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STRATUSWORKFORCE SCAN

Metro area, Colorado

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

1,609,350 people work in this area, at mean pay of $81,690 a year (BLS, May 2025), in every industry. What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.

now
33%

of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

$62B

a year: 1.1 billion hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.

Kinds of work
  • 41%
  • 23%
  • 36%
8%

of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 24% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.

Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 41% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030
Change assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

What handing the work over would take

For the 1,485,832 people in jobs so far, 92% of the area's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

23%

about 698 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.

10%

about 308 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.

, not counted
8%

about 254 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.

What their work is made of

  • 30%
  • 11%
  • 9%
  • 14%
  • 35%

Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.

What changes for the people

For the 1,485,832 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.

Stays with people
59%

Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.

Becomes checking
33%

Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.

Handed over
7%

Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.

What most people here would learn first

How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US

  • Reviewing work you did not do yourself657,434 (44%)
  • The hands-on craft618,268 (42%)
  • Briefing a model and checking its drafts523,146 (35%)
  • The conversations412,298 (28%)
  • Judgment where errors are severe366,083 (25%)
  • Signing off under your license141,745 (10%)
  • Running AI inside the business systems118,090 (8%)
  • Dealing with people outside the organization66,760 (4%)
  • Handling protected records5,960 (under 1%)

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this area's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 18%. Today's estimate: 33%.

0%10%20%30%40%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 1% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 1% within reacho3, April 2025: 5% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 6% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 9% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 9% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 10% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 11% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 18% within reachToday (estimate), November 2026: 33% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

Robots and the physical work

Anthropic rates 41% of the working time of the people in this area as physical work. For 29% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 20% in a purpose-built cell, 8% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.40 of 3.

  • Not physical 59%
  • No robot shown 11%
  • In a purpose-built cell 20%
  • In a structured facility 8%
  • In any setting 1%

Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.

Where the hours are

Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 45% of the people.

PeoplePay here
Customer Service Representatives23,56064%32 million$49K
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel24,48059%30 million$81K
Software Developers27,01048%27 million$138K
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks14,10088%26 million$58K
Project Management Specialists20,71058%25 million$117K
Registered Nurses30,38037%23 million$101K
General and Operations Managers22,94045%21 million$142K
Accountants and Auditors22,72045%21 million$100K
Retail Salespersons40,34023%19 million$38K
Office Clerks, General16,32056%19 million$54K
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive15,35059%19 million$50K
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists17,00050%18 million$99K

People: BLS counts for this area, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this area, else its mean, else the national median. 606 smaller jobs (851,280 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 96% of the area's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.

The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028

Across the whole area, on the chosen pace and reliability.

  1. Collect and analyze data on customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand.Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
    11 million hours100% of the task within reach
  2. Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications.Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
    10 million hours100% of the task within reach
  3. Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.Software Developers
    9 million hours80% of the task within reach
  4. Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.Software Developers
    7.6 million hours100% of the task within reach
  5. Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.Accountants and Auditors
    6.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
  6. Obtain and examine all relevant information to assess validity of complaints and to determine possible causes, such as extreme weather conditions that could increase utility bills.Customer Service Representatives
    5.3 million hours100% of the task within reach
  7. Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.Software Developers
    5.3 million hours70% of the task within reach
  8. Identify prospective customers using business directories, leads from clients, or information from conferences or trade shows.Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
    5.2 million hours70% of the task within reach
  9. Develop and implement records management program for filing, protection, and retrieval of records, and assure compliance with program.Management Analysts
    5.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
  10. Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals.Registered Nurses
    5.1 million hours60% of the task within reach

The regional report on Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

This page lists the largest jobs. The scan reads the whole workforce: every occupation BLS publishes here that the site has task data for, 96% of the people, at their local headcount and pay. The preview is free. The full report ($249, or included in Pro) is the report for a workforce board, a college or an economic development team: every occupation and the tasks behind its hours, what handing the work over would take, what changes for the people in each job and what they would learn, with the workbook and the slides to cite. Dated, with the method. For workforce boards and colleges

See what it holds first: the full report for Worcester, MA, Excel and slides.

Other areas in Colorado

Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this area; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the area's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works

Questions about this area

How much of the work in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is within reach of AI now?
An estimated 33% of the paid hours in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO are within reach of AI models now and 41% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (39% to 41% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
Which jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO carry the most hours within reach?
By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Customer Service Representatives (23,560 people, 64% of their time, about 32 million hours a year); Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel (24,480 people, 59% of their time, about 30 million hours a year); and Software Developers (27,010 people, 48% of their time, about 27 million hours a year).
Which tasks in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
Collect and analyze data on customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand (Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists, about 11 million hours a year); Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications (Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel, about 10 million hours a year); and Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design (Software Developers, about 9 million hours a year).
What would people working in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO learn first?
Among the 1,485,832 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are reviewing work you did not do yourself (657,434 people); the hands-on craft (618,268 people); and briefing a model and checking its drafts (523,146 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 59% of their working time stays with people, 33% becomes checking a model's work and 7% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
How is this estimated?
BLS counts the people in each occupation in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The area's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 96% of its people, and 92% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.

How the estimates are made

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