More than one in five U.S. businesses now use AI, but adoption varies sharply by location and industry, according to the latest Census Bureau data.
About 22.4% of businesses reported using AI in at least one business function, the Business Trends and Outlook Survey found. The data was collected Aug. 10 to 23 and looked at AI usage in the prior two weeks.
The District of Columbia reported the highest rate among jurisdictions or states, at 33.7%. Utah followed at 30.3%, Colorado at 29% and Washington state at 28.9%. Georgia, Montana, Idaho, South Carolina, Texas and Florida all exceeded 25%.
California came in at 23.6%, only modestly above the national rate of 22.4%, despite its position at the center of the U.S. technology industry.
New York, in spite of its concentration of financial and technology businesses, ranked near the bottom at 16.7%. Massachusetts registered 17.2%, while Illinois and Alabama each came in at 17.3%. Maine had the lowest rate among states at 16%. Puerto Rico recorded 11.7%.
Adoption differences were even wider across industries. The information sector, which includes software, telecommunications, data processing and publishing, led at 46%. Professional, scientific and technical services followed at 41.9%, while finance and insurance reached 40%.
At the bottom: 8.2% of mining businesses used AI and 8.6% of accommodation and food-services businesses did so as well. Transportation and warehousing stood at 10.2%, while construction hit 14.3% and retail trade 15.2%.
Businesses expect adoption to continue rising. About 25.9% nationally said they expect to use AI within six months. But the figures show that adoption remains concentrated in information-heavy industries and selected states rather than spreading evenly throughout the economy.
The experimental Census survey covers U.S. employer businesses outside agriculture.
