Rochester

The Rochester metropolitan area receives an AI displacement risk score of 59 out of 100, placing it at rank #378 among 393 US metros. This is 11 points below the national metro average of 70, suggesting the area has meaningful structural resilience against AI disruption. An estimated 30,500 workers — 25.1% of the workforce — hold positions in occupations highly susceptible to automation.

The primary driver of risk in Rochester is the concentration of employment in Business Administration, an industry where routine tasks, data processing, and customer interactions are increasingly being handled by AI systems. Among the most at-risk occupations in the area are Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, and Fast Food and Counter Workers — roles where advances in natural language processing, computer vision, and robotic process automation are already reducing demand.

Higher-than-average wages ($78K vs $60K nationally) may provide workers more resources to invest in reskilling, but also create stronger economic incentives for employers to automate. Workers in this metro should consider developing complementary AI skills, exploring transition paths to lower-risk occupations, and leveraging local workforce development resources.