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February 18, 2021

Best Cities for Women in Tech â 2021 Edition

Best Cities for Women in Tech – 2021 Edition – SmartAsset

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says that computer and information technology jobs are expected to have grown by 11% from 2019 to 2029, adding 531,200 new jobs in cloud computing, big data storage and collection and information security. The median annual wage for those jobs in May 2019 was $88,240, which is $48,430 higher than the median annual wage for all occupations.

But while tech jobs continue to outpace other occupations nationwide, women still face gender discrimination in the workplace. The BLS says that full-time women workers in all occupations earned $202 less per week than their male counterparts in the third quarter of 2020. This 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 employment landscape, however, continues to change. With that in mind, SmartAsset analyzed data to identify the best cities for women tech workers.

We compared 63 U.S. cities for which full data was available and ranked them according to the following metrics: gender pay gap in the tech industry, income after housing, women as a percentage of tech workers and three-year growth in tech employment. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

This is SmartAsset’s seventh annual study on the best cities for women in tech. Check out the 2020 version here.

Key Findings

Tech opportunities are moving outside of California. Silicon Valley is widely considered the premiere tech hub of America. However, our 2021 study shows that only two California cities rank in the top 15, and neither of those are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Women can seize tech opportunities in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia and Washington D.C.
Women in tech still face a relatively large pay gap. While tech is often considered a progressive industry, our study shows that women on average make 84 cents for every dollar that is earned by their male counterparts. The city with the worst pay gap is Salt Lake City, Utah where women make only 68% of what men get. By contrast, Long Beach, California is the only city in the study where women earn slightly more than men – making $1.01 for every dollar that their male tech peers get.

1. Arlington, VA

Arlington, Virginia is an “inside-the-beltway” suburb of Washington, D.C., and women make up 33.5% of their tech workforce, the sixth-largest on our list. Women tech workers in Arlington also have the eighth-largest income after housing, earning $64,620. Women in this city face the 12th-lowest pay gap in tech, earning 91 cents for every dollar that men make.

2. Washington, DC

Located just across the Potomac River from Arlington, the nation’s capital has a tech industry that is made up of 38.9% women workers, the second-largest percentage for this metric in our study. Women in Washington D.C. get 90 cents for every dollar that their male co-workers make, the 16th-lowest pay gap overall. Furthermore, they have the 12th-highest income, earning $61,083 after housing.

3. Baltimore, MD

Women in tech in Baltimore, Maryland face the second-smallest pay gap in the study, earning almost on par with their male counterparts – at 99 cents for every dollar that men make. The tech workforce in Baltimore is made up of 29.9% women, the 10th-largest overall, and they have the ninth-highest income – $63,203 after housing is deducted. Note, however, that the tech industry has grown only 15% in the three-year period from 2016 to 2019, placing Baltimore in the bottom half of the study for this metric.

4. Durham, NC

Durham, North Carolina is the home of Duke University and part of the famed Research Triangle. Tech women in Durham earn 91 cents for every dollar that their male co-workers make, the 11th-smallest pay gap in our study. The Durham tech industry has grown 30% in the three-year period from 2016 to 2019, the 12th-biggest increase overall for this metric. Women make up 28.6% of the city’s tech workforce, the 14th-largest in the study.

5. Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake is located in southern Virginia. Women make up 37.4% of its tech workforce – the fourth-largest in our study. Women in this city make 91 cents for every dollar that their male tech peers get and have an income of $54,371 after housing. The Chesapeake tech industry has seen a 23% growth in the recent three-year period from 2016 to 2019.

6. Aurora, CO

Tech women in Aurora, Colorado get 97 cents for every dollar that men make, the third-smallest pay gap in our study. The tech industry in Aurora has grown 25% in three years, the 21st-biggest increase on our list. And women tech workers in this city earn $57,853 after housing, the 19th-biggest income across all 63 cities in the study.

