According to the AFL-CIO’s 2025 ‘Death on the Job’ report, 5,283 American workers were killed over the last 12-month period while at work, with 5,070 dead for the same reason during 2024. An additional 135,304 deaths were also attributed to occupational diseases initiated by long-term workplace exposures to threats such as chemical hazards.
In this study, Anidjar & Levine’s Worker Risk Index will reveal the most dangerous jobs in America in 2026. We’ll use the latest federal workplace injury, illness, and fatality data to identify which jobs pose the greatest risk to workers, and which often require the need for a strong workers’ compensation lawyer.
We’ll also analyze the factors that cause workplace hazards, how those risks have evolved, and which industries and worker groups are most affected. Overall, the study (and the resulting index) provides a comprehensive, data-driven guide to occupational safety in the U.S.
Let’s start by closely considering the most dangerous states for U.S. workers.
The States With the Highest Worker Risk
The Anidjar & Levine Worker Risk Index combines five measures that directly relate to workplace fatality risk and work structure to produce a score from 0 to 100 for each U.S. state.
- Current fatality rates carry the greatest weight and account for 40% of the final score.
- Persistent fatality rates account for 20%.
- The occupational mix factor (worker vulnerability based on a state’s proportion of higher-risk occupations) accounts for 20%.
- Recent trends account for 10% of the overall measure.
- Self-employment accounts for the remaining 10%.
Top 10 Most Dangerous States for Workers
Wyoming ranks first with a worker-risk score of 99.4. Mississippi follows (89.8), with North Dakota third (84.7). While Arkansas and Montana both record scores of 84.5, Arkansas ranks higher due to its currently featuring a higher workplace fatality rate.
The remaining states in the top 10 are Alaska, Idaho, West Virginia, Iowa, and South Dakota.
| Rank | State | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 99.4 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 89.8 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 84.7 |
| 4 | Arkansas | 84.5 |
| 5 | Montana | 84.5 |
| 6 | Alaska | 80.8 |
| 7 | Idaho | 80.6 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 79.6 |
| 9 | Iowa | 77.3 |
| 10 | South Dakota | 74.7 |
Bottom 10 States by Worker Risk
At the opposite end of the index, New Jersey ranks 50th and last with a score of 10.2, followed by New Hampshire (11.6), Massachusetts (12.2), Rhode Island (13.1), and Delaware (16.9).
| Rank | State | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 10.2 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 11.6 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 12.2 |
| 4 | Rhode Island | 13.1 |
| 5 | Delaware | 16.9 |
| 6 | Connecticut | 20.2 |
| 7 | New York | 21.8 |
| 8 | Illinois | 25.7 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 30.8 |
| 10 | Oregon | 31.0 |
There’s a significant difference between the highest- and lowest-risk states. In 2024, the 10 highest-risk states featured an average workplace fatality rate of 6.96 deaths per 100,000 workers; for the lowest-risk states, that number was 2.17. The gulf represents a 3.2-to-1 difference.
Wyoming’s current fatality rate reaches 13.9 deaths per 100,000 workers, more than four times the national rate of 3.3.
Florida ranks 28th nationally, with a worker-risk score of 44.7 and a workplace fatality rate of 2.9.
The index confirms a clear geographic pattern, with the highest-risk states situated in the West, South, and Plains, and no Northeastern state featuring in the high-risk top 10.
America’s Most Dangerous Jobs
While state rankings confirm where in the U.S. workplace risk is greatest, occupation-level data emphasizes the types of work that contribute to that danger.
Some roles are subject to exceptionally high fatality rates, irrespective of the (often comparatively low) number of workers employed in such positions. Other roles suffer lower fatality rates but feature a comparatively high number of deaths due to their large workforces.
In 2024, logging workers were subject to the highest selected occupation fatality rate: 110.4 deaths per 100,000 workers and 51 total fatalities. Fishing and hunting workers also faced significant risk, suffering a rate of 88.8 deaths per 100,000 and 24 deaths.
Roofers also face an exceptionally high level of risk. In 2024, they were subject to a rate of 48.7 deaths per 100,000 workers and suffered 104 fatalities.
Here are some of the other occupations that feature particularly high fatality rates.
- Structural iron and steel workers (a fatality rate of 37.8 deaths per 100,000 workers; 14 fatalities in total).
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors (37.4; 36 fatalities).
- Aircraft pilots and flight engineers (36.7; 73 fatalities).
- Construction trade workers (35.8; 18 fatalities).
