The 10 Best Cities for Women in Tech in the US

If you're a woman in tech, finding the right city to live and work in can be essential to your success. There are a number of factors to consider, from income to growth opportunities in tech employment.

Smart Assets examined 59 U.S. cities with available data and ranked them according to the following four metrics: gender pay gap in the tech industry, income for women in tech after deducting housing costs, women as a percentage of tech workers, and three-year growth in tech employment. To help you find the best city for women in tech, we've compiled a list of the 10 best cities in the U.S., based on data conducted by SmartAsset' on the best cities for women in tech - 2022 edition.

1. Arlington, Virginia is at the top of the study’s rankings for 2022. Women make up a significant 34.3% of the tech industry and rank fourth-best for this metric. In addition, women in tech can expect to earn $89,500 on average in this city, 91%of what their male counterparts earn (ranking ninth-best). Lastly, after deducting median housing costs in Arlington from their salaries, women can still expect to have $63,800 remaining 11th-best for this metric among all cities surveyed.
    
2. Washington, DC comes in at number 2 for women as a percentage of tech workers, boasting a 38.3% percentage of women in the tech workforce.  Also, women working in tech earn 90% of what men do in the same field, on average making the city 13th-best for this criteria – but that's not all. Women employed in the tech field here receive an average salary of $61,087 annually putting it solidly in 14th place for income after housing costs.
    
3. Houston, TX - On average, women in Houston's tech workforce earn 98% of what their male counterparts do - ranking first for closing the gender pay gap. After housing expenses are accounted for, women make $65,662 on average - ranking ninth best. Between 2017 and 2020, total tech employment grew by 13%. Out of that total number, 27.5% of workers were female making them 17th-best for women as a percent of the tech workforce.
    
4. Baltimore, MD - Women in tech here get 94% of what men do in the same field on average making Baltimore the second-best for addressing the gender pay gap between women and men in tech. 10th-best for the percentage of women in the tech workforce with 29.9%. Furthermore, after accounting for the median housing costs in Baltimore, women would still have $60,714 remaining- making the city the 15th best for this metric.
    
5. Chandler, AZ has gained traction and landed in the No.5 spot. Reasons for this include closing the gender pay gap, which is how much a woman earns compared to what a man earns, from 85% last year to 94% this year; the city is the 5th best for this metric. The income after housing equals approximately $67,369 making Chandler the 7th best for this criterion.
    
6. Fort Worth, TX - The second Texas city in the top 10 is Fort Worth. This city ranks third-best for bridging the gender pay gap between women and men in tech. Women earn 94.3% of what men do. Fort Worth ranks 16th for three-year tech employment growth, and 20th for the percentage of women in the tech force. Also, after median housing costs in Fort Worth are deducted, women would still receive $52,737.
    
7. Durham, NC - Women tech workers in this city make up 28.9% of the field making Durham the 12th-best city for this criterion. Durham ranks 17th-best for three-year tech employment growth, 18th-best for income after housing costs, and 23rd for attending to the gender pay gap.
    
8. Virginia Beach, VA - Another Virginia city belongs to the top 10 best cities for women in tech. In Virginia Beach's tech industry, women earn 90.46% of what their male counterparts do making the city 11th-best for gender pay gap. This city ranks 13th-best for women as a percent of the tech workforce, and 20th for three-year tech employment growth. Moreover, women in tech's income after housing expenses here is $52,651.
    
9. Cincinnati, OH is the only Midwestern city in the top 10 cities for women in tech. The city ranks in the top 10 cities for two individual metrics: 6th for women as a percent of tech workforce and 7th for gender pay gap. However, after deducting the housing cost, women in tech's income would only have $48,670 remaining, making the city part of the bottom 15 for income after housing costs.
    
10. Boston, MA  - Women tech workers in this city make up 29.4% of the tech workforce, which ranks 11th-best for this metric. After median housing costs in Fort Worth are subtracted, women would still have $56,076, making the city the 20th-best for this criterion. Boston ranks 22nd for gender pay gap, where women earn 86.2% of what men tech workers do in this city.

There are many great cities in the U.S. for women in tech. The study by Smart Assets shows that the cities mentioned above are the best cities for women in tech. These cities offer a somewhat equal pay and have high percentages of women working in the tech field.

We can still improve these numbers and make the tech industry more welcoming for women. If you wish to support our mission: empower women in tech, apply to our ambassador program here: https://www.womentech.net/women-tech-conference/global-ambassadors