The Philly region ranked 13th on this 2021 list of best cities for women in tech

The Philly metro area is ranked 13th in SmartAsset’s Best Cities for Women in Tech report for 2021, dropping from its spot in ninth last year, and third place in 2019.

The study looks at U.S. Census Bureau data in the 63 U.S. cities for which figures are available. The ranking is affected by these factors: gender pay gap in the tech industry, income after housing, women as a percentage of tech workers and the three-year growth in tech employment.

Here are Philadelphia’s numbers:

• Tech jobs filled by women — 28.5%
• Income after housing costs — $52,530
• Gender pay gap — Women make 91% of what men make
• Three-year tech employment growth — 23%

There’s been a small but decreasing trend of the percentage of women in tech compared to men, AJ Smith, VP of financial education at SmartAsset told us last year. And that trend appears to have continued in 2021.

Compared to 2020, there are about 1% fewer women in tech, the report states. But last year, Philly women gained about $2,000 in income after housing, the gender pay gap stayed the same and the tech employment growth gained by 1%.

Philadelphia ranks just below Sacramento, California, and right above Chandler, Arizona. Neighboring mid-Atlantic cities Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore claimed the top three spots in the ranking, respectively.

Some national findings: While Silicon Valley is widely considered the tech hub of America, the same might not be true for women. Women are seizing tech opportunities outside of that bubble, in states like Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia and D.C., per SmartAsset. Only one California city ranks in the top 10 for women in tech — and it’s Long Beach.

And while there’s been some progress on the gender pay gap, the study showed that women, on average, make 83 cents for every dollar that is earned by their male counterparts.

Salt Lake City, Utah, represented the worst pay gap, where women make only 68% of what men do. But in Long Beach, women earn slightly more than men – making $1.01 for every dollar that their male tech peers get.

The pay gap “not only makes it harder for women to advance in their careers, but it also adversely affects their ability to save for retirement and cover many day-to-day expenses like food or housing,” the report said.