Louisville continues to fall lower on a national ranking of the best cities for women in tech.
SmartAsset's annual study analyzes 59 of the largest U.S. cities to find the best — and worst — places for women in tech based on metrics including the 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.
Louisville used to be among the top 20 metros for women in tech, according to the study, but it slipped in the most recent ranking.
This year, Louisville tied with Oklahoma City for the No. 35 spot, far lower than the No. 18 ranking it held last year or its No. 15 ranking in 2020.
According to the report, tech employment in Louisville grew by 8.5% from 2019 through 2021, while most of the other cities included in the report were seeing double-digit growth in tech employment. Nationally, tech employment grew by nearly 17% over the three-year period.
Women working in the local tech sector earn about 84% of what men do, which is down nearly 10% from last year, when women earned 93% of what men did. That's about on par with the national average of 83.5%. The percentage of women working in tech in Louisville stayed roughly the same at 27%, also close to the national average.
The median annual salary for women in tech, minus the median annual housing costs, was $51,668, marginally less than the housing costs reported in 2021.
For a regional comparison, Cincinnati ranked No. 9 on the list, beating the national average for both women as a percentage of the workforce and the gender pay gap. Nashville, Tennessee, was also among the top cities at No. 11. Indianapolis was a few spots behind Louisville at No. 39, and St. Louis came in at No. 54.
Arlington, Virginia, topped the list, with its neighboring city, Washington D.C., coming in second. You can check out the full list here.
