CLEVELAND, Ohio — In Northeast Ohio, Rocket Mortgage has largely become synonymous with the Cavs and other major events at Rocket Arena.
But the company, founded in 1985, is the largest home lender in America, with a satisfied staff of 250 in the downtown Cleveland office. The company is ranked second among midsize employers in the 2025 Top Workplaces list, its 14th year being ranked.
For the 2025 Top Workplaces list, cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer compiled more than 180 stand-out Northeast Ohio employers based on employee surveys. Find the full list and stories on the top three winners in each of four categories at cleveland.com/top-workplaces.
In 2015, Rocket introduced the first fully digital, completely online mortgage experience. The company in 2024 closed $101 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states.
John Wargo, who heads the Cleveland office, calls Rocket more of a homeownership company rather than a mortgage provider. The work they do for home buyers has translated to a positive culture throughout the business that keeps things fresh, fun and a little quirky.
“It’s how we live and how we work and every decision we make,” Wargo said. “Everything that we do is really around those sayings that we have, like ‘Do the right thing.’ We’ve always stood on character and integrity to every client, every time, no exceptions, no excuses.
Of course, Rocket Mortgage — with offices in the Higbee Building near the arena — leans heavily into their partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which like the company is owned by Dan Gilbert. Rocket Mortgage also sponsors other sporting and cultural events throughout the country.
Wargo estimates that the company provides upwards of 20,000 tickets to various events annually to team members. Proudly, Wargo said, participation in the Cleveland office was 100 percent.
“We did not have one single team member that did not give back to the community, which I really think demonstrates our belief that our communities start with active and passionate people,” Wargo said. “Love your people. Love your clients. Then, everything else just falls into place.”
Wargo said he believes that happy employees make for happy clients. And, those happy employees have been known to have tricycle races in the office or even on Public Square. It is that mix of laughter and motivation to take care of their customers that Wargo says makes Rocket Mortgage a great place to be.
