These Are The Most Dangerous Jobs In The US

Some jobs inherently carry significant risks due to factors such as hazardous working conditions, exposure to harmful substances, and the physical demands of the tasks.

Unfortunately, work injuries can sometimes be fatal, with the the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recording 5,486 fatal work injuries in 2022.

2022 saw a 5.7% increase from the 5,190 fatal work injuries in 2021, and meant that a worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury that year.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the six occupations in the U.S. with the highest rates of fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time workers, and their number of fatal work injuries in 2022.

The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are updated as of December 2023.

What are the Most Dangerous Jobs in the United States?

Some of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. involve significant physical labor and working in hazardous environments, like loggers, roofers, and fishing and hunting workers.

Many of these jobs also are usually done in isolated areas, like logging and fishing, where access to emergency medical attention is limited.

While logging workers saw the highest fatal work injury rate, over 1,000 truck drivers died due to work injuries in 2022—the most fatalities out of any occupation.

Operating extremely large vehicles for many hours, often in remote and unfamiliar areas, are some factors that contribute to the dangerous nature of truck driving as an occupation.

Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event accounting for 38% of all occupational fatalities. In 2022, there were 2,066 fatal injuries from transportation incidents, a 4.2% increase from 1,982 in 2021.