Skip to content
STRATUSWORKFORCE SCAN

Nonmetro area, South Dakota

East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area

133,090 people work in this area, at mean pay of $54,950 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
26%

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

$2.9B

a year: 71 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.

Kinds of work
  • 31%
  • 21%
  • 49%
5%

of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 21% 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: 31% 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 120,716 people in jobs so far, 91% 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.

17%

about 42 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.

10%

about 26 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.

, not counted
5%

about 13 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

  • 20%
  • 11%
  • 6%
  • 16%
  • 47%

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 120,716 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
69%

Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.

Becomes checking
24%

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

  • The hands-on craft67,625 (56%)
  • The conversations37,333 (31%)
  • Reviewing work you did not do yourself36,716 (30%)
  • Judgment where errors are severe36,030 (30%)
  • Briefing a model and checking its drafts24,102 (20%)
  • Signing off under your license12,585 (10%)
  • Running AI inside the business systems10,840 (9%)
  • Dealing with people outside the organization8,020 (7%)
  • Handling protected records1,030 (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, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 18%. Today's estimate: 27%.

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: 2% within reacho3, April 2025: 6% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 7% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 10% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 10% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 11% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 11% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 18% within reachToday (estimate), November 2026: 27% 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 54% of the working time of the people in this area as physical work. For 42% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 29% in a purpose-built cell, 12% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.56 of 3.

  • Not physical 46%
  • No robot shown 12%
  • In a purpose-built cell 29%
  • In a structured facility 12%
  • 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 50% of the people.

PeoplePay here
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks3,30088%6 million$45K
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,87059%2.3 million$42K
Registered Nurses2,79037%2.1 million$78K
Retail Salespersons3,62023%1.7 million$34K
Receptionists and Information Clerks1,32060%1.6 million$37K
Cashiers4,14019%1.6 million$29K
Customer Service Representatives1,18064%1.6 million$40K
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products1,48046%1.4 million$76K
Accountants and Auditors1,47045%1.4 million$77K
Stockers and Order Fillers2,95019%1.2 million$37K
General and Operations Managers1,21045%1.1 million$137K
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers1,07049%1.1 million$57K

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. 380 smaller jobs (63,660 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. Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
    1.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
  2. Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions.Cashiers
    608,726 hours100% of the task within reach
  3. Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals.Registered Nurses
    467,691 hours60% of the task within reach
  4. Coordinate conferences, meetings, or special events, such as luncheons or graduation ceremonies.Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
    457,480 hours60% of the task within reach
  5. Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.Retail Salespersons
    438,637 hours50% of the task within reach
  6. Compile and maintain non-monetary reports and records.Cashiers
    433,746 hours100% of the task within reach
  7. Plan, organize, and control the operations of a cocktail lounge or bar.Bartenders
    423,287 hours50% of the task within reach
  8. Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
    412,732 hours100% of the task within reach
  9. Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
    410,948 hours100% of the task within reach
  10. Perform administrative support tasks, such as proofreading, transcribing handwritten information, or operating calculators or computers to work with pay records, invoices, balance sheets, or other documents.Receptionists and Information Clerks
    408,985 hours100% of the task within reach

The regional report on East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area

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 South Dakota

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 East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area is within reach of AI now?
An estimated 27% of the paid hours in East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area are within reach of AI models now and 31% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (30% to 31% 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 East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area carry the most hours within reach?
By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (3,300 people, 88% of their time, about 6 million hours a year); Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (1,870 people, 59% of their time, about 2.3 million hours a year); and Registered Nurses (2,790 people, 37% of their time, about 2.1 million hours a year).
Which tasks in East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information (Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, about 1.1 million hours a year); Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions (Cashiers, about 608,726 hours a year); and Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals (Registered Nurses, about 467,691 hours a year).
What would people working in East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area learn first?
Among the 120,716 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (67,625 people); the conversations (37,333 people); and reviewing work you did not do yourself (36,716 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 69% of their working time stays with people, 24% 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 East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area (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 91% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.

How the estimates are made

Embed these figures on your site

A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.

See the card