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AI Attitudes, Adoption, and Benefits by State – 2026 Study

Byline profile imageWritten by Jaclyn DeJohn, CFP®
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AI continues to accelerate its presence in politics, the economy, and personal lives, transforming everything from autonomous vehicles to medical discoveries to military operations and a myriad of other workflows and personal use cases. In turn, investors eagerly listen in to company earnings’ calls to understand the implications of this developing suite of technologies in different sectors.

On average, 18.1% of American workers have adopted AI in their jobs, with a varying amount of personal use and AI-related jobs created to support demand. State-level data reflects different attitudes and capacities for current technologies across workforces and populations, as AI adoption and job generation significantly.

With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked U.S. states based on factors reflecting their attitudes and speed to adoption with AI technology, including implementation at work, ChatGPT daily usage rates, and jobs directly created to support AI infrastructure.

Key Findings

  • Washington is most bullish on AI. The Evergreen State ranks among the top 10 for each individual category of AI adoption, ultimately earning it the place as the number one AI adopter. It is first in the nation for AI and data center jobs per capita at 289.8 jobs per 100,000 residents. At work, 22.4% of employees use AI technologies, and residents in general have the eighth highest rate of messages to ChatGPT per day per person.
  • Wyoming workers use AI the most, despite few AI-related jobs and little personal interest. The dichotomy in Wyoming’s data shows a divergence between the workforce’s acceptance and personal or institutional acceptance. 27.4% of workers use AI to do their job in some capacity – the highest reported level nationwide. Meanwhile, the state offers the fewest AI and data center jobs at just 36.4 jobs per 100,000 residents, and those who use ChatGPT send the second-fewest inquiries per day. 
  • ChatGPT is most popular in these states. The states with the most messages to ChatGPT per day per person include Virginia, New York, California, Florida, and Utah, respectively. When included, Washington D.C.’s daily usage per person would outrank all of them.. On the other hand, ChatGPT has the lowest rate of use per person in West Virginia, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Maine.
  • New Jersey is among the states with the lowest AI use at work. Currently, New Jersey has the 10th largest state-level GDP in the country. While all its other high-contributing counterparts have been quickest to adopt AI at work, New Jersey has the third-lowest adoption rate with just 12.1% of workers using AI to improve their productivity, with only Hawaii (8.4%) and Louisiana (11.0%) reporting slower adoption rates.

AI Adoption and Preferences by State

States are ranked based on a combination of AI adoption metrics including adoption at the workplace, in personal lives, and the job market.

  1. Washington
  • Workers using AI: 22.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 8
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 289.8
  1. Colorado
  • Workers using AI: 24.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 12
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 219
  1. Utah
  • Workers using AI: 19.7%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 6
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 228.3
  1. Georgia
  • Workers using AI: 22.1%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 9
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 211.5
  1. Virginia
  • Workers using AI: 17.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 2
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 228
  1. California
  • Workers using AI: 20.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 4
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 204.5
  1. Missouri
  • Workers using AI: 25.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 24
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 229.7
  1. Oregon
  • Workers using AI: 24.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 11
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 177.6
  1. Arizona
  • Workers using AI: 25.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 15
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 140.2
  1. Florida
  • Workers using AI: 20.7%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 5
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 118
  1. Texas
  • Workers using AI: 20.5%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 14
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 148.2
  1. New York
  • Workers using AI: 15.8%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 3
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 138.4
  1. Massachusetts
  • Workers using AI: 16.9%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 10
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 139.2
  1. Nevada
  • Workers using AI: 19.2%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 7
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 90.3
  1. Minnesota
  • Workers using AI: 24.3%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 27
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 124.5
  1. Illinois
  • Workers using AI: 17.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 13
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 129.4
  1. North Carolina
  • Workers using AI: 20.2%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 19
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 109.3
  1. Connecticut
  • Workers using AI: 17.7%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 18
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 117.9
  1. Ohio
  • Workers using AI: 22.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 31
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 108.5
  1. Kansas
  • Workers using AI: 22.3%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 29
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 84.3
  1. New Jersey
  • Workers using AI: 12.1%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 20
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 164.7
  1. Maryland
  • Workers using AI: 16.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 17
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 86.4
  1. Pennsylvania
  • Workers using AI: 17.3%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 23
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 98.9
  1. Michigan
  • Workers using AI: 16.9%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 25
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 99.6
  1. Tennessee
  • Workers using AI: 15.8%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 26
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 107.2
  1. New Hampshire
  • Workers using AI: 15.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 36
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 149.6
  1. Nebraska
  • Workers using AI: 15.3%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 30
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 108.1
  1. Delaware
  • Workers using AI: 16.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 22
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 47.6
  1. Wisconsin
  • Workers using AI: 16.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 40
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 139.1
  1. Wyoming
  • Workers using AI: 27.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 49
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 36.4
  1. Vermont
  • Workers using AI: 16.1%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 28
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 74.7
  1. Indiana
  • Workers using AI: 19.7%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 35
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 56.1
  1. Kentucky
  • Workers using AI: 19.2%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 39
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 79
  1. Alabama
  • Workers using AI: 17.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 34
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 72.4
  1. Iowa
  • Workers using AI: 18.2%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 44
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 107.8
  1. Idaho
  • Workers using AI: 16.8%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 37
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 61.6
  1. New Mexico
  • Workers using AI: 19.8%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 42
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 46.5
  1. Oklahoma
  • Workers using AI: 16.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 32
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 39.7
  1. Arkansas
  • Workers using AI: 14.1%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 45
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 129.5
  1. South Carolina
  • Workers using AI: 14.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 38
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 70.8
  1. North Dakota
  • Workers using AI: 16.7%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 41
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 38.6
  1. Louisiana
  • Workers using AI: 11.0%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 33
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 70
  1. Hawaii
  • Workers using AI: 8.4%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 21
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 36.7
  1. Maine
  • Workers using AI: 16.9%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 47
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 57.1
  1. Montana
  • Workers using AI: 18.9%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 50
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 44.9
  1. West Virginia
  • Workers using AI: 13.6%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 51
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 67.6
  1. Mississippi
  • Workers using AI: 12.9%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 46
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 38.5
  1. South Dakota
  • Workers using AI: 13.1%
  • Rank for ChatGPT queries per capita: 48
  • Data center and AI jobs per 100k population: 43.1

Data and Methodology

States are ranked based on AI adoption factors including AI use at work, ChatGPT use, and data center and AI-related jobs.

  • For AI use at work, data comes from the United States Census Bureau Business Trends and Outlook Survey as of April 5, 2026.
  • For ChatGPT use, data is published by OpenAI in the Signals Data report from February 20, 2026. Note that only rankings of messages per capita per day were published versus other states; actual messages per capita per day spent was not made available. Note that while full study data was not available for Rhode Island and Alaska, their respective standings for ChatGPT use were still considered when ranking other states.
  • For data center and AI-related jobs, data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2025, as processed by Visual Capitalist.

State-level GDP data comes from Trading Economics for July 2025.

Questions about this study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/gorodenkoff