The new American AI Jobs Risk Index from Tufts University reveals that the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the geography of U.S. labor markets, creating a new generation of "Wired Belts" — regions where workers are particularly exposed to AI-driven automation. While major tech hubs have long dominated discussions of technological disruption, the report shows that smaller university cities are also emerging as highly vulnerable locales.
The Tufts AI Jobs Risk Index evaluates risk both as a share of local employment and in absolute terms, as the number of jobs potentially affected.
The slideshow above illustrates the metropolitan areas in the U.S. with the highest percentage of jobs at risk, according to Tufts.
These cities are home to high concentrations of roles that AI is most likely to disrupt, including knowledge work in tech, finance and professional services.
Smaller university-centered metros also face elevated risk when measured relative to the size of their labor pools.
In terms of absolute job losses, larger labor markets such as New York and Los Angeles are expected to be impacted due to the scale of employment in AI-sensitive occupations.
The analysis also underscores a widening geographic divergence: high-percentage risk metros often do not coincide with the largest absolute job losses. This distinction means policymakers and employers must consider both the relative and total economic exposure of regions when planning workforce transitions or retraining initiatives. In many smaller university towns, even a modest number of job losses represents a large share of the local economy, making those communities particularly sensitive to disruption, the report said.
The "Wired Belts" concept extends beyond the traditional tech-centric coastal regions to include these smaller, highly educated labor markets, signaling that AI's impact is neither purely urban nor confined to mega-metros. Coupled with ongoing state-level variations in AI legislation and regulatory attention, the geographic pattern of risk is poised to shape both local economies and policy responses in the coming years.
This article first published on GlobeSt.com, a sister publication of PropertyCasualty360.com.
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