Survey on AI Adoption Gap Reveals 2.27 Million JPY Income Difference

RAXUS, operator of the AI implementation support service 'RAXUS AI School,' conducted a questionnaire survey of business professionals nationwide to clarify the relationship between AI adoption and annual household income.

Survey Highlights

- The average annual household income for AI users was 8.64 million JPY, compared to 6.37 million JPY for non-users, a difference of 2.27 million JPY. - AI adoption rates were 21.9% for those earning under 4 million JPY and 64.2% for those earning 15 million JPY or more, representing a threefold gap. - Even under the same job titles and company sizes, higher-income earners showed a stronger tendency to use AI.

Income Gap Between AI Users and Non-Users

The average household income of individuals who use AI tools at least once a week (users) was 8.64 million JPY, while those who use them rarely or not at all (non-users) earned 6.37 million JPY, revealing a significant 2.27 million JPY gap.

Given the national average of 7.22 million JPY, AI users are 1.42 million JPY above the average, while non-users are 0.85 million JPY below. This indicates a clear correlation between AI usage and household income.

A detailed look at the relationship between AI usage frequency and average income showed a clear upward gradient. There is a maximum difference of 3.13 million JPY between those who 'rarely use it' (6.05 million JPY) and those who are 'active users' (9.18 million JPY). Even those who have 'tried it but do not use it' earned above the average (7.71 million JPY), showing a 1.66 million JPY difference compared to those who have never tried it at all.

AI Adoption Rate by Income Bracket

Adoption rates consistently increase with higher income levels. While only 22% of those earning under 4 million JPY use AI, this reaches 64% for those earning over 15 million JPY, a three-fold difference.

Adoption rates jump significantly around the 6-8 million JPY income range (39.5%), continuing to rise for those earning 10-15 million JPY (54.0%) and over 15 million JPY (64.2%).

Trends Independent of Job Title or Company Size

To ensure the correlation between income and AI adoption was not dependent on job titles or company scale, the survey analyzed data from regular employees (n=1,529).

A consistent upward trend was found even within this group, from 22.9% for those earning under 4 million JPY to 51.2% for those earning over 15 million JPY. This suggests a positive relationship between income level and AI utilization, regardless of position.

Furthermore, this trend held across both large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises, indicating that the 'income x AI usage' linkage is universal across different company sizes.

Survey Overview

- Method: Internet-based survey - Region: Nationwide (Japan) - Period: April 3–6, 2026 - Target: Business professionals - Respondents: 2,730