SAS, the world’s largest privately held software company, ranks No. 2 on the latest “Best Place to Work in the U.S.” as reported by Fortune magazine.

Google tops the list.

The honor is the latest in a series of accolades for the work environment at SAS, which is based in Cary and has offices around the world. Of nearly 14,000 workers, some 5,200 are based in Cary and 6,588 overall across the U.S.

SAS also was second a year ago and has made the list each year since Fortune launched the program in 1998. The 38-year-old company which is still led by Chief Executive Officer Jim Goodnight, has cracked the Fortune top 10 on 11 occasions.

SAS topped the Fortune list in 2010 and 2011.

In another other recent survey, SAS was ranked No. 2 in the Great Place to Work list for global companies last November.

According to SAS, the company has a very low employee turnover rate of some 3 percent a year vs. an industry average of 15 percent.

. “In our industry, rapid innovation and extreme customer care are essential,” said Goodnight in a statement about the Fortune honor. “The best way to make that happen is by supporting people. We have spent decades perfecting a culture and work environment that encourages creativity by addressing the day-to-day stresses and concerns that employees inevitably bring to work.”

SAS has reported record revenues since its launch, although no data has been disclosed yet about 2013. In 2012, the company said sales reached $2.87 billion.

Google has its own North Carolina connections, including a huge data center in Lenoir and a software development shop in Chapel Hill. 

The full Fortune list can be read online.

[SAS ARCHIVE: Check out more than a decade of SAS stories as reported in WRALTechWire.]