Most Dangerous Jobs in America

Workplace fatalities have fallen since 1970, but some workers still face big risks.

Most Dangerous Jobs in America

In 1970, the United States had 14,000 on-the-job fatalities. Because of that, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created. The agency helped reduce fatalities — there were just 5,250 on-the-job deaths in 2018 — and keeps detailed statistics about accidents, fatal or otherwise, that happen when people are at work.

If your occupation isn’t on this list, you have a pretty good chance of surviving the workday. OSHA says 3.5 out of every 100,000 people die on the job each year. Those are about the same odds you have of being murdered by a firearm or, if you're a woman, of dying from cervical cancer.

If you work in any of the jobs on this list, however, you're taking a risk. The death rates in these jobs are at least twice as high (and as much as 20 times higher) than the average death rate for all jobs. And that's not even counting their high rate of nonfatal workplace injuries.

These jobs are proof that, as effective as OSHA has been in reducing workplace fatalities, some jobs are just downright dangerous.

Note: All data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rankings are based on the number of deaths in 2018 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, or fatal injury rate.

20. Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 9.5

Number of jobs: 260,380

Total fatal injuries: 39

Most common fatal accidents: Bus or truck falls off a lift, rack or jack

Total nonfatal injuries: 3,610

Median annual salary: $46,360

Bottom Line: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

These engine specialists diagnose, adjust and repair buses and trucks that weigh between 10,000 to 40,000 pounds.

The leading cause of workplace death for this profession is when one of the heavy pieces of machinery falls on someone.

These workers also have to use power tools and do welding and had a somewhat high rate of injury as well, with 3,610 injuries reported on the job in 2018.

19. Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 10.6

Number of jobs: 383,480

Total fatal injuries: 39

Most common fatal accidents: Contact with equipment and heavy machinery

Total nonfatal injuries: 2,280

Median annual salary: $47,810

Bottom Line: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

There's a reason warning signs say do not operate heavy machinery unless you have read and understood the user manual and been well trained.

The primary cause of death in this profession is flying objects and contact with heavy machinery. These engineers and equipment operators use power equipment like bulldozers, pumps, derricks and the like, often to excavate, grade earth and pour concrete.

It's a rough job, and sometimes deadly.

18. Mining Machine Operators

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 11

Number of jobs: 3,280

Total fatal injuries: 9

Most common fatal accidents: Contact with heavy objects and equipment

Total nonfatal injuries: 370

Median annual salary: $51,490

Bottom Line: Mining Machine Operators

Mining machine operators operate power tools like air hammers and earth tampers and use heavy machinery like cement mixers and cranes.

Their entire profession revolves around using machines, so it's no surprise that machines are the leading cause of death in this profession.

17. Construction Laborers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 13

Number of jobs: 1,001,470

Total fatal injuries: 259

Most common fatal accidents: Falls, slips, trips

Total nonfatal injuries: 20,430

Median annual salary: $35,800

Bottom Line: Construction Laborers

Working construction usually means working long hours on hot, sunny days.

Aside from the heavy machinery and falling objects, most laborers die after falls.

They typically make less than $36,000 a year, too.

16. Law Enforcement Officers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 13.7

Number of jobs: 661,330

Total fatal injuries: 108

Most common fatal accidents: Violence/other people

Total nonfatal injuries: 810

Median annual salary: $65,170

Bottom Line: Law Enforcement Officers

Law enforcement officer is not the most dangerous job on this list, but it's the only job on this list where "intentional injury caused by another person" is the most frequent cause of injuries.

Roughly half of police officer deaths occur while fighting crime or responding to incidents, while the other half of officer deaths are accidental, like being hit by a car while trying to serve a ticket.

15. First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers and Repairers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 15.1

Number of jobs: 460,370

Total fatal injuries: 46

Most common fatal accidents: Falls, slips, trips

Total nonfatal injuries: 3,100

Median annual salary: $64,780

Bottom Line: First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers and Repairers

Being a supervisor may pay more than the average repair person or mechanic, but it's not a cush job.

These men and women have to work around heavy machinery and often do their job on scaffolding or other raised platforms, which can be dangerous.

