The 15 Most Dangerous Jobs in the U.S.

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

The 15 Most Dangerous Jobs in the U.S.

In 1970, a year with 14,000 on-the-job fatalities, Congress passed legislation creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In addition to reducing fatalities – there were just 5,200 on-the-job deaths in 2016 – the agency keeps detailed statistics about accidents, fatal or otherwise, that happen when people are at work.

Assuming your occupation isn’t on this list, you have a pretty good chance of surviving the work day. OSHA says 3.6 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 non-fatal workplace injuries.

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

Logging

The line from Monty Python’s “The Lumberjack Song” – "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay" – doesn't always apply to loggers.

The most common injury, fatal or otherwise, is being hit by a falling object. But geography also plays into the astounding death rate of 135.9 fatal accidents per 100,000 workers. Loggers often work outdoors and in remote areas, far from emergency medical care.

In addition to the 91 fatalities OSHA recorded among loggers in 2016, there were 900 nonfatal injuries. To top it off, loggers are relatively low-paid when you consider the risk.

The average annual salary for loggers in 2016 was just $37,590.

Fishing

Like loggers, fishermen and women work in remote locations away from emergency medical care. There were 24 fishing fatalities in 2016, enough for a rate of 86 per 100,000 workers.

Fishermen are also exposed to harsh weather conditions, and because trips can last days or weeks, they don't necessarily have the choice of calling off the work day 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 $27,110 in 2016.

Pilots and Flight Engineers

Overnight layovers and constantly shifting work schedules make pilots prone to exhaustion. The most common cause in the 75 workplace deaths in 2016 was over-exertion.

There were also 470 non-fatal workplace injuries of pilots and flight engineers in that year. The death rate for aviation professionals, who had an average salary of $105,720 in 2016, is 55.5 per 100,000 people.

Roofers

In 2016, 101 roofers died on the job and another 3,150 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 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Roofers make about $38,000 per year.

Trash Collectors

Two-thirds of the 31 deaths in this field of work were transportation related, and 29 percent of those deaths occurred when a trash collector was hit by a car.

But trash collectors also get hurt from slips and falls, which accounted for about a third of the 6,170 non-fatal injuries in 2016. The BLS lists the average annual salary for refuse workers at $35,270.

Structural Steel and Iron Workers

The men and women who work to fasten steel to buildings that are under construction are seemingly a slip away from a fatal workplace injury. Of the 16 fatal injuries recorded in 2016, 56.3 percent were fall related.

The workers, who make an average annual salary of $51,800, also recorded 1,440 non-fatal injuries in that year.

Truckers and Drivers

Truckers and drivers suffered 918 fatal injuries in 2016, for a rate of 24.7 per 100,000. There were also an astounding 80,180 non-fatal injuries. The most common cause of injuries was not, surprisingly, transportation accidents, but over-exertion.

Motor vehicle accidents did, however, account for 80 percent of the fatal accidents. The BLS says truckers have an average annual salary of $36,670.

Farmers and Ranchers

Motorized vehicle accidents account for 44.6 percent of fatal injuries in this profession. In 2016 there were 260 deaths, or 23.1 per 100,000.

Farmers and ranchers do fare better when it comes to non-fatal injuries than a lot of other dangerous jobs, with nearly half of those coming from slips and falls.

Farmers and ranchers had an average annual salary of $66,360 in 2016.

Construction Supervisors

Being the man or woman in charge doesn’t make this job any safer. In fact, it makes it more dangerous, with a death rate of 18 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 6,090 non-fatal injuries in this field in 2016.

During that year, construction supervisors made an average of $62,980.

Grounds Maintenance Workers

The most common injury in this low-paying profession is being struck by an object. Landscapers suffered 217 fatal injuries in 2016, for a rate of 17.4 per 100,000.

On top of that, there were 20,100 non-fatal injuries for landscapers, who made an average annual salary of $26,830 in 2016, according to BLS. Slips, falls, contact with machinery and muscle soreness were among the most frequently cited injuries.

Law Enforcement Officers

While not the most dangerous job on our list, it’s the only job where "intentional injury caused by another person" is the most frequent cause of injuries.

One hundred eight law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2016, and 28,740 suffered non-fatal injuries. The 108 fatalities recorded in 2016 were the most since 2011.

Of those, 46 were the victims of shootings, while nearly as many died in car crashes or traffic accidents.

Law enforcement officers made an average of $59,680 in 2016.

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 15 work-related deaths for every 100,000 workers, these workers suffered 1,710 nonfatal injuries in 2016.

Those injuries tended to be serious, with the average worker typically out of work for 20 days or more after an injury.

On average, power line workers made $68,010 in 2016.

General Maintenance and Repair Workers

A typical day can include anything and everything, from repairing dangerous machinery to fixing flooring. They are at greater risk to suffer electrical shocks, and much of their work day is spent in uncomfortable and cramped positions.

Repair workers had a fatal injury rate of 13.4 per 100,000 in 2016, plus 27,900 reported non-fatal injuries.

The average annual salary, according to BLS, was $36,940 in 2016.

Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs

Roadway incidents were the number one cause of injuries for drivers, who make an average of $24,300 per year. But 43.3 percent of the deaths recorded were related to violence.

The death rate for taxi drivers was 13.2 per 100,000.

Athletes, Coaches and Referees

There were 29 deaths in this industry segment in 2016, and most of those were caused by over-exertion. Professional athletes also succumbed to 4,250 non-fatal workplace injuries.

Not surprisingly, the more dangerous the sport, the more likely an injury. Most of the fatalities were suffered by athletes competing in motor sports.

While some athletes in major sports make millions, most do not earn so much. The average salary in this category in 2016 was $31,440.