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Washington, D.C. had the highest reported business AI use in Resume Now’s first-half 2026 analysis of U.S. Census Bureau survey data, at 27.7%. Arizona led the states at 24.4%, followed by Colorado at 24.0%. These are averages of the share of surveyed businesses reporting AI use—not counts of businesses—and the ranking is Resume Now’s analysis, not an official Census Bureau league table.
Which states report the most business AI use?
Among states, Arizona ranked first in Resume Now’s analysis, with 24.4% of businesses reporting AI use on average during the first half of 2026. Colorado was next at 24.0%. Washington State ranked fourth overall, at 23.1%; Washington, D.C., which is a jurisdiction rather than a state, ranked first overall at 27.7%.
| Location | Reported average | How to read the ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | 27.7% | Highest among the included jurisdictions; not a state. |
| Arizona | 24.4% | Highest among states. |
| Colorado | 24.0% | Second among states. |
| Washington State | 23.1% | Fourth overall in Resume Now’s fever-zone table. |
| West Virginia | 13.5% | Lowest reported average among the included states. |
Figures are Resume Now’s averages of usable state- and jurisdiction-level Business Trends and Outlook Survey values for the first half of 2026. Resume Now’s report presents the ranking as an analysis of Census Bureau data, not as a Census-published ranking. The difference between Arizona and Colorado is 0.4 percentage points; the report does not publish state-level sample sizes, margins of error, or statistical tests, so that small gap should not be treated as proof of a meaningful lead.
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What does “business AI use” measure?
The figures describe the percentage of reporting businesses that said they used AI, rather than the total number of AI-using businesses in a location. Resume Now’s methodology states: “The ranking reflects the percentage of businesses reporting AI use, not the total number of businesses using AI in each state or jurisdiction.”
#1 Best Overall
The Census Bureau’s 2024 methods paper defines “Current AI Use” as a business responding “yes” to using AI in producing goods or services during the two weeks before data collection. That definition clarifies the survey concept; the paper’s state panels cover late 2023 through February 2024 and do not substantiate the 2026 ranking. Read the Census Bureau paper.
How did Resume Now calculate its state averages?
Resume Now averaged the usable Census Bureau BTOS values for each state and jurisdiction during the first half of 2026, leaving out suppressed values. Its results therefore reflect an average of survey reporting across available periods, not a single observation or a count of businesses adopting AI.
Resume Now calculated an 18.9% baseline across 48 states and Washington, D.C. for its AI Thermometer. It categorized locations as “Fever Zones” when they were at least two percentage points above that baseline, “Temperate Zones” when they fell within two points above or below it, and “Chill Zones” when they were at least two points below it. The report lists 13 fever zones, 21 temperate zones, and 15 chill zones. These are Resume Now’s editorial categories, not Census Bureau classifications.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteAlaska and North Dakota were excluded from those categories because each had fewer than six usable Census values in the periods analyzed. Consequently, the thermometer categories do not cover every state.
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How should you interpret the ranking?
- Separate states from jurisdictions: Washington, D.C. led the full set of included locations; Arizona led the states.
- Read the percentages as survey shares: They indicate the share of reporting businesses that said they used AI, not how many businesses used it.
- Do not overread close placements: Resume Now does not provide uncertainty estimates or statistical tests for the state averages, so the published order does not establish that small differences are statistically meaningful.
- Keep the timeframe in view: These are averages of usable first-half 2026 values, with suppressed values omitted—not current real-time readings.
The Census Bureau provides an official BTOS data downloads portal. The ranking and its thermometer labels, however, are Resume Now’s interpretation of survey data.
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