14. Construction Trade Helpers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 15.8

Number of jobs: 23,140

Total fatal injuries: 11

Most common fatal accidents: Falls, slips, trips

Total nonfatal injuries: 1,150

Median annual salary: $29,660

Bottom Line: Construction Trade Helpers

These workers labor on construction sites, mainly by helping other workers.

Their jobs are tough and dangerous, as they require performing manual labor from great heights.

13. General Maintenance and Repair Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 12.5

Number of jobs: 1,351,210

Total fatal injuries: 129

Most common fatal accidents: Contact with objects and equipment

Total nonfatal injuries: 21,130

Median annual salary: $39,080

Bottom Line: General Maintenance and Repair Workers

A typical day can include anything and everything, from repairing machinery to fixing flooring.

They are at greater risk to suffer electrical shocks, and much of their workday is spent in uncomfortable and cramped positions.

Repair workers had a fatal injury rate of 12.5 per 100,000 workers in 2018, plus 54,000 reported nonfatal injuries.

12. Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 18

Number of jobs: 5,040

Total fatal injuries: 157

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 13,160

Median annual salary: $31,160

Bottom Line: Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers

These workers maintain crops and tend to livestock, performing their duties whether there's rain or shine.

Most deaths occur due to transportation incidents. There's a lot of dangerous machinery needed to work a farm.

11. Electrical Power Line Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 19.3

Number of jobs: 111,660

Total fatal injuries: 35

Most common fatal accidents: Exposure to harmful substances or environments

Total nonfatal injuries: 1,490

Median annual salary: $72,520

Bottom Line: Power Line Workers

Not surprisingly, the men and women who work with high voltage lines at great heights are prone to injury.

In addition to the 19.3 work-related deaths for every 100,000 workers in 2018, these workers suffered 1,490 nonfatal injuries, which was down from 4,670 nonfatal injuries in 2016.

The most common cause of death in this profession is electrocution.

10. Grounds Maintenance Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 20.2

Number of jobs: 100,320

Total fatal injuries: 142

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 13,030

Median annual salary: $47,030

Bottom Line: Grounds Maintenance Workers

Landscaping is generally a low-paying position, and quite a hazardous one. A common injury risk is being hit with a flying object, while most deaths occur due to transportation incidents.

On the positive side, there were significantly less fatalities in 2018 than in 2016, where 217 landscapers died on the job.

Slips, falls, contact with machinery and muscle soreness were among the other most frequently cited injuries.

9. Construction Supervisors

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 21

Number of jobs: 598,210

Total fatal injuries: 144

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 5,390

Median annual salary: $65,230

Bottom Line: Construction Supervisors

Being the person in charge doesn’t make this job any safer. In fact, it makes it more dangerous, with a death rate of 21 per 100,000 people. Construction laborers, by comparison, had a death rate of 15.1 per 100,000.

These workers often do road work, meaning many of the fatal and non-fatal injuries involve a worker getting hit by a passing car.

There were also 5,390 nonfatal injuries in this field in 2018.

8. Structural Steel and Ironworkers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 23.6

Number of jobs: 98,600

Total fatal injuries: 15

Most common fatal accidents: Slips and falls

Total nonfatal injuries: 800

Median annual salary: $53,650

Bottom Line: Structural Steel and Iron Workers

The men and women who work to fasten steel to buildings that are under construction can often be just a slip away from a fatal workplace injury.

Most injuries and deaths on this job occur due to slips and falls, which isn't surprising. These workers have to work at great heights while performing hard manual labor. For every 100,000 FTE workers, 23.6 die on the job.

On the bright side, nonfatal injuries are significantly down. In 2016, there were 1,400 injuries compared to 800 in 2018.

7. Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 26

Number of jobs: 414,860

Total fatal injuries: 966

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incident

Total non-fatal injuries: 78,520

Median annual salary: $32,020

Bottom Line: Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers

Truckers and drivers suffered 966 fatal injuries in 2018.

There were also an astounding 78,520 nonfatal injuries. The most common cause of injuries was not, surprisingly, transportation accidents, but overexertion, like back injuries.

