By StartBusinessByStatePublisher: Robert SmithResearch process
Original research · U.S. Census Bureau survey of small businesses · Latest survey covers Oct 5–18, 2026 (released Nov 5, 2026) · Updated November 6, 2026 AI also helps criminals, and our report on fake boss and fake invoice scams shows the losses small businesses reported.
Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. businesses now use AI. In the latest Census survey, 24.2% of businesses said they used AI in the past two weeks. That is down 0.4 points from the survey before, a change within the margin of error. At the start of 2026 it was 17.7%. That is about 35% more businesses than at the start of the year. Use is highest in Wyoming (40.1%) and lowest in New Hampshire (12.8%). Construction use more than doubled, from 8.3% to 17.1%.
Key findings
- 24.2% of U.S. businesses used AI in the last two weeks. That is up from 17.7% in the first survey of 2026 and 17.3% when Census first asked this question in November 2025. It is down from 24.6% in the survey before, a change within the margin of error.
- D.C., Colorado, Delaware and Nevada sit near the top. They are the top four in the latest survey, and all four rank in the top 10 on the average of the last three surveys. Latest rates: D.C. 37.2%, Colorado 31.2%, Delaware 29.7%, Nevada 29.5%. Wyoming is a small sample, so its margin of error is wide (about ±18.4 points).
- New Hampshire (12.8%), Mississippi (13.2%), West Virginia (14.0%) and Hawaii (14.6%) are lowest. They are the only states below 15%. State samples there are small, so the margins are wide (about ±7.3, ±4.7, ±6.5 and ±6.2 points). Census did not publish Alaska’s figure this round.
- Use went up in 44 of the 49 places we could compare. In 24 of them, the rise is bigger than the survey’s margin of error. Mississippi, Idaho, Massachusetts, West Virginia and New Hampshire slipped. None of those drops is bigger than the margin of error.
- Construction use more than doubled this year. It went from 8.3% to 17.1%. Specialty trade contractors (electricians, plumbers, HVAC and roofing firms) went from 6.1% to 13.7%, more than double. They still trail the national rate.
- More are on the way. 27.6% of businesses expect to use AI in the next six months. D.C. (36.8%) and Colorado (35.4%) lead.
Planning a new AI service business?
If you are turning an AI workflow into a new service business and are considering an LLC, review the filing steps, registered-agent options and ongoing costs in the LLC setup guide.
Map: AI use by state
State numbers come from smaller samples than the national number, so they move around. Florida’s margin of error is about ±2.9 points. D.C.’s is about ±20.0. This round, Wyoming jumped from 14.4% to 40.1% and Hawaii fell from 28.6% to 14.6%. Their three-survey averages (— and 22.6%) are steadier. That is why the table shows both.
The national trend
The rise has been fairly steady. There was a dip in early February. Since then it has gone up in most surveys. The latest survey edged down to 24.2%, from 24.6% the round before. That one-round change is inside the margin of error. The share expecting to use AI is 27.6%, down from 28.6% the round before. The national number has a small margin of error (about ±1.0 points), so the climb since late 2025 is real, not noise.
Companies are also filing more patents for AI tools. Published patent applications for generative AI went from 1,141 in 2024 to 2,754 in 2025. See the monthly numbers in our generative AI patent tracker.
One more thing: big companies that operate in more than one state are counted separately by Census. 40.4% of them used AI in the latest survey, up from 31.0%. They are left out of the state numbers, so the state map mostly reflects local, single-state businesses.
Which industries use AI
Office-type work leads. Nearly half of information businesses (45.0%) use AI. So do 41.6% of professional services firms. Hands-on businesses use it less, but their use is growing quickly. Construction’s share more than doubled this year. For every industry and subsector, including trade contractors, repair shops and cleaning and landscaping firms, see our small-business AI use by industry study.
