AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 49-9031.00

Will AI replace Home Appliance Repairers?

Home Appliance Repairers: AI can already handle 1 of 29 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 29 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Home Appliance Repairers, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice. 60 Estimated Standard 4.3
Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment. 20 Estimated Standard 4.5
Service and repair domestic electrical or gas appliances, such as clothes washers, refrigerators, stoves, and dryers. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Reassemble units after repairs are made, making adjustments and cleaning and lubricating parts as needed. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Record maintenance and repair work performed on appliances. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Maintain stocks of parts used in on-site installation, maintenance, and repair of appliances. 20 Estimated Standard 4.0
Contact supervisors or offices to receive repair assignments. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Observe and test operation of appliances following installation, and make any initial installation adjustments that are necessary. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Install gas pipes and water lines to connect appliances to existing gas lines or plumbing. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Install appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and stoves. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Take measurements to determine if appliances will fit in installation locations, performing minor carpentry work when necessary to ensure proper installation. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Clean and reinstall parts. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Clean, lubricate, and touch up minor defects on newly installed or repaired appliances. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Observe and examine appliances during operation to detect specific malfunctions such as loose parts or leaking fluid. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Replace worn and defective parts such as switches, bearings, transmissions, belts, gears, circuit boards, or defective wiring. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Conserve, recover, and recycle refrigerants used in cooling systems. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Respond to emergency calls for problems such as gas leaks. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Test and examine gas pipelines and equipment to locate leaks and faulty connections, and to determine the pressure and flow of gas. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Light and adjust pilot lights on gas stoves, and examine valves and burners for gas leakage and specified flame. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Instruct customers regarding operation and care of appliances, and provide information such as emergency service numbers. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Level refrigerators, adjust doors, and connect water lines to water pipes for ice makers and water dispensers, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Set appliance thermostats, and check to ensure that they are functioning properly. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Level washing machines and connect hoses to water pipes, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Measure, cut, and thread pipe, and connect it to feeder lines and equipment or appliances, using rules and hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.4
Assemble new or reconditioned appliances. 15 Estimated No tier 3.2
Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting guides to diagnose and repair problems. 10 Estimated No tier 4.4
Disassemble appliances so that problems can be diagnosed and repairs can be made. 10 Estimated No tier 4.3

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 29 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 29 of 29. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 44% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 44% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 56% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
32,150
Median annual wage
$50,990
Middle half of earners
$43,780 to $63,390
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+2.6%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Home Appliance Repairers and AI

Will AI replace Home Appliance Repairers?

AI already handles 1 of the 29 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 18 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +2.6% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Home Appliance Repairers?

18 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 29 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 29 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Home Appliance Repairers tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 44% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 56% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Home Appliance Repairers, and what do they earn?

32,150 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $50,990 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +2.6% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Home Appliance Repairers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/home-appliance-repairers

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