Motor vehicle accidents did, however, account for the majority of fatal accidents. Fatal work injury rates among truckers and drivers was 26 deaths per 100,000 FTE workers.

6. Farmers and Ranchers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 24.7

Number of jobs: 876,300

Total fatal injuries: 257

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 280

Median annual salary: $71,160

Bottom Line: Farmers and Ranchers

Transportation incidents made up the majority of fatal injuries for farmers.

Transportation incident means an accident with any vehicle designed for moving goods, like forklifts and wheelbarrows. There's a lot of that kind of equipment on a farm.

Farmers and ranchers do fare better when it comes to nonfatal injuries than some other dangerous jobs. Common workplace injuries in this field are slips and falls and musculoskeletal injuries.

5. Trash Collectors

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 44.3

Number of jobs: 121,330

Total fatal injuries: 61

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 1,490

Median annual salary: $41,400

Bottom Line: Trash Collectors

Since trash collectors spend the majority of their workday hopping on and off the back of a moving truck, the majority of deaths in this field are transportation related. Being hit by a car is a very real danger.

Trash collectors also get hurt from trips and falls, sprains, strains and tears.

4. Roofers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 51.5

Number of jobs: 160,600

Total fatal injuries: 106

Most common fatal accidents: Slips and falls

Total nonfatal injuries: 2,060

Median annual salary: $42,100

Bottom Line: Roofers

As of 2018, 106 roofers died on the job, and another 2,060 were injured. Not surprisingly, the most common causes of injuries were slips and falls, but roofers also are exposed to hot weather, and their jobs involve lots of bending and heavy lifting.

And when roofers get hurt, their injuries are serious. They have an average recovery time of 20 days off the job after an accident, which is significantly longer than most other professions, according to the BLS.

Also according to the BLS, roofing jobs are growing, with a 10-year job outlook rate of 12 percent, much faster than average, with an expected 19,000 jobs added to the industry by 2028.

3. Pilots and Flight Engineers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 58.9

Number of jobs: 82,890

Total fatal injuries: 70

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total nonfatal injuries: 490

Median annual salary: $165,560

Bottom Line: Pilots and Flight Engineers

Overnight layovers and constantly shifting work schedules make pilots prone to exhaustion.

The leading cause of injuries among this profession is general soreness and pain. The most common cause of fatalities in this profession is plane crashes, as you might imagine.

The death rate for aviation professionals in 2018 was 58.9 per 100,000 FTE workers, an increase of about 2 percent since 2016.

2. Fishers and Fishing Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 77.4

Number of jobs: 520

Total fatal injuries: 33

Most common fatal accidents: Transportation incidents

Total non-fatal injuries: 710

Median annual salary: $31,190

Bottom Line: Fishing

There's a lot that can go wrong when you're fishing off the coast while working with heavy machinery and navigating slippery surfaces. There were 33 fishing fatalities in 2018, enough for a rate of 77.4 per 100,000 FTE workers.

Fishers are exposed to harsh weather conditions, and because trips can last days or weeks, they don't necessarily have the choice of calling off the workday when the weather is bad.

While fishing carries a risk almost as great as logging, the salary is even worse: Fishermen made an average annual salary of $31,190.

1. Logging Workers

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE workers: 97.6

Number of jobs: 53,600

Total fatal injuries: 75

Most common fatal accidents: Contact with objects and equipment

Total non-fatal injuries: 1,040

Median annual salary: $41,230

Bottom Line: Logging Workers

The line from Monty Python’s "The Lumberjack Song"— "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK" — doesn't always apply to loggers.

The most common injury, fatal or otherwise, is being hit by a falling object. Loggers often work outdoors and in remote areas, far from emergency medical care. Plus, they're working with dangerous equipment, like chainsaws and wood chippers. Forty-nine deaths occur due to contact with machinery and other objects.

In addition to the 75 fatalities OSHA recorded among loggers in 2018, there were 1,040 nonfatal injuries. To top it off, loggers are relatively low-paid when you consider the risk.

For more information about occupational hazards, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site.