SmartAsset today released a new study evaluating how susceptible the Arizona workforce is to AI job disruption, such as declining hiring demand and wage pressure. The study measures the percentage of workers employed in the 26 jobs with the highest exposure to AI disruption and ranks states where AI could reshape the most jobs. 

Among the study’s key findings: 

  • Arizona is among states at moderate risk of AI job disruption, ranking No. 17 in the United States with 3.1% of its workforce employed in high exposure jobs. 
  • A total of 100,810 residents of Arizona work in one of 26 occupations considered at highest exposure risk. 
  • Among the 26 highest exposure jobs identified in the study were mathematicians, proofreaders, court reporters and web developers. 

Few occupations have been immune to the effects of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. While recent research has tempered the most dire predictions of job loss, some occupations nonetheless face high levels of exposure to declining hiring demand, wage pressure, task automation and other forms of disruption. States with larger concentrations of highly exposed occupations could experience more pronounced labor-market changes, particularly in roles where core tasks are more vulnerable to AI-driven restructuring.

SmartAsset used the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to calculate the percent of each state’s workforce employed in 26 positions classified at the highest risk of potential AI disruption according to June 2026 research by the Virginia Economic Information and Analytics Division. The results show where potential AI-related job disruption is most concentrated across the United States.

Key Findings

  • Washington has the highest concentration of AI-exposed jobs. Washington state ranks No. 1 in the study, with 5.7% of its workforce employed in occupations with the highest exposure to potential AI disruption. Home to major technology companies including Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and Expedia, the state has large numbers of computer programmers and software developers, two occupations with high exposure.
  • Mississippi’s workforce is least exposed to AI disruption. Mississippi ranks No. 51 among the 50 states and Washington D.C., with just 1.9% of its workforce employed in occupations with the highest exposure to potential AI disruption.
  • A tale of two Dakotas. Despite similar populations, South Dakota ranks No. 11 in the study while North Dakota ranks No. 42. The difference could partly reflect South Dakota’s large financial-services sector, which contributes to a significantly higher concentration of bookkeepers and accounting clerks than in North Dakota. These two occupations are among those classified as highly exposed to potential AI disruption.
  • California and Texas have the most workers in high-exposure occupations. Both states each have at least 500,000 workers employed in occupations with high exposure to potential AI disruption.