7. Houston, TX

Women tech workers in Houston, Texas make 94 cents for every dollar that their male co-workers earn, the sixth-smallest pay gap in our study. The city’s tech workforce is made up of 27.2% women and has seen a 17% employment growth from 2016 to 2019. Women tech workers in Houston have an income of $61,016 after housing, the 13th-highest overall.

8. Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati, Ohio has the fourth-smallest gender pay gap in tech – our study shows that women earn 95 cents for every dollar that men get. Women in the Queen City make up 30.7% of the tech workforce, the seventh-largest for this metric overall. Their income after housing – at $48,886 – ranks in the bottom half of the study. But the industry itself has seen a 21% growth in employment the three-year period from 2016 to 2019.

9. Albuquerque, NM

Tech women in Albuquerque, New Mexico make about 95 cents for every dollar that their male co-workers earn, the fifth-smallest gender pay gap in our study. While women make up 30.6% of the city’s tech workforce, the eighth-largest in the study, Albuquerque’s tech industry has experienced relatively slow growth. It has seen only 13% growth from 2016 to 2019.

10. Jacksonville, FL

Women in Jacksonville, Florida make up 29.4% of the tech workforce, the 11th-largest in our study. For every dollar that men make, these Florida tech women earn 93 cents – the ninth-smallest gender pay gap overall. Jacksonville, however, finishes in the bottom half of this study with a slower tech industry growth of 17% from 2016 to 2019.

11. Long Beach, CA

Long Beach, California is the only city in the entire study where women in tech make more money than men. They reversed the gender pay gap by earning $1.01 for every dollar that men earn. The tech industry in this California city has seen steady three-year growth, ranking 14th out of 63 with a 27% increase from 2016 to 2019. Long Beach women make up 25.4% of the city’s tech workforce and have an income of $55,640 after housing.

12. Sacramento, CA

Sacramento, California may not stand out as an obvious destination for tech workers, but women make up 37.8% of its tech workforce, the third-largest in our study. That said, pay equity isn’t as high, as women in the industry earn only 88 cents for every dollar that men make. The Sacramento tech workforce has grown 32% in the three years from 2016 to 2019, the ninth-highest increase across all 63 cities in the study. Women tech workers in the city have an income of $46,289 after housing.

13. Philadelphia, PA

Women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania make up 28.5% of the city’s tech workforce, the 15th-largest rate for this metric in the study. Their income is $52,530 after housing, and they have the 13th-smallest pay gap overall, earning 91 cents for every dollar that their male peers make. The city’s tech workforce has seen a 23% increase in the three-year period from 2016 to 2019, ranking towards the middle of the study for this metric.

14. Chandler, AZ

While women in Chandler, Arizona make up 28.1% of the city’s tech workforce – the 18th-largest in the study – they rank towards the middle of the study for gender pay gap, earning 85 cents for every dollar that men make. Chandler’s tech industry has seen a 23% growth from 2016 to 2019. Women in the city have an income of $60,269 after housing.

15. Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, Georgia rounds out the final place in our top 15. Tech employment has grown 33% over the three-year period from 2016 to 2019, the eighth-fastest in our study. Women in Atlanta tech earn 88 cents for every dollar that men make, placing it in about the top third of the study for that metric. Women in Atlanta make up 27.1% of the tech workforce and have an income of $52,594 after housing.

Data and Methodology

To find the best cities for women in tech, SmartAsset looked at data for cities that had at least 200,000 residents in 2019 according to Census Bureau data. We removed cities from our data set that did not have statistically reliable data (i.e. the margin of error for average earnings for women who work in tech or the number of women working in tech was greater than 20%). Those two constraints left us with 63 cities, which we compared across the following four metrics:

Gender pay gap in the tech industry. This is the average earnings for women who work in tech as a percentage of average earnings for men who work in tech. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 5-year American Community Survey.
Earnings after housing. These are the median earnings for women who work in tech after subtracting the median housing costs. Data on earnings comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 5-year American Community Survey. Data on housing costs comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Women as a percentage of the tech workforce. This is the percentage of all tech jobs held by women. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 5-year American Community Survey.
Three-year tech employment growth. This is the percentage change in tech jobs from 2016 through 2019. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2016 and 2019 5-year American Community Surveys.

