Nonmetro area, North Carolina
Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area
264,470 people work in this area, at mean pay of $52,140 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.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 137 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 30%
- 22%
- 48%
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
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 242,879 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.
about 83 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 50 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 28 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%
- 10%
- 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 242,879 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.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
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 craft135,115 (56%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself79,079 (33%)
- Judgment where errors are severe77,000 (32%)
- The conversations70,338 (29%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts52,166 (21%)
- Signing off under your license25,340 (10%)
- Running AI inside the business systems20,230 (8%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization10,900 (4%)
- Handling protected records1,250 (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, 17%. Today's estimate: 26%.
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 40% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 27% in a purpose-built cell, 11% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.54 of 3.
- Not physical 46%
- No robot shown 14%
- In a purpose-built cell 27%
- In a structured facility 11%
- 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 51% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 2,990 | 88% | 5.5 million | $45K |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 2,900 | 84% | 5.1 million | $38K |
| Office Clerks, General | 3,890 | 56% | 4.6 million | $38K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 2,880 | 64% | 3.9 million | $37K |
| Registered Nurses | 4,950 | 37% | 3.8 million | $81K |
| Retail Salespersons | 7,500 | 23% | 3.6 million | $30K |
| Cashiers | 8,050 | 19% | 3.1 million | $28K |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,270 | 45% | 3.1 million | $88K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 2,490 | 59% | 3 million | $41K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers | 2,900 | 49% | 3 million | $47K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 2,490 | 48% | 2.5 million | $42K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 1,920 | 54% | 2.2 million | $58K |
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. 465 smaller jobs (124,130 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.
- Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions.Cashiers1.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants1.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General974,342 hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks972,372 hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.Retail Salespersons908,778 hours50% of the task within reach
- Compile and maintain non-monetary reports and records.Cashiers843,395 hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals.Registered Nurses829,775 hours60% of the task within reach
- Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits.Retail Salespersons723,060 hours50% of the task within reach
- 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 Representatives651,815 hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants646,691 hours100% of the task within reach
The regional report on Eastern North Carolina 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 North Carolina
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.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC1,358,370 people31% now, 38% by 2028
- Raleigh-Cary, NC743,120 people32% now, 40% by 2028
- Greensboro-High Point, NC365,410 people28% now, 33% by 2028
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC344,020 people34% now, 44% by 2028
- Winston-Salem, NC271,980 people29% now, 34% by 2028
- Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area253,210 people27% now, 31% by 2028
- Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area238,010 people26% now, 30% by 2028
- Wilmington, NC191,280 people29% now, 33% by 2028
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 Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 26% of the paid hours in Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area are within reach of AI models now and 30% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (29% to 30% 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 Eastern North Carolina 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 (2,990 people, 88% of their time, about 5.5 million hours a year); Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (2,900 people, 84% of their time, about 5.1 million hours a year); and Office Clerks, General (3,890 people, 56% of their time, about 4.6 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions (Cashiers, about 1.2 million hours a year); Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records (Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, about 1.2 million hours a year); and Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports (Office Clerks, General, about 974,342 hours a year).
- What would people working in Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area learn first?
- Among the 242,879 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 (135,115 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (79,079 people); and judgment where errors are severe (77,000 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 69% of their working time stays with people, 23% 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 Eastern North Carolina 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 92% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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.