-
15. Electrical power-line installers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Exposure to harmful substances or environments
Mean annual salary: $68,710
15. Electrical power-line installers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Exposure to harmful substances or environments
Mean annual salary: $68,710
Photo: Hector Retamal / AFP / Getty Images
-
14. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Violence and other injuries by persons or animals
Mean annual salary: $64,490
14. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Violence and other injuries by persons or animals
Mean annual salary: $64,490
Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle
-
13. Construction laborers
Fatal injury rate: 15.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $38,890
13. Construction laborers
Fatal injury rate: 15.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $38,890
Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
-
12. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers
Fatal injury rate: 15.7 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Violence and other injuries by persons or animals
Mean annual salary: $68,120
less
12. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers
Fatal injury rate: 15.7 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Violence and other injuries by persons or animals
Mean annual salary:
… more
Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbnails-c’,
container: ‘taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5’,
placement: ‘Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
11. Miscellaneous agricultural workers
Fatal injury rate: 17.4 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $25,990
11. Miscellaneous agricultural workers
Fatal injury rate: 17.4 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $25,990
Photo: Christopher Millette /Associated Press
-
10. Grounds maintenance workers
Fatal injury rate: 17.4 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $30,330
10. Grounds maintenance workers
Fatal injury rate: 17.4 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $30,330
Photo: Matthew Brown, Hearst Connecticut Media
-
9. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
Fatal injury rate: 18 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $69,200
9. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
Fatal injury rate: 18 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $69,200
Photo: Martin Barraud, Getty Images/Caiaimage
-
8. Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers
Fatal injury rate: 23.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $80,320
8. Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers
Fatal injury rate: 23.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $80,320
Photo: Justin Maxon / Special To The Chronicle
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbnails-c’,
container: ‘taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-10’,
placement: ‘Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 10’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
7. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
Fatal injury rate: 24.7 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $39,790
7. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
Fatal injury rate: 24.7 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $39,790
Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News
-
6. Structural iron and steel workers
Fatal injury rate: 25.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $56,940
6. Structural iron and steel workers
Fatal injury rate: 25.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $56,940
Photo: Martin Meissner, Associated Press
-
5. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
Fatal injury rate: 34.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $38,920
5. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
Fatal injury rate: 34.1 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $38,920
Photo: Kim Brent
-
4. Roofers
Fatal injury rate: 48.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $42,780
4. Roofers
Fatal injury rate: 48.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Falls, slips and trips
Mean annual salary: $42,780
Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbnails-c’,
container: ‘taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-15’,
placement: ‘Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 15’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
-
3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
Fatal injury rate: 55.5 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incident
Mean annual salary: $138,690
3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
Fatal injury rate: 55.5 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incident
Mean annual salary: $138,690
Photo: LM Otero, AP
-
2. Fishers and related fishing workers
Fatal injury rate: 86 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $31,190
2. Fishers and related fishing workers
Fatal injury rate: 86 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Transportation incidents
Mean annual salary: $31,190
Photo: Michael Macor, SFC
-
1. Logging workers
Fatal injury rate: 135.9 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Contact with objects and equipment
Mean annual salary: $40,830
1. Logging workers
Fatal injury rate: 135.9 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Contact with objects and equipment
Mean annual salary: $40,830
Photo: Photo By Russell Lee For The Farm Security Administration, As Preserved By The Library Of Congress.
-
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbnails-c’,
container: ‘taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-19’,
placement: ‘Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 19’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
_taboola.push({flush: true});
Photo: Hector Retamal / AFP / Getty Images
15. Electrical power-line installers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Exposure to harmful substances or environments
Mean annual salary: $68,710
15. Electrical power-line installers
Fatal injury rate: 14.6 per 100k
Most common cause of fatal injury: Exposure to harmful substances or environments
Mean annual salary: $68,710
Photo: Hector Retamal / AFP / Getty Images
The 15 most dangerous jobs in America
When choosing a job, you might not research the chances of getting killed while at work, but the information is available for those interested in finding out.
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles this information across a range of industries and occupations. In 2016 alone, there were 5,160 on-the-job deaths in the U.S., or about 3.6 per 100,000 people in full-time jobs with regular hours.
But some occupations have an incidence of on-the-job deaths that far outpace the average, which the insurance comparison site Insurify has compiled in its list of America’s 15 Most Dangerous Jobs. And even here, the levels of danger vary greatly: While the 15th place job on this list, electrical power line installer, has 14.6 deaths per 100,000 people, the most dangerous job of all, logging worker, has 135 deaths per 100,000.
Related: The 25 most popular careers that pay six-figure salaries.
In assessing the danger of these jobs, Insurify also provides the mean salary for each occupation, letting people gauge whether the pay is worth the risk. For instance, the third most dangerous job is “airline pilot,” which pays a mean wage of $138,690. By contrast, “fishers and related fishing workers” pays considerably less at $31,190.
In the above gallery, take a look at America’s 15 most dangerous jobs and what they tend to pay. Most of these jobs require a high school diploma or less, but a couple, like airline pilot, might demand a college education.