The top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America for 2024

There were 5,486 accidental deaths in the American workplace in 2022 according to data presented from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number is up 5.7% from the previous year with a worker getting killed every 96 minutes from a work-related injury in 2022. This is a follow-up article from our 25 Most Dangerous Jobs in America from 2019.

According to the data, transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event accounting for 37.7 percent of all occupational fatalities. There were 2,066 fatal injuries from transportation incidents in 2022, a 4.2% increase from 1,982 in the previous year.

But which jobs are the most dangerous?

Using this data presented from the BLS, the following is a look at the occupations with the most fatalities per 100K workers in 2022.

10. Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 20 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 146 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 22% compared to 2017

Agricultural workers face one of the widest arrays of on-the-job hazards of any occupation. They work with heavy-duty equipment, are exposed to potentially dangerous chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides, and sometimes deal with large animals.

9. Underground Mining Machine Operators

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 20.1 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 8 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 72% compared to 2017

The underground mining occupation is relatively small, which is how the job can end up on a list of dangerous occupations despite only having eight fatalities in a year. However, there are many risks on an underground job site; in addition to the direct risk of operating heavy-duty mining equipment, these workers also face the possibility of cave collapses and underground explosions.

8. Structural Iron and Steel Workers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 21.3 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 14 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate down 36% compared to 2017

You've seen the classic picture of workers enjoying their lunch while sitting atop a skyscraper beam, many stories above New York City. But the workers who construct the frameworks of skyscrapers and other buildings don't just head up to high beams when it's time for a midday meal; they spend their days in the air, which is why about two-thirds of their workplace deaths are related to falls.

7. Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 22.6 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 22 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate down 35% compared to 2017

Waste collectors are most commonly killed in transportation incidents, a category that includes motor vehicle crashes, collectors being hit by their trucks, or falls from moving vehicles.

6. Driver/sales Workers and Truck Drivers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 30.4 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 1,115 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 13% compared to 2017

No single occupation had more fatal injuries on the job than truck drivers, who made up 20% of total workplace deaths. A stunning 4 in 5 of those deaths were attributed to transportation incidents, more than double the national average. Commercial truck accidents - including collisions between cars and semi-trucks - can be some of the most serious causes of serious or even fatal injuries.

5. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 35.9 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 72 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate down 26% compared to 2017

Almost every workplace death in this sector was attributed to a transportation incident. About three-quarters of the people who died on the job were commercial pilots.

4. Helpers, Construction Trades

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 38.5 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 20 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 145% compared to 2017

No occupation has had a bigger spike in fatality rate since 2017 than construction helpers, who clean and prepare job sites, help set up equipment, and dispose of waste, among other tasks. Falls, slips, and exposure to harmful materials are the most common causes of death.

3. Fishing and Hunting Workers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 50.9 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 16 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate down 35% compared to 2017

The most dangerous job in America in 2020, commercial fishers and hunters often face brutal working conditions without easy access to medical care. As of 2020, 30% of commercial fishing fatalities involved a worker falling overboard from a ship.

2. Roofers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 57.5 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 105 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 27% compared to 2017

With the highest fatal accident rate in the construction industry, roofers face numerous hazards on the job. Most roofing deaths, about 90%, involve workers falling, either directly from a roof or off of a ladder. But they also face environmental risk from working outside and being exposed to the sun on hot days, which can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

1. Logging workers

• Fatal injuries in 2022: 100.7 per 100,000 workers
• Total: 54 fatal injuries
• Fatality rate up 19% compared to 2017

Approximately 80% of fatal logging injuries involve "contact with objects or equipment," according to the BLS data. With logs that can weigh thousands of pounds, tools designed to cut through such giant logs, and jobs that require climbing to high heights in order to cut off branches, loggers are surrounded by potential hazards all the time.

At Odegaard Injury Lawyers, we have decades of experience helping clients who have been involved in workplace accidents that were caused by their employers negligence. Contact us or fill out a No-Risk Case Evaluation Form.