| Industry | Latest (Oct 5–18) | First 2026 survey | Change (pts) | Expect to use in next 6 months | Our guides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information | 45.0% | 37.7% | +7.3 | 45.1% | |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 41.6% | 34.1% | +7.5 | 45.1% | |
| Educational services | 39.5% | 28.9% | +10.6 | 43.9% | |
| Finance & insurance | 39.2% | 30.7% | +8.5 | 43.3% | |
| Real estate & rental | 28.2% | 23.4% | +4.8 | 34.7% | |
| Utilities | 27.5% | — | — | 25.4% | |
| Health care & social assistance (incl. child care) | 24.6% | 21.0% | +3.6 | 28.2% | daycare |
| Wholesale trade | 23.1% | 13.9% | +9.2 | 27.7% | |
| Admin, support & waste services (incl. cleaning, landscaping) | 22.2% | 16.0% | +6.2 | 24.6% | cleaning, landscaping |
| Arts, entertainment & recreation | 22.0% | 19.0% | +3.0 | 25.7% | |
| Manufacturing | 21.4% | 11.7% | +9.7 | 26.0% | |
| Retail trade | 19.1% | 12.6% | +6.5 | 21.8% | |
| Construction | 17.1% | 8.3% | +8.8 | 19.4% | trade labor by state |
| Other services (repair, salons, personal care) | 15.7% | 9.4% | +6.3 | 17.5% | salons, repair shops |
| Transportation & warehousing | 12.6% | 8.6% | +4.0 | 15.6% | |
| Accommodation & food services | 12.1% | 7.5% | +4.6 | 15.5% | food trucks |
| Mining, oil & gas | 10.2% | 10.0% | +0.2 | 11.6% |
A closer look at trades and service businesses
| Business type (Census subsector) | Latest | First 2026 survey | Change (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building construction | 22.5% | 12.1% | +10.4 |
| Specialty trade contractors (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, etc.) | 13.7% | 6.1% | +7.6 |
| Administrative & support services (incl. janitorial, landscaping services) | 22.6% | 16.9% | +5.7 |
| Repair & maintenance | 15.1% | 8.3% | +6.8 |
| Personal & laundry services (incl. salons) | 16.5% | 10.6% | +5.9 |
| Food services & drinking places (incl. food trucks) | 12.3% | 7.6% | +4.7 |
| Social assistance (incl. child day care) | 22.6% | 21.7% | +0.9 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 41.6% | 34.1% | +7.5 |
If you run a trade business, the big jump is the story. Specialty trade contractors went from about 1 in 16 using AI to about 1 in 7 in about ten months. If you are starting an HVAC business or a landscaping business, expect more of your competitors to try it. About 1 in 7 trade contractors already does. For how much trade work there is in each state, see our trade labor density by state study and our HVAC industry statistics.
Wondering what AI means for jobs in the trades? We also track job postings for trades vs. tech jobs since ChatGPT came out.
The survey asks whether a business used AI. It does not ask what for, or whether AI changed jobs or hiring. We do not read more into it than that.
For a service-business launch, connect the technology plan to tasks that bring in and collect revenue. Our cleaning contracts guide and salon booking and payment guide cover tools for those customer workflows.
- AI use is spreading into hands-on businesses, not just offices. If you plan to run a crew, expect more of your competitors to be using it. The hands-on jobs themselves are among the least exposed to AI; see AI-proof jobs by state.
- Your state matters less than your industry. The gap between information businesses and food service (45.0% vs 12.1%) is bigger than the gap between the highest and lowest state (40.1% vs 12.8%). Wherever you are, check the rules before you add AI tools: see AI laws small businesses must follow, by state.
AI use in every state
Click a column heading to sort. ✓ means the change since the start of 2026 is bigger than the margin of error.
| Rank | State | Used AI, last 2 weeks (Oct 5–18) | Margin of error (90%) | First 2026 survey (Dec 15–28, 2025) | Change (pts) | Average of last 3 surveys | Separate question: expect to use AI in next 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 24.2% | ±1.0 | 17.7% | +6.5 | — | 27.6% | |
