- Mike Cecchini
Albuquerque Lands in the Top 10 of This Year’s Ranking of the Top Cities for Women in Tech
A new ranking of the best cities for women in the technology sector to work and advance their careers puts Albuquerque near the top of the list compared to other large cities.
Excerpted from ABQ Business First By Collin Krabbe – Technology reporter, Albuquerque Business First
A new ranking of the best cities for women in the technology sector to work and advance their careers puts Albuquerque near the top of the list compared to other large cities. The annual ranking, conducted by finance technology company SmartAsset, analyzed the 63 of the largest U.S. cities.
Albuquerque took the ninth spot overall, just behind Cincinnati, Ohio. The study measured four categories: gender pay gap for women and men in computer and mathematical occupations, income after housing costs for women in computer and mathematical occupations, the amount of computer and mathematical jobs occupied by women and rate of total tech employment growth over three years. The tech employment growth category was given half as much weight as the other three categories.
Data from one-year and five-year versions of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys was used in the study, according to SmartAsset.
Out of the top 10 cities, Albuquerque tied for fourth-lowest gender pay gap at 5%. Arlington, Virginia, the top-ranked city, had a gender pay gap of 9%. In Long Beach, California, women in computer and mathematical occupations make 1% more compared to their male counterparts, according to the analysis. About 30% of such jobs are occupied by women locally, the analysis says.
Albuquerque lagged in the amount of income after housing costs out of the top cities at $54,005. The metric is measured by subtracting the median annual housing costs from the median annual salary for women in computer and mathematical occupations. But that number does not take into account additional cost of living expenses, which vary city to city.
Women working in computer and mathematical occupations in Arlington, for example, make $10,615 more in income after housing costs, according to the analysis. But overall, the Virginia city is 85% more expensive to live in compared to Albuquerque, according to Sperling's Best Places.
One category stands out when compared to the other top 10 cities: tech employment growth. Albuquerque had the lowest percentage increase in tech employment between 2016 and 2019, according to the SmartAsset report, at 13%. The national average was 17%.
Many cities, including several that didn't make the top 10, showed higher rates of growth during the same period. Tech employment in Durham, North Carolina, grew by 30% during the period, while Salt Lake City experienced 45% growth.
