California ranks first, followed by Ohio, Colorado, Florida and Texas in Investing.com analysis of 12 months of investor activity
NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — California leads the nation in a new analysis of where investors are using AI to inform investment decisions, but some of the strongest activity is taking place far beyond Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Ohio and Colorado tie for second in the nationwide ranking, with Florida and Texas rounding out the top five. New York, meanwhile, fails to crack the top 10.
The new Investing.com AI Investing Index analyzed 12 months of user activity across the U.S., looking at both the use of AI for investment research and investor engagement with AI-focused stocks, adjusted for audience size in each state.
Key findings:
- California ranks #1 overall, putting the home of Silicon Valley at the top of the AI investing map.
- Ohio and Colorado tie for #2, ahead of Florida and Texas.
- New York ranks just #13, despite being home to Wall Street and the center of the U.S. financial industry.
- Florida shows the highest use of AI for investment research among states included in the study.
- Pennsylvania leads the country in engagement with AI-focused stocks.
California leads, but Wall Street doesn’t
California may be the obvious home of America’s AI boom, and its investors are embracing the technology too. The state takes the top spot in the new ranking, but what happens immediately behind it is perhaps more revealing.
Ohio and Colorado tie for second, followed by Florida and Texas. Other states in the top 10 include Utah, Hawaii, Michigan and Minnesota, creating an AI investing map that looks markedly different from the traditional centers of American finance.
New York, home to Wall Street, ranks just 13th. New Jersey comes in even further down the list at #27.
“What this data shows is people doing more research, not less. AI has opened up information that was previously out of reach for retail investors, and that’s leveling the playing field with the professional side of the market,” said Thomas Monteiro, Senior Analyst at Investing.com. “The outcome is the most significant shift we’re tracking right now: a measurably more sophisticated retail investor, and as the rankings show, that’s happening everywhere.”
AI is changing how Americans research investments
The rankings come as AI moves rapidly into the everyday investing habits of Americans.
A separate March 2026 survey found that 62% of U.S. retail investors had already used AI to help inform an investment decision, while more than half said they expected their use of the technology to increase.
Investors are also turning to AI for far more than simply asking whether to buy or sell a stock. The activity analyzed shows investors using AI to explore everything from stock statistics and technical analysis to company news, economic events, dividends and financial statements.
Florida stands out particularly strongly for AI-assisted investment research, recording the highest level of activity among states included in the analysis. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, shows the strongest engagement with AI-focused stocks.
“Proximity to Wall Street used to count for a great deal in research terms,” Monteiro explained. “This data suggests it now counts for less than it did. The states at the top of the AI index tend not to be the ones with the financial infrastructure. What we may be watching is a catch-up, with investors who were a step behind on access closing that gap, and in a few states closing it altogether.”
The U.S. ranking is part of a broader analysis of AI-related investing activity around the world. The United States ranks #19 among 66 qualifying countries, while Italy, Poland, Israel, Chile and Argentina make up the global top five.
View the full U.S. ranking and analysis:
The U.S. States Embracing AI Investing the Most in 2026
Explore the complete underlying dataset:
Full AI Investing Index data