| 1 | Wyoming | 40.1% | ±18.4 | 19.1% | +21.0 | — | 32.5% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 37.2% | ±20.0 | 24.4% | +12.8 | 38.4% | 36.8% |
| 3 | Colorado | 31.2% | ±3.5 | 23.6% | +7.6 ✓ | 29.6% | 35.4% |
| 4 | Delaware | 29.7% | ±8.9 | 15.6% | +14.1 ✓ | 27.5% | 26.1% |
| 5 | Nevada | 29.5% | ±5.0 | 20.6% | +8.9 ✓ | 28.2% | 26.3% |
| 6 | Utah | 29.4% | ±8.2 | 15.2% | +14.2 ✓ | 32.1% | 27.4% |
| 7 | Kansas | 28.5% | ±6.4 | 12.5% | +16.0 ✓ | 25.9% | 32.3% |
| 8 | Georgia | 28.2% | ±5.8 | 15.5% | +12.7 ✓ | 26.2% | 29.6% |
| 9 | Virginia | 28.1% | ±3.8 | 13.5% | +14.6 ✓ | 27.1% | 31.7% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 27.7% | ±4.1 | 22.9% | +4.8 | 27.4% | 32.7% |
| 11 | Florida | 27.6% | ±2.9 | 20.0% | +7.6 ✓ | 27.4% | 32.2% |
| 12 | Ohio | 27.3% | ±3.0 | 16.3% | +11.0 ✓ | 23.5% | 28.9% |
| 13 | Oregon | 26.9% | ±6.3 | 21.1% | +5.8 | 24.2% | 30.4% |
| 13 | Texas | 26.9% | ±2.9 | 19.0% | +7.9 ✓ | 26.9% | 32.1% |
| 15 | North Carolina | 26.5% | ±3.4 | 17.6% | +8.9 ✓ | 26.6% | 27.9% |
| 16 | Arizona | 26.2% | ±4.7 | 24.3% | +1.9 | 29.1% | 30.3% |
| 17 | Tennessee | 26.1% | ±6.4 | 13.4% | +12.7 ✓ | 24.6% | 28.1% |
| 18 | Montana | 25.1% | ±3.4 | 17.2% | +7.9 ✓ | 22.7% | 35.3% |
| 19 | California | 24.7% | ±1.5 | 19.1% | +5.6 ✓ | 25.0% | 28.2% |
| 20 | Maine | 24.2% | ±11.9 | 19.8% | +4.4 | 21.7% | 27.5% |
| 21 | Connecticut | 24.1% | ±6.2 | 13.9% | +10.2 ✓ | 23.1% | 23.7% |
| 22 | Indiana | 24.0% | ±3.3 | 19.3% | +4.7 ✓ | 21.7% | 25.7% |
| 22 | Washington | 24.0% | ±2.8 | 21.4% | +2.6 | 25.7% | 25.2% |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 24.0% | ±4.3 | 17.1% | +6.9 ✓ | 21.2% | 26.3% |
| 25 | Missouri | 23.6% | ±6.0 | 19.6% | +4.0 | 22.5% | 27.5% |
| 26 | Iowa | 23.3% | ±5.0 | 15.2% | +8.1 ✓ | 20.7% | 26.9% |
| 27 | Illinois | 23.1% | ±2.5 | 16.8% | +6.3 ✓ | 23.7% | 24.4% |
| 28 | South Carolina | 22.6% | ±4.4 | 12.0% | +10.6 ✓ | 23.6% | 26.0% |
| 28 | South Dakota | 22.6% | ±5.9 | 15.5% | +7.1 | 20.1% | 23.2% |
| 30 | Kentucky | 22.5% | ±5.3 | 17.8% | +4.7 | 23.4% | 26.0% |
| 30 | North Dakota | 22.5% | ±9.9 | 10.5% | +12.0 ✓ | 19.2% | 32.4% |
| 32 | Louisiana | 21.5% | ±6.8 | 14.1% | +7.4 | 18.9% | 25.0% |
| 32 | New Jersey | 21.5% | ±4.6 | 14.0% | +7.5 ✓ | 20.8% | 23.6% |
| 34 | Maryland | 21.2% | ±3.7 | 19.2% | +2.0 | 23.9% | 25.0% |
| 35 | Arkansas | 20.9% | ±5.9 | 10.3% | +10.6 ✓ | 20.5% | 31.8% |
| 36 | Michigan | 20.7% | ±4.1 | 16.1% | +4.6 | 21.9% | 22.0% |
| 37 | Alabama | 20.6% | ±6.0 | 15.5% | +5.1 | 21.2% | 25.2% |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 20.6% | ±10.8 | — | — | 20.4% | 31.9% |
| 39 | Oklahoma | 20.5% | ±3.8 | 15.0% | +5.5 | 20.8% | 25.2% |
| 40 | Massachusetts | 20.4% | ±2.5 | 22.1% | -1.7 | 24.0% | 21.4% |
| 41 | Vermont | 19.3% | ±8.4 | 15.6% | +3.7 | 20.5% | 20.3% |
| 42 | Pennsylvania | 18.9% | ±2.6 | 15.0% | +3.9 | 21.0% | 24.8% |
| 43 | New Mexico | 17.8% | ±6.6 | 17.7% | +0.1 | 20.1% | 18.8% |
| 43 | New York | 17.8% | ±2.7 | 14.3% | +3.5 ✓ | 18.4% | 21.3% |
| 45 | Nebraska | 16.3% | ±4.8 | 14.6% | +1.7 | 22.6% | 19.6% |
| 46 | Idaho | 16.0% | ±4.5 | 19.5% | -3.5 | 15.8% | 26.0% |
| 47 | Hawaii | 14.6% | ±6.2 | 10.3% | +4.3 | 22.6% | 19.0% |
| 48 | West Virginia | 14.0% | ±6.5 | 14.2% | -0.2 | — | 11.2% |
| 49 | Mississippi | 13.2% | ±4.7 | 19.4% | -6.2 | 14.7% | 23.0% |
| 50 | New Hampshire | 12.8% | ±7.3 | 12.9% | -0.1 | 19.2% | 19.5% |
| — | Alaska | Suppressed | — | — | — | — |
Rank is by the latest survey; ties share a rank. “—” means Census suppressed that figure. Alaska’s latest figure was suppressed, as were Rhode Island’s and Alaska’s first-2026 figures. A blank three-survey average means one of the three was suppressed. Download the full table (CSV).
