Metro area, Iowa
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
84,260 people work in this area, at mean pay of $56,540 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: 43 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 31%
- 23%
- 46%
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 75,706 people in jobs so far, 90% 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 27 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 16 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 9.7 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
- 21%
- 10%
- 7%
- 16%
- 46%
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 75,706 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 craft42,730 (56%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself23,831 (31%)
- The conversations23,523 (31%)
- Judgment where errors are severe20,880 (28%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts15,817 (21%)
- Signing off under your license7,600 (10%)
- Running AI inside the business systems6,520 (9%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization4,000 (5%)
- Handling protected records460 (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%.
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 53% 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, 12% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.55 of 3.
- Not physical 47%
- No robot shown 13%
- In a purpose-built cell 27%
- 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 54% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,540 | 64% | 2.1 million | $40K |
| Registered Nurses | 1,890 | 37% | 1.4 million | $77K |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,220 | 56% | 1.4 million | $44K |
| General and Operations Managers | 1,510 | 45% | 1.4 million | $82K |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,460 | 23% | 1.2 million | $31K |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 620 | 84% | 1.1 million | $41K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 580 | 88% | 1.1 million | $48K |
| Cashiers | 2,340 | 19% | 900,432 | $29K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 720 | 59% | 879,096 | $46K |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 780 | 46% | 752,794 | $67K |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 890 | 35% | 642,367 | $61K |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,560 | 19% | 626,246 | $37K |
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. 306 smaller jobs (35,210 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 91% 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.
- Record numbers of units handled or moved, using daily production sheets or work tickets.Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand406,688 hours100% 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 Representatives348,540 hours100% of the task within reach
- Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions.Cashiers344,062 hours100% of the task within reach
- Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.Customer Service Representatives321,473 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 Nurses316,823 hours60% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General305,578 hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.Retail Salespersons298,079 hours50% 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 Assistants248,351 hours100% of the task within reach
- Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.Customer Service Representatives247,876 hours80% of the task within reach
- Compile and maintain non-monetary reports and records.Cashiers245,161 hours100% of the task within reach
The regional report on Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
This page lists the largest jobs. The scan reads the whole workforce: every occupation BLS publishes here that the site has task data for, 91% 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 Iowa
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.
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA404,130 people32% now, 39% by 2028
- Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area200,390 people26% now, 29% by 2028
- Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL180,450 people29% now, 34% by 2028
- Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area145,960 people25% now, 29% by 2028
- Cedar Rapids, IA139,260 people29% now, 35% by 2028
- Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area99,370 people27% now, 30% by 2028
- Iowa City, IA93,760 people30% now, 35% by 2028
- Sioux City, IA-NE-SD75,010 people25% now, 29% 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 27% of the paid hours in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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 (1,540 people, 64% of their time, about 2.1 million hours a year); Registered Nurses (1,890 people, 37% of their time, about 1.4 million hours a year); and Office Clerks, General (1,220 people, 56% of their time, about 1.4 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Record numbers of units handled or moved, using daily production sheets or work tickets (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, about 406,688 hours a year); 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, about 348,540 hours a year); and Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions (Cashiers, about 344,062 hours a year).
- What would people working in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA learn first?
- Among the 75,706 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 (42,730 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (23,831 people); and the conversations (23,523 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (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 91% of its people, and 90% 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.