AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Fence Erectors?

Task-level automation exposure for Fence Erectors: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

10% weighted task index

20 of 20 tasks scored

Median Salary

$47,980 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

24,480 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+5.6% employment change

2,500 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$36,990 – $64,600

Highest medians

Alaska $64,600

Pennsylvania $58,600

Minnesota $57,260

New Jersey $56,690

California $56,060

Lowest medians

Georgia $36,990

Texas $37,270

Oklahoma $37,870

South Carolina $37,960

Mississippi $38,700

State figures come from the 47-4031 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 10%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 90%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 5%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 57/100 High

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

20 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 0%

0 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 10%

2 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 90%

18 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#13623 · Core · 45% automatable

Establish the location for a fence, and gather information needed to ensure that there are no electric cables or water lines in the area.

decision support — Location decisions need site and regulatory judgment

Determine appropriate locations for operations or installations.

#13627 · Core · 5% automatable

Set metal or wooden posts in upright positions in postholes.

physical manipulation — Positioning structural components is physical labor

Position structural components.

#13625 · Core · 15% automatable

Measure and lay out fence lines and mark posthole positions, following instructions, drawings, or specifications.

physical manipulation — Physical site dimension measurement

Measure work site dimensions. Mark reference points on construction materials.

#13624 · Core · 12% automatable

Align posts, by lines or sighting, and verify vertical alignment of posts, using plumb bobs or spirit levels.

physical manipulation — Alignment verification needs physical measurement tools

Verify alignment of structures or equipment. Position structural components.

#13637 · Core · 3% automatable

Attach rails or tension wire along bottoms of posts to form fencing frames.

physical manipulation — Fence installation requires manual digging and fitting

Install fencing or other barriers.

#13626 · Core · 3% automatable

Dig postholes, using spades, posthole diggers, or power-driven augers.

physical manipulation — Manual digging with tools in ground

Dig holes or trenches.

#13633 · Core · 3% automatable

Attach fence rail supports to posts, using hammers and pliers.

physical manipulation — Wood structural installation is manual carpentry

Install wooden structural components.

#13634 · Core · 3% automatable

Assemble gates, and fasten gates into position, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Fence installation requires manual digging and fitting

Install fencing or other barriers.

#13629 · Core · 8% automatable

Mix and pour concrete around bases of posts, or tamp soil into postholes to embed posts.

physical manipulation — Physical handling of substances in workspace

Mix substances or compounds needed for work activities. Pour materials into or on designated areas.

#13630 · Core · 6% automatable

Make rails for fences, by sawing lumber or by cutting metal tubing to required lengths.

physical manipulation — Wood cutting requires manual tool operation

Cut wood components for installation.

#13631 · Core · 3% automatable

Nail top and bottom rails to fence posts, or insert them in slots on posts.

physical manipulation — Wood structural installation is manual carpentry

Install wooden structural components.

#13628 · Core · 52% automatable

Discuss fencing needs with customers, and estimate and quote prices.

interpersonal — Client dialogue on products/policies is relational

Communicate with clients about products, procedures, and policies.

#13632 · Core · 3% automatable

Stretch wire, wire mesh, or chain link fencing between posts, and attach fencing to frames.

physical manipulation — Fence installation requires manual digging and fitting

Install fencing or other barriers. Install metal structural components.

#13635 · Core · 3% automatable

Complete top fence rails of metal fences by connecting tube sections, using metal sleeves.

physical manipulation — Metal structural installation is hands-on

Install metal structural components.

#13641 · Core · 3% automatable

Erect alternate panel, basket weave, and louvered fences.

physical manipulation — Fence installation requires manual digging and fitting

Install fencing or other barriers.

#13636 · Core · 3% automatable

Insert metal tubing through rail supports.

physical manipulation — Metal structural installation is hands-on

Install metal structural components.

#13638 · Core · 3% automatable

Nail pointed slats to rails to construct picket fences.

physical manipulation — Wood structural installation is manual carpentry

Install wooden structural components.

#13639 · Core · 3% automatable

Construct and repair barriers, retaining walls, trellises, and other types of fences, walls, and gates.

physical manipulation — Fence installation requires manual digging and fitting

Install fencing or other barriers.

#13640 · Core · 10% automatable

Weld metal parts together, using portable gas welding equipment.

physical manipulation — Welding is skilled hands-on metalwork

Weld metal components.

#13642 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Blast rock formations and rocky areas with dynamite to facilitate posthole digging.

physical manipulation — Detonation equipment handled with physical safety

Operate detonation equipment.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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