- Underground mining machine operators (35.6; 12 fatalities).
The distinction between fatality rates and total deaths is an important one. A high fatality rate indicates that an individual worker in that occupation faces greater comparative risk, while a high number of deaths often reflects a comparatively high number of workers.
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers clearly illustrate this difference. Their fatality rate (25.7 per 100,000 workers) is considerably lower than the rate recorded by logging or fishing workers. Yet the 950 deaths recorded across this workforce are the largest raw fatality total among the selected occupations.
It’s a similar story for construction laborers, with 334 members of this workforce dying in 2024; yet that number corresponds to a comparatively low fatality rate (15.8 per 100,000 workers).
The result offers a double-edged perspective of occupational danger: comparatively small workforces in occupations like logging and fishing often carry extreme per-worker risk, while large workforce occupations like trucking and construction may be subject to substantial numbers of fatalities due to so many workers being exposed.
Fatal Workplace Hazards
Although confirming dangerous occupations tells a significant part of the workplace injuries and fatalities story, those roles are dangerous for a reason. The circumstances surrounding fatal workplace injuries confirm which hazards are responsible for the greatest number of deaths.
Transportation Incidents
In 2024, transportation incidents were the number one cause of fatal workplace injuries and were the main factor in 1,937 deaths (38.2% of all fatal work injuries).
Road incidents accounted for 1,146 of those deaths, with the remainder of fatal transport incidents due to:
- Pedestrian incidents involving motor vehicles (369 deaths).
- Road-work-zone pedestrian deaths (61).
- Aircraft incidents (109).
- Waterway-vehicle incidents (52).
- Rail-vehicle incidents (36).
The detailed transportation figures clarify why driver and truck-related occupations feature prominently in the occupational fatality data. Additionally, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 798 workplace deaths (the broader truck transportation sector suffered 438 deaths directly associated with transportation incidents).
Falls, Slips, and Trips
In 2024, falls, slips, and trips caused 844 workplace deaths. Most were falls to a lower level (666 deaths), with same-level slips, trips, and falls also a significant factor (150 deaths).
Falls from more than 30 feet remain a serious issue and account for 10.8% of fatal falls, slips, and trips.
Roofing provides a clear example of how occupational risk and fatal-event data can intersect. During 2025, roofers were subject to a fatality rate of 48.7 deaths per 100,000 workers, while fall protection remained OSHA’s most frequently cited safety standard. (Ladders ranked third and scaffolding sixth among the agency’s most frequently cited standards.)
These figures underscore the continual importance of fall-related hazards (without suggesting that an OSHA citation directly caused an individual workplace death).
Other Fatal Workplace Hazards
Other major fatality categories included contact incidents, violent acts, and harmful substances or environmental exposures.
Contact incidents were the cause of 756 deaths, with 357 workers struck by objects and 213 workers caught in (or crushed) by equipment or machinery.
Violent acts caused 733 deaths: workplace homicides accounted for 470, 379 of which were shootings. There were also 263 workplace suicides.
687 deaths were linked to harmful substances and environmental exposures. Of those, overdoses accounted for 410, 59.7% of the category.
Together, these figures confirm that workplace danger isn’t limited to one type of job or incident. Transportation, falls, equipment, violent acts, and environmental issues all contribute to the national workplace fatality burden.
Why Some States Are More Dangerous
State-level work danger differences are easier to understand if we consider the composition of each state’s workforce.
Higher-risk occupations account for an average 24.05% of the employment share in the 10 highest-risk states, compared with 18.97% in the 10 lowest-risk states. That 5.08-percentage-point difference tells us that workers in the highest-risk states are disproportionately employed in dangerous roles.
Wyoming features the highest modeled occupation-mix (a worker’s vulnerability based on a state’s proportion of higher-risk occupations) fatality rate at 3.90, with 27.40% of its workers in higher-risk roles. Construction and extraction account for 8.98% of Wyoming’s employment, making it a particularly important contributor to the state’s workforce structure.
Transportation and material-moving occupations are the main high-risk occupational group in 47 states. Construction and extraction is the largest such group in Wyoming, Montana, and Vermont.
Yet the occupation mix factor doesn’t solely determine a state’s final ranking.
Nevada represents a good illustration of why that’s the case. The state has the fourth-highest modeled occupation-mix rate (3.60), yet ranks only 29th overall with a worker-risk score of 44.3. Its current fatality rate is comparatively low (2.3 per 100,000 workers), which helps to offset the structural exposure created by its occupational mix rate.