First, we ranked each city in each metric. We then found the average ranking, giving a double weight to the first three metrics and a single weight to the metric measuring job growth. We ranked the cities based on this average, giving the top city an index score of 100 and the bottom city an index score of 0.

Smart Money Moves for Tech Workers

Invest in expert advice. No matter your gender, consider finding a financial advisor to help manage your money. Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Relocating for work? Build on a strong foundation. If you’re thinking of moving to one of these cities for a job, make sure you know how much house you can afford before you get started on your home search. This will help you tailor your hunt so you find the perfect home for you.
Make your workplace benefits work for you. Once you start, make sure to take advantage of your company’s 401(k) program, if offered. This is the easiest way to save for retirement.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

Photo credit: iStock.com/alvarez

Ben Geier, CEPF® Ben Geier is an experienced financial writer currently serving as a retirement and investing expert at SmartAsset. His work has appeared on Fortune, Mic.com and CNNMoney. Ben is a graduate of Northwestern University and a part-time student at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He is a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®). When he isn’t helping people understand their finances, Ben likes watching hockey, listening to music and experimenting in the kitchen. Originally from Alexandria, VA, he now lives in Brooklyn with his wife.

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January 17, 2021

Best Cities for Diversity in STEM â 2020 Edition

Best Cities for Diversity in STEM – 2020 Edition – SmartAsset

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Over the past 30 years, employment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs has grown by almost 80%, according to a recent figure from Pew Research Center. However, there is still significant disparity in representation across gender lines and particularly racial ones: though Blacks and Hispanics combined accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of the 2016 U.S. workforce, Pew reports they totaled only 16% of the STEM workforce. Where people live, though, can be a factor in their access to companies that value a more heterogeneous group of employees. That’s why SmartAsset decided to find which cities are doing better than others when it comes to diversifying STEM workforces.

To find the best cities for diversity in STEM, we took a closer look at racial and gender breakdowns of workers in the 35 cities with the largest STEM workforces. For details on our data sources and how we put the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

This is SmartAsset’s fifth study on the best cities for diversity in STEM. Read the 2019 version here.

Key Findings

New entrants to our list, including Oakland, California at No. 1. Some cities on this year’s list didn’t rank in the past, because their smaller STEM workforces meant the Census lacked sufficient demographic data. Oakland was not in the running in last year’s version of our study for that reason, but it takes first place this year, indicating a growing, diverse STEM workforce. Two other cities that were not in our rankings last year but do appear this year are Indianapolis, Indiana (at No. 11) and Colorado Springs, Colorado (at No. 35).
White men still comprise a majority of the STEM workforce. In all 35 of the cities in our study, men comprise more than 60% of the STEM workforce. In terms of race/ethnicity, there are just 10 cities in which white workers comprise less than 50% of the STEM workforce and only three cities in which white workers comprise 25% or less of the STEM workforce: Sunnyvale, San Jose and Fremont in California.

1. Oakland, CA

Oakland, California takes the No. 1 spot in our study. Even though the STEM workforce is almost 63% male, the city ranks second-best on our gender diversity index for STEM workers, just after Washington, D.C. In terms of racial makeup, Oakland’s race/ethnicity index is seventh-highest in the study. Black workers make up a little more than 8% of the STEM workforce, Asian workers make up about 22% and Hispanic or Latino workers make up more than 10%. White workers make up more than 52% of STEM workers.

2. Boston, MA

Boston, Massachusetts has the third-best gender diversity index across all 35 cities: Almost 64% of STEM workers are men, and a little more than 36% are women. In terms of race/ethnicity, white workers make up about 59% of all STEM workers, Black workers make up close to 7%, Asian workers close to 18% and Hispanic workers about 13%.