Businesses vs. people: a second view
This section uses a different source. The Anthropic Economic Index measures how much people in each state use Anthropic’s Claude.ai chatbot, compared with each state’s share of the working-age (15–64) population. An index of 1.0 means use matches population. It counts people, not businesses, and only one AI product.
The two measures line up moderately well (correlation about 0.38 across 50 places). D.C. is first on both. New Hampshire is last for business use and #22 of 51 for Claude use. But a few states split:
- New York: people rank #3 for Claude use (index 1.55), but only 17.8% of its single-state businesses use AI (#43). Massachusetts, Hawaii, Maryland and New Jersey show a smaller version of the same gap.
- Kansas and Wyoming: people use Claude less than most states (index 0.48 and 0.43), but their businesses report AI use above the national rate (28.5% and 40.1%).
We can’t say why from this data. One likely part of it: many big employers in places like New York work across state lines, and Census leaves those companies out of state figures.
Inventing AI is a different story again. New Jersey and New York are in the top 10 for AI patents per person, but their businesses use AI less than most states. Utah is the reverse. See AI inventors vs. AI users by state.
Anthropic Economic Index data (release of June 26, 2026, covering May 2026) by Anthropic, used under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. The index is included in the CSV as a separate column.
Plan your company setup
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Cite or share this data
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Source: StartBusinessByState.com analysis of U.S. Census Bureau small-business survey data. https://startbusinessbystate.com/small-business-ai-use-by-state/
Methodology
- Source. U.S. Census Bureau survey of small businesses, national, state and industry data files, downloaded November 6, 2026. The latest survey covered Oct 5–18, 2026. It was collected Oct 19–Nov 1 and released Nov 5, 2026.
- The question. We report the share who answered “Yes” to: whether the business used Super Intelligence or SI (formerly Artificial Intelligence or AI) in any of its business functions in the last two weeks. A separate column shows who expect to use it in the next six months. Starting with surveys collected October 19, 2026, Census changed the question wording from “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” to “Super Intelligence or SI (formerly referred to as Artificial Intelligence or AI),” citing Executive Order 14434. The latest survey on this page (collected Oct 19–Nov 1, 2026) is the first published round under that wording. In that round, “Do not know” rose to 13.9% from 9.6% the round before; the Yes rate moved from 24.6% to 24.2%. We report the published Yes shares and do not adjust for the wording change.
- Time frame. Census began asking this version of the question in the survey covering Nov 3–16, 2025. Older versions of the AI question used different wording, so we do not compare to them. “First 2026 survey” means the survey covering Dec 15–28, 2025 (collected Dec 29, 2025–Jan 11, 2026).
- Who is counted. The survey covers employer businesses (businesses with paid employees), except farms and a few other industries. Each business counts once, whatever its size. Businesses with no employees are not in the survey; see our study of businesses without employees. Businesses with locations in more than one state are grouped separately by Census and are not in any state’s figure.
- Margins of error. We show a 90% margin of error: 1.645 × the Census standard error. We call a change “bigger than the margin of error” when it is more than 1.645 × the square root of the sum of both squared standard errors. That treats the two surveys as independent, which is a simplification.
- Three-survey average. The simple average of the three most recent surveys (covering Sep 7–Oct 18, 2026). It smooths out one-round jumps. It is blank if any of the three was suppressed.
- Suppressed data. Census replaces figures that don’t meet its quality standards with “S.” Alaska’s latest figure was suppressed. We do not estimate missing values.
- Anthropic comparison. From the Anthropic Economic Index (Hugging Face dataset Anthropic/EconomicIndex, release 2026_06_26), state “usage per capita index” for May 2026. It is a separate source and is not combined with the Census numbers.
- Next update. Census posts new survey numbers every two weeks. The next scheduled release is November 19, 2026.
FAQ
What counts as “using AI”?
Whatever the business owner or manager says counts. Census gives examples: machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents (chatbots) and voice recognition. The survey does not ask which tools or what they were used for.
Is this only small businesses?
No. The survey covers employer businesses of every size. But each business counts once, and most businesses are small. Big companies in several states are counted outside the state figures. So the state numbers lean toward local, smaller businesses.
Why did my state jump or drop so much?
State samples are smaller, so their numbers bounce. Check the margin of error and the three-survey average before reading too much into one round.
Why is Alaska blank?
Census suppressed Alaska’s latest figure because it did not meet publication standards. We leave it blank rather than guess.
Does this mean AI is replacing workers in construction?
This survey can’t tell you that. It only asks whether a business used AI. It says nothing about jobs, hours or pay.
How often is this updated?
Census releases new numbers every two weeks. We plan to refresh this page as new rounds come out.
Can I use your charts?
Yes. Please credit “StartBusinessByState.com analysis of U.S. Census Bureau small-business survey” and link to this page.