This distinction is central to the Worker Risk Index. A state can feature a workforce that disproportionately serves dangerous occupations without necessarily recording the highest current fatality rate.
The Workers Facing The Greatest Risk
Workplace fatality risk is also disproportionately distributed among different groups of workers.
For example, self-employed workers were subject to a fatality rate of 10.8 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared with 2.9 among wage-and-salary workers.
Age represents another notable differential. Workers aged 65 and older recorded a fatality rate of 9.1, with 824 deaths, up from 757 the previous year.
Hispanic or Latino workers were recorded as suffering 1,229 workplace deaths at a fatality rate of 4.3 per 100,000 workers. 624 Black workers died at a rate of 3.4, while Asian workers accounted for 183 deaths at a rate of 1.8.
These figures confirm that worker vulnerability to danger is not distributed evenly. That said, the data shouldn’t be interpreted as evidence that demographic characteristics actually cause workplace fatalities. Occupational exposure, employment arrangements, and working conditions (plus other factors) all influence risk.
The Injury and Financial Cost of Dangerous Work
Although fatalities represent the central measure of the Worker Risk Index, injuries are another key workplace safety factor.
States featuring high nonfatal injury rates don’t necessarily rank among the states with the highest fatality risk.
Maine figures provide a clear example of this. Among the states with available estimates, Maine has the highest total recordable case rate (4.1), yet it ranks only 21st on the fatal-risk index with a score of 54.9.
The total recordable case rate measures the number of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses relative to a workforce’s size. It therefore captures a different dimension of workplace safety from a fatality-based index.
Between 2023 and 2024, U.S. employers reported 2,983,110 DART cases (meaning cases that involved days away from work, restricted work, or job transfers). The rate was 140.8 cases per 10,000 workers.
The most common causes included:
- Overexertion, repetitive motion, and other bodily reactions (946,290 cases)
- Contact incidents (860,050)
- Falls, slips, and trips (721,720)
- Transportation incidents (121,330).
Musculoskeletal disorders were a feature in 484,620 cases that involved time away from work, while sprains, strains, and tears accounted for another 335,570 cases of this type.
The highest–risk states are in the West, South, and Plains areas; the top 10 includes four Western states, three Southern states, and three Midwestern states
The financial consequences of work injuries are substantial. The National Safety Council estimates that workplace injuries cost society $181.4 billion in 2024. That included $54.9 billion in wage and productivity losses, $36.8 billion in medical expenses, $64.5 billion in administrative expenses, and $15.5 billion related to employers’ uninsured costs.
The overall estimated societal burden amounted to around $1,120 per worker.
Dangerous Work: Does The Extra Risk Mean Extra Wages?
The financial factor is also relevant when we compare workplace risk with wages.
Workers in the 10 highest-risk states earn an average of $53,846 across high-risk occupational groups, compared with the average $58,467 earned in the 10 lowest-risk states. That means the higher-risk states feature an average wage that is about 7.9% lower.
Nine of the 10 highest-risk states feature high-risk occupation wages that are below $60,000.
Mississippi features the lowest average high-risk occupation wage at $45,495; Alaska features the highest ($70,511).
Some of the jobs associated with substantial fatality risk feature relatively modest average wages.
- Ground maintenance workers: $40,080.
- Construction laborers: $47,120.
- Logging workers: $49,660.
- Refuse collectors: $49,690.
- Driver/sales workers and truck drivers: $50,390.
- Roofers: $55,440.
Some specialized occupations command significantly higher pay. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers receive average wages of around $210,020, while power-line installers earn approximately $95,320.
However, the general outlook suggests that greater occupational danger does not automatically equate to higher wages (and often means lower wages).