3. Philadelphia, PA

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, STEM workers total 38,000, two-thirds of whom are male and one-third of whom are female. White workers make up about 57% (about 21,800), Black workers make up a little more than 15% (roughly 5,700), Asian workers make up almost 17% (about 6,400) and Hispanic or Latino workers make up almost 9% (roughly 3,400).

4. Washington, DC

In Washington, D.C. the total number of workers in STEM amounts to about 49,100. The roughly 18,600 women in these jobs make up almost 38% of this total, and the more than 30,400 men make up roughly 62%. Despite this disparity, Washington ranks the best for gender diversity in our study.

In terms of race, Hispanic or Latino workers comprise almost 10% of STEM workers, Asian workers comprise less than 5% and Black workers make up more than 24% (which is the highest percentage for this demographic in the study). The remaining roughly 57% of STEM workers are white.

5. New York, NY

New York, New York has the highest number of workers in STEM across all 35 cities, at almost 215,700. Almost 68,700 women (about 32%) comprise this total, while more than 147,000 men (68%) do.

New York City ranks second best on racial/ethnic diversity in our study. About 108,800 of STEM workers in New York City, or about 50%, are white. Almost 14% are Black, about 29,500. More than 22% are Asian, almost 48,400. Hispanic and Latino workers in the field total about 12%, at about 26,300.

6. Chicago, IL

There are about 95,100 STEM workers in Chicago, Illinois. Of this total, about 68% are men and about 32% are women. More than 57% of STEM workers in Chicago are white, about 11% are Black, almost 16% are Asian and close to 15% workers are Hispanic or Latino.

7. Houston, TX

The total number of STEM workers in Houston, Texas exceeds 79,500. Almost 70% of the total STEM workers there are men, and more than 30% are women. Houston has the third-best race/ethnicity index score in the study: More than 19% of STEM workers are Hispanic or Latino, almost 20% are Asian and more than 8% are Black.

8. Los Angeles, CA

There are almost 98,600 STEM workers in Los Angeles, California. More than 68,750 of them (about 70%) are men and about 29,800 (just 30%) are women.

Los Angeles has the fourth-best race/ethnicity index in the study. Almost 26% of all STEM workers are Asian, almost 19% are Hispanic or Latino and more than 4% are Black. About 48% are white (which is the lowest percentage for this demographic in the top 10).

9. Dallas, TX

Though almost 72% of STEM workers in Dallas, Texas are men, the city ranks best overall in terms of its race/ethnicity diversity score. Black workers comprise almost 18% of the STEM workforce, Asian workers comprise more than 16%, Hispanic or Latino workers almost 14% and white workers just shy of 50%.

10. Fort Worth, TX

Of the total approximately 25,700 STEM workers in Fort Worth, Texas, about 17,600 are men (just over 68%) and about 8,100 are women (roughly 32%). In terms of race, less than 5% of workers are Asian, about 12% are Black and about 22% are Hispanic or Latino. Almost 53% are white.

Data and Methodology

To find the best cities for diversity in STEM, SmartAsset analyzed data for the 35 cities in the county with the largest STEM workforces. Specifically, we measured across the following metrics:

Racial diversity index. We calculated this based on the racial diversity of a city among the main Census Bureau groups using the Shannon index. Cities with a more equally distributed workforce across the racial groups received a better score.
Gender diversity index. This measures the number of women in the workforce compared to men. The city with the highest percentage of women in STEM jobs received a score of 100, and the city with the lowest percentage received a 0.

We averaged these two indexes to create our final score, which we used to rank the cities.

Data for both metrics comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.

