15 Professions with the Highest Death Rates in the US

If your workday generally appears to include nothing but boring conferences, occasional spills, and computer glitches, think yourself as lucky if you don’t work in one of the 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US.

Each year thousands of U.S. workers die from injuries on the job. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Activity Injuries shows a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries in 2012, down slightly from 4,693 in 2011. The rate of work injuries among the U.S. workers in 2012 fell to 3.2 per 100,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ breaks down the numbers to inform us what job has the highest mortality rate. The highest spot on the list goes to work staff, who lost their lives at a rate of 127.8 per 100,000 regular workers. In total, 62 loggers were killed on the job last year, that, some refer to as murders by profession. Some occupations that appear dangerous, like firefighting and tractor operation, are comparatively safer; each of these jobs, for instance, is less dangerous than being an automobile mechanic. Some of the safest jobs of all (with less than 10 deaths among all regular workers) include PC, mathematical professions, and legal occupations.

There were more than 14,000 work fatalities the year the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed by President Nixon. As a result, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was established to create safety standards in the workplace. Since that time, work standards have improved, and work fatality has declined to 5,200 in 2016. Today, the overwhelming majority of working Americans are comparatively safe in their work surroundings. However, the homicide rate by occupation is also increasing day by day. Out of all the industries in the U.S (like public and private sectors), there have been 3.6% of deaths for every 100,000 normal regular workers.  However, despite how strict the protection standards put in place, there are continuously accidents and fatal errors. The majority of jobs on this list need the frequent use of serious instrumentation, close proximity to risky substances, or operating in probably dangerous environments. Well if you look at the 15 Professions with the Highest Suicide Rates in America, the professions on that list do coincide with some on our list.

In order to compile this list of 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US, we have considered the worker’s death and injury rate. We have collected the data from various trusted websites, news outlets, and governmental websites like OSHA, Washington Post, Fortune, USA Today, and many more. The list of OSHA deadliest jobs was taken as the reference to collect all the data. While ranking the professions with the highest death rates in the U.S., we also looked at the list and data of deadliest jobs in America 2017, deadliest jobs in America 2016, and deadliest jobs in America 2015 from various government and non-government sources. The profession which has the highest mortality rate ranked 1st and the profession with the lowest mortality rate is at the last place on our list.

Based on these parameters, here is the list of 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US. We are starting off with the last two professions share the 14th place.

14. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 14.6

We start our list of 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US with Police and sheriff’s patrol officers. There were more than 14 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers in 2017. The most common accident in this profession is getting injured by another person. Their average annual wage is $59,680.

14. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 14.6

There were more than 14 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers in 2017 for electrical power-line installers and repairer’s profession. The number of total fatal injuries is 21 and 1,710 nonfatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is overexertion and bodily reaction. Their average annual wage is $68,010.

13. Construction Laborers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 15.1

The number of fatal injuries in construction laborers is 15.1 per 100,000 workers. The number of total fatal injuries is 254 and 24,650 nonfatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is being struck by objects. Their median annual wage is $33,430.

12. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and grounds keeping workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 15.7

The first-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and grounds keeping profession rank 12th on our list of professions with the highest death rates in the US. They have fatal injuries of 15.7 per 100,000 workers. There were 44 total fatal injuries in the last year and 4,140 nonfatal injuries. The common accident in this profession is also like the previous one, being struck by an object. Their median annual salary is $63,540.

10. Grounds maintenance workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 17.4

The Grounds maintenance worker profession has fatal injuries of 17.4 per 100,000 workers. There were 217 total fatal injuries in the last year and 20,100 nonfatal injuries. The common accident in this profession is also being struck by objects. They have a median annual wage of $26,840.

10. Miscellaneous agricultural workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 17.4

Various agricultural worker professions have fatal injuries of 17.4 per 100,000 workers. There were 156 total fatal injuries in the last year and 12,710 non-fatal injuries. The most common incident in this profession are transportation accidents. They have a median annual salary of $22,520.

9. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 18.0

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers have fatal injuries of 18.0 per 100,000 workers. There were 134 total fatal injuries in the last year and 6,090 nonfatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is falls, slips, and trips. They have a median annual salary of $62,980.

8. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 23.1

The profession of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers have fatal injuries of 23.1 per 100,000 workers. There were 260 total fatal injuries in last year and 6,090 nonfatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is falling from a motorized vehicle. They have a median annual salary of $66,380.

7. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 24.7

Driver/sales workers and truck driver’s profession ranked seventh on our list of 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US. They have fatal injuries of 24.7 per 100,000 workers. There were 918 total fatal injuries in the last year and 80,180 non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is overexertion and bodily reaction. They have a median annual salary of $36,670.

6. Structural iron and steel workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 25.2

Structural iron and steel workers have fatal injuries of 25.2 per 100,000 workers. There were 16 total fatal injuries in the last year and 1,440 non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is being struck by an object. They have a median annual salary of $51,800.

5. Refuse and recyclable material collectors

Death rate per 100,000 people: 35.8

The refuse and recyclable material collector’s profession has fatal injuries of 35.8 per 100,000 workers. There were 31 total fatal injuries in the last year and 6,170 non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession are falls, slips, and trips. They have a median annual salary of $35,270.

4. Roofers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 48.6

The roofers profession ranks 4th on our list of professions with the highest death rates in the US. It has fatal injuries of 48.6 per 100,000 workers. There were 101 total fatal injuries in the last year and 3,160 non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession are falls, trips, and slips. They have a median annual salary of $37,760.

3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 55.5

Aircraft pilots and flight engineering have fatal injuries of 55.5 per 100,000 workers. There were 75 total fatal injuries in the last year and 470 non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession is overexertion and bodily reaction. They have a median annual salary of approximately $105,720.

2. Fishers and related fishing workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 86.0

Fishers and those related to the fishing worker’s profession have fatal injuries of 86.0 per 100,000 workers. There were 24 total fatal injuries in last year and many non-recorded non-fatal injuries. The most common accident in this profession can be various kinds in type. They have to fight the extreme weather and are exposed to environmental factors. Workers may be in a remote area or on the water while the accident occurs. They don’t have easy access to the hospital or medical professionals due to their profession and locations. They have a median annual salary of $27,110 approximately, and a commercial fisherman earns a lot more.

1. Logging workers

Death rate per 100,000 people: 110.0

The logging worker’s profession ranked first on our list of 15 professions with the highest death rates in the US. This profession has a record of fatal injuries at 110 per 100,000 workers. There were a total of 91 fatal injuries or death in the last year in this profession. There were also 900 non-fatal injuries. Their annual wage is approximately only 37,590. The job of logging work is physically very demanding. And like the fishing profession, these workers also have to work outdoors. They often work in remote areas where medical services and hospitals are not available, so if any accident happens, they cannot get medical aid immediately. The most common accident is when a worker is struck by objects, and they also have to deal with dangerous machinery.