Jobs in Iowa have an average Still needs a human score of 74.7 out of 100 (higher is safer), 0.7 points above the US average of 74.0 and tied for 11th of 51 among the states and DC (1st is least exposed). The largest job here is cashiers (41,000 workers, 74/100 ↑ safer), and of the jobs more common here than across the economy, sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products is the most exposed (57/100 ↑ safer).
How the work in Iowa could shift
The share of workers in the state whose job would sit in each band, from today to 2060.
Each job's score moves towards the bottom band (Largely: AI could largely do the job) by the year it could be largely automated, slowly at first and faster later, as adoption usually goes. Each job is run as ten scenarios across its replacement range, so every figure mixes early and late outcomes. The model stops at 2060. How the timeline works
Show the data
| Year | Largely | Mostly | Partly | A little | Nah |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today (2026) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5.8% | 58.8% | 35.4% |
| 2030 | 0.0% | 2.2% | 27.0% | 52.3% | 18.6% |
| 2035 | 13.9% | 19.2% | 29.5% | 31.8% | 5.6% |
| 2040 | 33.2% | 27.9% | 25.3% | 8.3% | 5.3% |
| 2045 | 55.9% | 25.4% | 11.2% | 2.2% | 5.3% |
| 2050 | 72.1% | 18.8% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 5.3% |
| 2055 | 85.5% | 7.1% | 0.0% | 2.1% | 5.3% |
| 2060 | 90.9% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 2.1% | 5.3% |
The largest jobs in Iowa
| # | Job | Still needs a human | Evidence | Could be largely automated | Workers here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cashiers | 74↑ saferAI replace? A little. | D | 2036–2060+ | 41,450 |
| 2 | Retail Salespersons | 69↑ saferAI replace? A little. | D | 2035–2054 | 41,000 |
| 3 | Fast Food and Counter Workers | 82↑ saferAI replace? Nah.workers of 2 related jobs | D | 2044–2060+ | 40,290 |
| 4 | Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 79↑ saferAI replace? A little. | D | 2044–2060+ | 35,040 |
| 5 | Registered Nurses | 80↑ saferAI replace? Nah.workers of 5 related jobs | D | 2042–2060+ | 34,420 |
| 6 | Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 84↑ saferAI replace? Nah.workers of 2 related jobs | D | 2044–2060+ | 30,890 |
| 7 | General and Operations Managers | 72↑ saferAI replace? A little. | D | 2036–2051 | 30,760 |
| 8 | Customer Service Representatives | 51↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2034–2041 | 30,100 |
| 9 | Stockers and Order Fillers | 79↑ saferAI replace? A little. | D | 2044–2060+ | 26,770 |
| 10 | Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 86↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2046–2060+ | 23,960 |
Common jobs here that AI can do most of
Jobs with at least 1,560 workers in the state, lowest score first.
| # | Job | Still needs a human | Evidence | Could be largely automated | Workers here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Customer Service Representatives | 51↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2034–2041 | 30,100 |
| 2 | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 54↑ saferAI replace? Partly.workers of 2 related jobs | D | 2034–2042 | 8,880 |
| 3 | Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 54↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2034–2042 | 6,530 |
| 4 | Medical Records Specialists | 56↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2039–2049 | 2,250 |
| 5 | Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 57↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2034–2044 | 16,990 |
| 6 | Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | 58↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2034–2043 | 2,300 |
| 7 | Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks | 58↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2035–2045 | 2,820 |
| 8 | Computer Systems Analysts | 59↑ saferAI replace? Partly.workers of 2 related jobs | D | 2033–2042 | 4,760 |
| 9 | Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products | 59↑ saferAI replace? Partly.workers of 2 related jobs | D | 2034–2044 | 2,580 |
| 10 | Personal Financial Advisors | 59↑ saferAI replace? Partly. | D | 2035–2044 | 1,920 |
Common jobs here that most need a human
| # | Job | Still needs a human | Evidence | Could be largely automated | Workers here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2044–2060+ | 7,770 |
| 2 | Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2046–2060+ | 8,800 |
| 3 | Highway Maintenance Workers | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2048–2060+ | 4,000 |
| 4 | Dishwashers | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2045–2060+ | 3,290 |
| 5 | Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2047–2060+ | 8,160 |
| 6 | Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | 88↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2048–2060+ | 2,110 |
| 7 | Construction Laborers | 87↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2048–2060+ | 13,780 |
| 8 | Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers | 87↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2046–2060+ | 1,900 |
| 9 | Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders | 87↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2046–2060+ | 6,990 |
| 10 | Slaughterers and Meat Packers | 87↑ saferAI replace? Nah. | D | 2046–2060+ | 4,220 |
The job most over-represented in Iowa compared with the US as a whole is Slaughterers and Meat Packers (5.9 times its share of US jobs), with a score of 87.
Neighboring states: Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin
How this is worked out
- The average weights every job's Still needs a human score by how many people do it in the state, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment survey (May 2025). Jobs cover 98.6% of the state's employment.
- Job scores are national: a state's accountants score the same as anyone else's. The state figure reflects its mix of jobs, not how its employers use AI.
- Where BLS hides a figure for a small job, the state's missing workers are shared out by national patterns; those estimates count in the average but never put a job on a list.