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15 Cities With the Most Workers at Risk of Automation

Man PanickingAnton Watman / Shutterstock.com

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Commodity.com.

In the last few years, it has become more common to order food from a kiosk, see machines cleaning airport floors, and talk to a chatbot instead of a customer service agent.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of these technologies as well as others, many of which can be used to perform tasks that humans used to do. Machines do not call out sick or spread disease and can replace workers to aid in social distancing.

While some jobs and tasks, especially those that require creativity and interpersonal skills, are not conducive to automation, many others are. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Oxford University, 42% of U.S. workers are at high risk of automation.

Lower skilled jobs, especially those that involve repetition, are more likely to be automated. A Brookings study on automation’s impact on people finds that jobs in office administration, production, transportation, and food preparation are the most at risk of automation.

To determine the U.S. metropolitan areas with the most workers at risk of automation, researchers at Commodity.com analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the University of Oxford.

Researchers ranked metros according to the share of workers at high risk of automation, the total number of workers at high risk of automation, the share of workers at medium risk of automation, and the share of workers at low risk of automation. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.

Here are the metros with the most workers at risk of automation.

15. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 42.6%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 1,644,440
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 19.4%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 38.0%

14. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

meunierd / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 42.7%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 769,020
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 22.9%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 34.4%

13. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Dallas, TexasSean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 42.8%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 1,046,720
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 21.5%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 35.6%

12. St. Louis, MO-IL

St. Louis, MissouriKENNY TONG / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 43.1%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 383,540
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 19.4%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 37.5%

11. Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville, FloridaSean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 43.2%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 205,280
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 22.3%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 34.5%

10. Birmingham-Hoover, AL

Birmingham, AlabamaSean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 43.4%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 155,150
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 20.8%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 35.9%

9. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

Nashville, Tennesseejdross75 / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 43.4%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 289,600
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 19.6%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 37.0%

8. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

Orlando, FloridaESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 44.0%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 361,400
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 23.3%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 32.6%

7. New Orleans-Metairie, LA

New Orleans, Louisiana at nightf11 photography / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 44.3%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 158,550
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 19.5%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 36.2%

6. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

Indianapolisf11photo / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 44.6%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 309,530
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 20.4%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 35.0%

5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

Grand Rapids, MichiganHenryk Sadura / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 44.9%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 158,220
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 21.6%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 33.5%

4. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

A historic district of Louisville, KentuckyPhilip Rozenski / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 45.1%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 185,580
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 21.6%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 33.3%

3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Memphis TennesseeSean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 47.4%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 202,640
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 20.4%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 32.2%

2. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Riverside California neighborhoodMatt Gush / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 48.8%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 476,660
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 20.1%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 31.1%

1. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

Las Vegas SkylinelittlenySTOCK / Shutterstock.com

  • Share of workers at high risk of automation: 49.3%
  • Total workers at high risk of automation: 307,650
  • Share of workers at medium risk of automation: 22.7%
  • Share of workers at low risk of automation: 28.0%

Methodology

Data entry on a laptopbaranq / Shutterstock.com

To determine the U.S. metropolitan areas with the most workers at risk of automation, researchers at Commodity.com analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Survey and a University of Oxford study “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerization?”

Researchers ranked metros according to the share of workers at high risk of automation. In the event of a tie, the metro with the higher percentage of workers at high risk of automation was ranked higher. Researchers also calculated the shares of workers at medium risk and low risk of automation.

Occupations at a high risk of automation are defined as those jobs with risks of automation of 0.7 and higher. Occupations at medium risk of automation are defined as jobs with automation risks between 0.3 and 0.7, while occupations at low risk of automation are defined as jobs with automation risks less than 0.3.

To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.

Disclosure: The information you read here is always objective. However, we sometimes receive compensation when you click links within our stories.

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