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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Parking Attendants? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places parking attendants in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +2.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 16,400 openings a year.

Short answer

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow.

BLS AI exposure
ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
51/100Higher than 63% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+2.0%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
16,400BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed parking attendants are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Parking Attendants land in the moderate category: below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate · this job194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Face-to-face discussions4.3/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Performing for or working directly with the public3.8/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Hands-on work with tools and objects4.2/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Dealing with the public4.3/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Repetitive motions3.8/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Being exact or highly accurate4.0/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates3.6/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

The tasks O*NET lists for parking attendants

  • Explain and calculate parking charges, collect fees from customers, and respond to customer complaints.
  • Keep parking areas clean and orderly to ensure that space usage is maximized.
  • Provide customer assistance and information, such as giving directions or handling wheelchairs.
  • Inspect vehicles to detect any damage.
  • Take numbered tags from customers, locate vehicles, and deliver vehicles, or provide customers with instructions for locating vehicles.
  • Issue ticket stubs or place numbered tags on windshields, log tags or attach tag to customers' keys, and give customers matching tags for locating parked vehicles.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +2.0% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 16,400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 137,880 people work in the job today, at a median of $35,150 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full parking attendant profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than parking attendants

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.

  1. Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendant

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $35,670median a year
    Growth
    +3.8%
    Openings / yr
    12,900
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    64/100
    resilience

    Service automobiles, buses, trucks, boats, and other automotive or marine vehicles with fuel, lubricants, and accessories.

  2. Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $46,420median a year
    Growth
    +1.5%
    Openings / yr
    64,700
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    62/100
    resilience

    Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.

  3. Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $35,830median a year
    Growth
    +3.9%
    Openings / yr
    51,500
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    61/100
    resilience

    Wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment.

  4. Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $40,240median a year
    Growth
    +1.8%
    Openings / yr
    340,500
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    57/100
    resilience

    Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor.

  5. Packer and Packager, Hand

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $36,280median a year
    Growth
    −5.0%
    Openings / yr
    61,800
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    56/100
    resilience

    Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.

  6. Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $49,690median a year
    Growth
    +2.1%
    Openings / yr
    15,500
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    52/100
    resilience

    Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck.

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Questions

Will AI Replace Parking Attendants? FAQ

Will AI replace parking attendants?

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +2.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 16,400 openings a year.

How exposed are parking attendants to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Parking Attendants are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

What parts of a parking attendant's job can AI do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repetitive motions, being exact or highly accurate and communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing for or working directly with the public and hands-on work with tools and objects. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

Is being a parking attendant a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, parking attendants score 51 out of 100, higher than 63% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $35,150 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

What careers similar to parking attendants are less exposed to AI?

Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendant (low exposure, $35,670 median), Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator (low exposure, $46,420 median), Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment (low exposure, $35,830 median), Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand (low exposure, $40,240 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than parking attendants, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.