Tips for STEM Workers to Manage Their Money

Ask for a raise. There has been a rising trend of employers giving promotions without a pay raise, according to a recent survey of 300 employers by the staffing firm OfficeTeam. If you are accepting a promotion and taking on more responsibility, be sure you are asking to be compensated fairly. One of the best ways to do this is to see what other people in your occupation are making. The BLS publishes annual employment statistics that show the average hourly and annual wage by occupation.
Understand your paycheck. Seeking out cities that best accommodate a diverse workforce can be beneficial as you explore employment opportunities. But no matter where you live, you’ll have to pay taxes on each paycheck. See what your actual take-home pay will look like with SmartAsset’s free paycheck calculator.
Seek expert financial advice. As your company diversifies its workforce, make sure you diversify your portfolio. If you need some extra guidance with mapping out larger financial goals like retirement, estate planning and portfolio management, it might be worth consulting a professional financial advisor. Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/poba

Nadia Ahmad, CEPF® Nadia Ahmad is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®) and a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW). Her interest in taxes and grammar makes writing about personal finance a perfect fit! Nadia has spent ten years working as a seasonal income tax assistant, researching federal, state and local tax code and assisting in preparing tax returns. Nadia has a degree in English and American Literature from New York University and has served as an instructor/facilitator for a variety of writing workshops in the NYC area.

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January 17, 2021

Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance â 2021 Edition

Cities With the Best Work-Life Balance – 2021 Edition – SmartAsset

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For most people, working is inevitable: You need a job to afford your lifestyle. The trick, of course, is to find a balance where you can earn the money you need without spending all of your time in the workplace. Some of that depends on what the work culture is like in your city, how much you need to earn to pay for housing and how long you have to spend getting to work. To that end, SmartAsset analyzed 100 of the biggest cities in the country to find the best cities for work-life balance for 2021.

To do so, we considered data on the following metrics: walk score; arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments; restaurants as a percentage of all establishments; housing costs as a percentage of income; average weeks worked per year; average hours worked per week; average commute time; percentage of workers with a commute longer than 60 minutes; October 2020 unemployment rate and labor force participation rate. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

This is SmartAsset’s fourth study on the cities with the best work-life balance. Read the 2020 version here.

Key Findings

Big city commuting blues. On average in our study, just 7.2% of commuters spend more than 60 minutes getting to and from work. In the biggest U.S. cities, though, that number can be much higher. For instance, 15.7% of commuters have a commute of at least an hour in San Francisco. In Boston, that figure is 11.9%. The city where the most commuters spend at least an hour on the go? New York City, where relatively packed subways and busy streets mean 27.2% of commuters spend at least an hour on travel alone, leaving even less time for recreation. New York also has the longest 2019 average commute time, at 41.7 minutes.
Midwest consistency up top. Four Midwestern cities – Madison, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska; Omaha, Nebraska; and Columbus, Ohio – also made the top 10 in this study last year. Three of these cities – Madison, Lincoln and Omaha – excel because of their low unemployment rate, finishing in the top 10 this year. Columbus finishes a bit lower (20^th) in that metric, but it does particularly well in terms of low housing costs as a percentage of income, ranking sixth.

1. Madison, WI

For the second year in a row, Madison, Wisconsin is the best city in America for work-life balance. Madison doesn’t lead in any categories, but it does finish in the top 10% of the study for six out of 10 metrics. This includes coming in second-lowest for average hours worked per week (36.4), third-lowest for October 2020 unemployment rate (3.9%) and sixth-highest for labor force participation rate (73.2%).

2. Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach, Virginia ranks in the top 10% of this study for two metrics: fourth-highest for restaurants as a percentage of all establishments (10.10%) and sixth-lowest for October 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%). The beach town also ranks in the top 20% of the study for two other metrics: 14^th-best for labor force participation rate (71.9%) and 17^th-best for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (1.88%).

3. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis is the first Minnesota city to make this list, and it does so on the back of finishing in the top five for two different metrics: third for a strong labor force participation rate (74.9%) and fifth for a low October 2020 unemployment rate (4.5%). Minneapolis also places 12^th-best in terms of housing costs as a percentage of income at 29.43%.

4. Lincoln, NE

Lincoln, Nebraska has the lowest October 2020 unemployment rate in the study, just 2.7%. Lincoln also finishes second for the best commute time, an average of just 18.4 minutes, and places sixth-lowest for the percentage of commuters with a commute of longer than 60 minutes, just 2.7%. Lincoln finishes near the bottom of the study, though, in terms of the average weeks worked per year, at 39.65.

