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The results of a recent study published by SmartAsset are no mere cowboy ballyhoo.
In a comparison of 59 U.S. cities, Fort Worth ranked sixth in the nation among the best cities for women in tech.
“Another Texas city in the top 10, Fort Worth moves up from 18th place in our study last year,” researchers wrote. “The percentage of women in the tech force is 27.3% (ranking 20th-best). After housing expenses, women tech workers can expect an income of $52,737. When compared to men tech workers, women earn 94.3% what men do. The Fort Worth tech industry has grown substantially in recent years, with employment growing by 26.5% between 2017 and 2020.”
Houston was No. 3. Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., were ranked Nos. 1 and 2.
Other Texas cities on the list include Irving (30th), Plano (33rd), Dallas (43rd), cutting-edge Austin at 45, and San Antonio at 53.
SmartAsset compared 59 U.S. cities 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 find the best cities for women in tech, SmartAsset looked at data for cities with at least 200,000 residents and removing cities from the data set that did not have statistically reliable data (that is, the margin of error for average earnings for women who work in tech or the number of women working in tech was greater than 20%). Those two constraints left researchers with 59 cities.
Arlington, Virginia, was at the top of the study for a second consecutive year. There, women make up 34.3% of the tech industry, which ranks fourth-best. In this city’s tech industry, women can expect to earn about $89,500 on average. And when compared with men’s salary, women earn 91% of what men do (ranking ninth-best).
Houston jumped four spots from a year ago, but it is first overall for gender pay gap. Women earned 98% of what men do in the tech workforce on average. Also, women tech workers earn $65,662 after housing expenses are accounted for (ranking ninth-best). Between 2017 and 2020, total tech employment grew by 13% and in that workforce, 27.5% of workers are women.
The U.S. tech industry is projected to see another 178,000 tech jobs enter the market in 2022. While the industry’s median income continues to skyrocket above the national median income, women only make up 26.1% of all tech workers and earn just 84% of what men do.
I guess that just depends on where you live, doesn’t it?
To see the complete list, go here.