DC holds the #1 spot in ranking of best cities for women in tech

Washington, D.C., topped a ranking of the best cities for women in tech.

DC once again ranks as the #1 city for women in tech. This surprises NO ONE affiliated w/ @dcfemtech & the other amazing groups supporting women in #dctech. Nonetheless we are PROUD of this town! 👩‍💻💪🎉 https://t.co/Gb2lXLaKg4

— Shana Glenzer (@ShanaGlenzer) February 21, 2019

Personal finance company SmartAsset recently conducted a study drawing from U.S. Census Bureau data, that looks at factors including the number of tech jobs filled by women, housing and income, the gender pay gap and tech employment growth. These numbers for D.C. include:

• Tech jobs filled by women — 38.9 percent
• Income after housing costs — $58,486
• Gender pay gap — 95 percent
• Tech employment growth — 24 percent

D.C. has held the number one spot down for five years in a row now, since the inception of  SmartAsset’s Best Cities for Women in Tech report. D.C. is staying ahead of the curve compared to the national rankings like the gender pay gap, which women make 84 percent of what men make and only fill 25 percent of tech jobs.

D.C. improved on all of its stats compared to last year except in the overall tech employment growth category, which saw 33 percent growth last year as opposed to 24 percent in this year’s study. Top Silicon Valley tech cities like San Francisco and San Jose didn’t make the top 10, instead the prominent tech hubs were ranked at number 28 and 29 due to the gender pay gap.

Our sister markets didn’t fall too far behind D.C., with Baltimore coming in at second and Philly holding down the third spot for the best cities for women in tech in 2019. Both cities moved up a spot compared to their ranking from 2018. Arlington, Va., ranked fifth on the list with a 12 percent growth in tech employment and moving up a spot from its ranking last year, as well.

This editorial article is a part of Technical.ly's Women in Tech month.