5. Omaha, NE

Another Nebraska locale is next – Omaha. The unemployment rate there in October 2020 was 3.3%, the second-lowest in the study – giving the top two spots in that metric to Nebraskan cities. Omaha also places eighth-best in terms of average commute time. The average commuter in Omaha spends just 20.1 minutes in transit, a far cry from the traffic-packed streets of some bigger cities. Omaha residents do work much of the year, finishing in the bottom quartile with 38.47 weeks worked per year.

6. Arlington, VA

Arlington, Virginia is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and it has the highest labor force participation rate in this study, 78.0%. Arlington also ranks second-lowest in the study for housing costs as a percentage of income – housing costs make up just 26.14% of income on average. People do work a lot in the town, though. Arlington ranks dead last in both the metrics measuring how much people work – an average of 41.3 hours per week and 41.80 weeks per year.

7. St. Paul, MN

St. Paul, Minnesota joins its twin city, Minneapolis, on this list and ranks in the top 10% percent of this study for three different metrics:

Fourth for average hours worked per week (36.8).
Sixth for October 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%).
10^th for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (2.04%).

8. Columbus, OH

Columbus, Ohio comes in sixth for housing costs as a percentage of income, at 27.53%. That is the only metric for which Columbus places in the top 10, but it does finish 11^th-best for labor force participation rate (72.4%) and 20^th-best for October 2020 unemployment rate (5.4%). Columbus finishes in the bottom quartile of this study for the metric measuring how many weeks per year people work on average, at 38.16.

9. Durham, NC

In Durham, North Carolina, just 2.7% of workers have a commute of at least an hour, the sixth-lowest total for this metric in the study. The average commute in Durham is 22.6 minutes, the 25^th-lowest time spent traveling to work that we observed overall. Durham is not a particularly walkable city, however, finishing in the bottom 10% of the study in terms of walk score.

10. Lexington-Fayette, KY

Lexington-Fayette is the final entry into our top 10, and it finishes in the top 15% for three metrics:

14^th for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (1.95%)
14^th for average commute time (21 minutes)
15^th for housing costs as a percentage of income (29.66%)

Lexington suffers when it comes to walkability, though, finishing in the bottom quartile of the study in terms of walk score.

Data and Methodology

To find the best cities for work-life balance, we compared 100 of the largest cities in America across the following metrics:

Walk score. Data comes from walkscore.com and is for 2020.
Concentration of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments. This is the number of arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Concentration of restaurants. This is the number of restaurants as a percentage of all establishments. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Housing costs as a percentage of income. This is the median housing costs as a percentage of income for full-time workers. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average number of weeks worked per year. This is how many weeks per year local employees work. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average number of hours worked per week. This is the average number of hours a worker works in a week. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Average commute time. This is the average number of minutes it takes for a worker to commute to work. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Percentage of workers with a commute longer than 60 minutes. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.
Unemployment rate. Data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is for October 2020.
Labor force participation rate. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey.

First, we ranked each city in each metric. We then found the average ranking for each city. Walk score, concentration of arts and entertainment establishments, concentration of restaurants, housing costs as a percentage of income and labor force participation rate received a full weight. Weeks worked per year, hours worked per week, average commute time and percentage of workers with a commute of more than an hour each received a half weight. Unemployment rate received a double weight. We then ranked the cities based on this average. The top city received an index score of 100 and the bottom city received an index score of 0.

