America's Deadliest Jobs

[[mXm] kotaco]

9. (Tied) Construction Laborers

Fatality rate: 18.3 / 100,000
Total deaths: 224
Annual median salary: $29,150

Construction Laborers perform tasks involving physical labor while building, highway, and heavy construction projects, tunnel and shaft excavations, and demolition sites. Use of heavy power tools and exposure to hazardous materials contribute to the danger of this job.


9. (Tied) Driver/Sales Workers & Truck Drivers

Fatality rate: 18.3 / 100,000
Total deaths: 586
Annual median salary: $39,260

Truck drivers travel long distances for many hours, increasing the likelihood of highway accidents.


8. Industrial Machinery Workers

Fatality rate: 18.5 / 100,000
Total deaths: 81
Annual median salary: $46,160*

Industrial machinery workers include installers, repair workers and maintenance workers who deal with large-scale industrial machinery.

*Salary number is for Industrial Machinery Mechanics.


7. Refuse and Recycling Collectors

Fatality rate: 25.2 / 100,000
Total deaths: 19
Annual median salary: $33,760

Despite more comprehensive safety measures that have helped to lower the fatality rate since 2006, garbage collectors are still exposed to harmful chemicals and dangerous machinery.


6. Structural Iron & Steel Workers

Fatality rate: 30.3 / 100,000
Total deaths: 18
Annual median salary: $48,470

Despite using safety harnesses and scaffolding when working at great heights, steel workers are still at risk of deadly falls.


5. Roofers

Fatality rate: 34.7 / 100,000
Total deaths: 60
Annual median salary: $37,390

Falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs are the main cause of fatal accidents in this occupation.


4. Farmers and Ranchers

Fatality rate: 38.5 / 100,000
Total deaths: 293
Annual median salary: $23,640

Farming may sound tame, but working with heavy machinery and harmful chemicals makes this job especially dangerous.


3. Pilots and Flight Engineers

Fatality rate: 57.1 / 100,000
Total deaths: 63
Annual median salary: $117,060

Particularly at risk are test pilots who fly new or experimental planes, crop-duster pilots that may be exposed to harmful chemicals and those who operate rescue helicopters.


2. Logging Workers

Fatality rate: 61.8 / 100,000
Total deaths: 34
Annual median salary: $34,180

Responsible for cutting and hauling trees, logging workers can suffer fatal harm from falling branches and heavy machinery. Bad weather is also a contributing factor.


1. Fishing Related Workers

Fatality rate: 200 / 100,000
Total deaths: 56
Annual median salary: $26,600

This group is at risk of getting entangled in nets and other gear or getting swept overboard. Additionally, injured workers are far from medical attention.