philosophers. Each year, employees get 40 hours of paid time off to volunteer.

Even your dog is welcome at the enterprise cloud application provider's Pleasanton, California, Salt Lake City and Victoria, British Columbia, offices. Workday emphasizes its fun work environment, including its sports teams, Friday cocktail hours and foosball competitions.

From on-site massages to bike commute reimbursement to matching for employee charity contributions, Adobe offers several perks that entice talent to join the maker of Photoshop and Acrobat.

The global payments company employs 10,000 workers in more than 200 countries and territories. One of its more unusual employee benefits is genetic cancer screening.

The medical device and equipment manufacturer has 12 divisions and facilities spread across eight countries. More than 26,000 workers are at the company, which has seen 35 straight years of sales growth.

Freedom and responsibility — these values are critical to Netflix's work culture, which values transparency and avoids control. The company is also well-known for not measuring workers by how many hours they're on the clock or how much face time they put in. Instead, Netflix cares about results.

Since coming on the scene in 2008, Airbnb has changed the way people vacation. It now boasts more than 2 million listings in more than 34,000 cities. Perks include annual travel credit, daily meals and snacks, and paid volunteer time.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stresses the importance of hiring people that reflect a company's customers.

"That's critical, but any time you bring together a bunch of different perspectives, creativity ensues," he said at a conference in October.

Twitter's juicier perks included 20 weeks of paid parental leave.

Based in the Bay Area with offices in Los Angeles and Amsterdam, Tesla is hiring for a variety of technical and nontechnical positions. The vast majority are located at the Tesla Factory, where its Model S and Model X cars are produced.

With a deal to acquire LinkedIn expected to close this year, Microsoft's massive workforce is about to balloon even more. Some of Microsoft's more offbeat perks include physician house calls in the Seattle area, up to $9,000 in 401(k) contributions and sports equipment to check out.

It has generous time-off allowances — to the tune of 15 paid vacation days, 10 paid sick-leave days and 10 paid U.S. holidays, plus two personal days.

Uber is out to change how people get around worldwide, with a workforce located in more than 475 cities across the globe.

Amazon.com has a reputation for being a demanding workplace with a heightened emphasis on efficiency and relentless focus on improving the customer experience. The e-commerce retailer recently committed to hiring 25,000 veterans and military spouses during the next five years.

Apple has a number of roles available at the company, including corporate, Apple Store and at-home advisor positions. CEO Tim Cook recently highlighted the company's 65 percent increase in female hires, a notable jump in the male-dominated tech world.

Facebook has come a long way from its Harvard dorm room roots and now employs more than 13,000 workers. Perks at its North American offices include cash to help with newborn expenses, transportation support and what seems like a start-up prerequisite — free meals and snacks.

The enterprise cloud computing company consistently ranks among the best places to work. It offers uncapped commissions, seven days off per year to volunteer, $100 in monthly wellness reimbursements, dog-friendly offices and more.

With millions of applications each year, Google can afford to be picky. For the lucky few who do make the cut, Google's perks are second to none. They include everything from on-site coding and cooking classes to massage services and death benefits.

And there's even more good news for prospective applicants: Those infamous brainteaser interview questions have gone out the window.

See LinkedIn's full coverage of the Top Attractors here.

For more on the list:
The man who's worked for Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft
Suzy Welch: What it takes to get the best people to work for you
What investors saw in top talent before they hit it big
Most attractive employers in the world
The 25 most attractive employers in the UK, according to LinkedIn
The most attractive employers in Australia

Correction: Salesforce gives employees seven days off per year to volunteer. An earlier version misstated the number of days.