Tips for Finding a Healthy Financial Balance

It’s easier to find balance if you can find support first. Once you have money, making sure it works for you can help you tip the scales of work-life balance in favor of life. A financial advisor can help with that. Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Budgeting is key. A budget can take care of your money decisions in advance and leave you with more time to actually enjoy life.
Save now if possible. When you retire, you’ll likely be hoping to really live life without worrying about work for the first time. Make sure you use a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) if it is available to you, as that’s the best way to save for retirement and allow for travel and other leisure in your golden years.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

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January 12, 2021

Best Places to Work in Manufacturing â 2020 Edition

Best Places to Work in Manufacturing – 2020 Edition – SmartAsset

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Manufacturing has a special place in the American story, but for the past few decades, this sector has been largely on the decline, impacting many workers and affecting decisions around things like budgeting and where they call home. Since 1997, more than 91,000 manufacturing plants have closed and almost 5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, according to a 2020 study from the Economic Policy Center. Still, there are jobs to be had and careers to be built in the world of manufacturing in the U.S., provided you are looking in the right places. To that end, SmartAsset analyzed various data to find the best places to work in manufacturing in 2020.

To find the best places to work in manufacturing, we compared 378 metro areas across the following metrics: manufacturing as a percentage of the workforce, job and income growth between 2015 and 2018, job and income growth between 2017 and 2018, housing costs as a percentage of income and unemployment. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

This is SmartAsset’s fifth study on the best places to work in manufacturing. Read the 2019 version here.

Key Findings

About one in 10 U.S. jobs is in manufacturing. Manufacturing represents 11.39% of jobs on average across all 378 metro areas we analyzed in our study. The metropolitan area where manufacturing makes up the highest percentage of jobs is Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana, where 57.45% of all jobs are in the manufacturing sector. The area where this rate is lowest is Laredo, Texas, where just 0.84% of the workforce is in manufacturing.
In recent years, manufacturing income has grown faster than jobs in the industry. From 2015 to 2018, the average number of manufacturing jobs has grown by just 3.66%, while the average income for manufacturing workers has grown by 6.44%.

1. St. Joseph, MO-KS

The St. Joseph metropolitan area, located in both Missouri and Kansas, has 24.74% of its workforce in manufacturing, the 18^th-highest rate in this study. It’s also a place where jobs are fairly easy to come by: The unemployment rate in October 2020 was just 3.1%, 16^th-lowest across all 378 areas we studied. St. Joseph scores lower in terms of income growth between 2015 and 2018 – though still within the top half of the study – coming in 145^th for this metric, at 7.61%.

2. Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN

In the Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana metro area, home to Purdue University, around 25.23% of the workforce consists of manufacturing workers, the 16^th-highest rate for this metric in the study. Income growth between 2017 and 2018 was especially high here, at 16.64%, seventh-highest of the 378 metro areas we analyzed. This seems to be a recent development, though, as income growth between 2015 and 2018 was not as robust at 8.73%, ranking in the top third of the study at 126^th.

3. Hinesville, GA

Hinesville, Georgia saw manufacturing job growth of 27.50% between 2017 and 2018, the third-highest increase for this metric in the study. It also finished 38^th in terms of job growth between 2015 and 2018, at a total of 14.50%. In this metro area, 17.81% of the workforce is in manufacturing, placing this coastal community 59^th in the study for this metric, a top quartile finish.

4. Decatur, IL

Decatur, Illinois, in the central part of the Land of Lincoln, saw income for manufacturing jobs increase by 33.08% between 2015 and 2018, the fourth-highest increase in the study for this metric. The one-year increase in manufacturing job income between 2017 and 2018 was 12.88%, the 10^th-highest bump in the study. Decatur is also a fairly affordable place to live, as housing costs represent just 10.81% of income on average, the fifth-lowest rate for this metric across all 378 metro areas in the study.

5. Spartanburg, SC

In Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufacturing jobs represent 25.05% of the entire workforce, the 17^th-highest percentage for this metric overall. Spartanburg also ranks in the top 20 for both job-growth metrics: It comes in 15^th for job growth between 2017 and 2018 (11.45%) and 18^th for job growth between 2015 and 2018 (18.98%).

6. Fond du Lac, WI

In Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 20.98% of the workforce holds jobs in manufacturing, the 30^th-highest percentage we saw in the study for this metric. The unemployment rate in Fond du Lac for October 2020 was 3.7%, the 32^nd-lowest rate on this list. The Fond du Lac metro area ranks toward the middle of the study in terms of housing costs as a percentage of income, placing 155^th at 19.29%.

