Nashville is one of the nation’s top cities for women in tech.
That’s according to a recent study from fintech publication SmartAsset, which ranked Music City No. 11 — tied with Sacramento — on its list of the Best (and Worst) Cities for Women in Tech.
Nashville placed directly behind Boston, Cincinnati and Virginia Beach on the list, which looked at gender pay gaps, income after housing costs, women as a percentage of the tech workforce and three-year tech employment growth to compile the rankings. You can view the full list comparing 59 U.S. cities here.
Despite Nashville’s ranking on SmartAsset’s list, diversity and underrepresentation remain issues in Nashville’s growing tech sector. Non-white workers hold 23% of tech jobs, though they are 29% of the region's population, according to a recent analysis of the region's tech scene from Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville Technology Council. When compared to the region's general working population, the tech workforce has a higher share of Asian workers but a lower share of Black and Hispanic or Latino workers.
Women make up 25.5% of Nashville’s tech workforce, according to the SmartAsset study, slightly below the national average of 26.1%. Women tech workers earn 93.8% of what men do in Music City, compared to 83.5% nationally.
Nashville has one of the fastest-growing tech industries in the country, according to the study, with nearly 37% tech employment growth over the last three years.
Several of Nashville’s regional peer cities and competitors for tech talent ranked lower on the list, including Atlanta (No. 18), Louisville (No. 35) and Austin (No. 45).