7. Columbus, IN

Manufacturing employees constitute 27.78% of the workforce in the Columbus, Indiana metro area, the 10^th-highest rate for this metric in the study. From 2017 to 2018, the manufacturing job base grew just 1.67%, ranking 177^th of 378 overall. The metro area also ranks toward the middle of the study in terms of housing costs as a percentage of income, ranking 160^th with housing costs at 19.37% of income on average.

8. Rome, GA

Between 2017 and 2018, income for manufacturing workers actually went down 0.09% in the Rome, Georgia metro area, placing the locale in the bottom quarter of the study for this metric. However, the job market there is fairly strong right now: The unemployment rate in October 2020 was just 3.7%, 32^nd-lowest overall. The Rome metro area is also a fairly robust town for manufacturing job opportunities, with 17.98% of jobs being in manufacturing, the 57^th-highest rate we analyzed for this metric and a top-quartile result.

9. Appleton, WI

The workforce in the Appleton, Wisconsin metro area is 20.08% manufacturing employees, the 37^th-highest rate of the 378 areas we studied. It also ranks strongly for long-term income growth, with pay for manufacturing jobs increasing 16.33% between 2015 and 2018, the 34^th-largest leap we analyzed. Appleton’s job growth over the same time period is strong but not quite as robust, placing 102^nd overall, at 8.63%.

10. Staunton-Waynesboro, VA

The final entry on this list is the Staunton-Waynesboro, Virginia metropolitan area. The metro area saw manufacturing jobs decrease by 0.32% between 2017 and 2018, ranking 256^th overall for this metric. However, it performs well in terms of income growth between 2017 and 2018, for which it places 23^rd of 378, at 9.97%. The Staunton metro area also ranks well for job growth between 2015 and 2018, with a 15.26% jump that places it 34^th in the study for this metric.

Data and Methodology

To find the best places to work in manufacturing, we compared 378 metropolitan areas across the following metrics:

Manufacturing as a percentage of the workforce. This is the percentage of all workers employed by manufacturing firms. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Three-year job growth. This is the percentage change in the number of people employed by manufacturing firms from 2015 to 2018. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2015 County Business Patterns Survey and Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
One-year job growth. This is the percentage change in the number of people employed by manufacturing firms from 2017 to 2018. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2017 County Business Patterns Survey and Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Three-year income growth. This is the percentage change in manufacturing workers’ average incomes from 2015 to 2018. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2015 County Business Patterns Survey and Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
One-year income growth. This is the percentage change in manufacturing workers’ average incomes from 2017 to 2018. Data comes from the Census Bureau’s 2017 County Business Patterns Survey and Census Bureau’s 2018 County Business Patterns Survey.
Housing costs as a percentage of average income for manufacturing workers. Data on median housing costs comes from the Census Bureau’s 2019 1-year American Community Survey. Data on the average income for manufacturing workers comes from the Census Bureau’s 2017 County Business Patterns Survey.
Unemployment rate. Numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are for October 2020. This rate incorporates all professions, not just manufacturing-specific ones.

First, we ranked each metro area in each metric. From there, we found the average ranking for each metro area, giving an equal weight to all metrics except for manufacturing as a percentage of the workforce, which we double-weighted. We then ranked the areas based on this average ranking. The metro area with the best average ranking received an index score of 100 and the metro area with the worst average ranking received an index score of 0.

Tips for Manufacturing a Solid Financial Strategy

Find an expert who will help you build a financial plan. Whether you work in manufacturing or some other industry, a financial advisor can help you make the most of your income and other money. Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
To buy or to rent? If you’re moving to a new city to work in a manufacturing job, you’ll need to find a place to live. Use SmartAsset’s free calculator to see whether it makes sense to buy or rent.
Work hard; save hard. Chances are, you don’t want to be in the workforce at your manufacturing job for your entire life; eventually, you’d like to retire. If your company offers a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k), make sure to take advantage of it, as it is the easiest option for saving for retirement.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

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