Full 50-State Worker Risk Index
| Rank | State | Score | Fatalities 2024 | Fatality rate 2024 | Five-year avg. rate | Five-year trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 99.4 | 37 | 13.90 | 13.20 | 0.74 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 89.8 | 94 | 8.00 | 5.78 | 1.04 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 84.7 | 28 | 6.80 | 7.98 | -0.33 |
| 4 | Arkansas | 84.5 | 79 | 6.20 | 6.20 | 0.33 |
| 5 | Montana | 84.5 | 31 | 5.80 | 6.34 | -0.13 |
| 6 | Alaska | 80.8 | 24 | 7.10 | 7.30 | -0.60 |
| 7 | Idaho | 80.6 | 45 | 5.00 | 4.44 | 0.39 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 79.6 | 40 | 5.80 | 6.54 | 0.15 |
| 9 | Iowa | 77.3 | 83 | 5.20 | 4.40 | 0.50 |
| 10 | South Dakota | 74.7 | 29 | 5.80 | 5.64 | -0.44 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 74.3 | 155 | 5.10 | 5.14 | 0.10 |
| 12 | Louisiana | 73.7 | 96 | 5.10 | 6.14 | -0.37 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 65.9 | 103 | 4.50 | 5.08 | -0.06 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 64.9 | 73 | 4.10 | 4.42 | -0.18 |
| 15 | Indiana | 62.2 | 135 | 4.30 | 5.00 | -0.23 |
| 16 | Texas | 59.8 | 557 | 3.90 | 4.08 | -0.01 |
| 17 | New Mexico | 57.1 | 32 | 3.60 | 5.14 | -0.37 |
| 18 | Kansas | 56.9 | 56 | 4.10 | 4.10 | -0.10 |
| 19 | Missouri | 56.3 | 118 | 4.20 | 4.42 | -0.09 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 55.3 | 70 | 3.70 | 4.56 | -0.40 |
| 21 | Maine | 54.9 | 19 | 3.00 | 3.40 | 0.11 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 54.1 | 196 | 4.10 | 4.14 | -0.08 |
| 23 | Utah | 51.0 | 63 | 3.70 | 3.64 | 0.13 |
| 24 | Georgia | 50.6 | 170 | 3.40 | 4.00 | -0.18 |
| 25 | Alabama | 50.0 | 75 | 3.60 | 4.10 | -0.31 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 48.4 | 109 | 3.70 | 3.88 | -0.03 |
| 27 | Nebraska | 45.1 | 25 | 2.60 | 4.50 | -0.45 |
| 28 | Florida | 44.7 | 284 | 2.90 | 3.14 | -0.09 |
| 29 | Nevada | 44.3 | 33 | 2.30 | 3.38 | -0.07 |
| 30 | Michigan | 43.1 | 152 | 3.30 | 3.30 | 0.07 |
| 31 | Ohio | 40.6 | 165 | 3.20 | 3.02 | 0.13 |
| 32 | Colorado | 39.8 | 92 | 3.20 | 3.08 | 0.00 |
| 33 | Hawaii | 38.0 | 16 | 2.70 | 2.78 | 0.00 |
| 34 | Arizona | 37.6 | 94 | 2.80 | 2.86 | 0.04 |
| 35 | Vermont | 35.1 | 8 | 2.20 | 3.38 | 0.05 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | 34.9 | 185 | 3.10 | 2.94 | 0.08 |
| 37 | Virginia | 33.9 | 137 | 3.20 | 3.10 | -0.01 |
| 38 | Washington | 33.9 | 102 | 2.80 | 2.60 | 0.12 |
| 39 | California | 32.7 | 419 | 2.40 | 2.70 | -0.13 |
| 40 | Maryland | 31.4 | 93 | 3.20 | 2.68 | 0.16 |
| 41 | Oregon | 31.0 | 52 | 2.60 | 2.98 | -0.21 |
| 42 | Minnesota | 30.8 | 84 | 2.90 | 2.68 | 0.07 |
| 43 | Illinois | 25.7 | 156 | 2.70 | 2.78 | -0.04 |
| 44 | New York | 21.8 | 217 | 2.40 | 2.78 | -0.11 |
| 45 | Connecticut | 20.2 | 41 | 2.30 | 1.90 | 0.16 |
| 45 | Connecticut | 20.2 | 41 | 2.30 | 1.90 | 0.16 |
| 46 | Delaware | 16.9 | 10 | 2.00 | 2.54 | 0.03 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 13.1 | 6 | 1.10 | 1.16 | 0.02 |
| 48 | Massachusetts | 12.2 | 75 | 2.10 | 2.60 | 0.00 |
| 49 | New Hampshire | 11.6 | 12 | 1.70 | 2.60 | -0.11 |
| 50 | New Jersey | 10.2 | 84 | 1.90 | 2.26 | -0.15 |
The Anidjar & Levine Worker Risk Index reflects more than a single year’s fatality count: it incorporates current and persistent fatality rates, recent trends, occupational mix, and self-employment exposure.
The occupation data factors in that variation. Logging and fishing carry some of the highest individual fatality rates, while trucking and construction account for particularly large numbers of deaths.
Ultimately, workplace risk can vary dramatically according to both where someone works and the nature of their role.
Index Methodology
The Anidjar & Levine Worker Risk Index
The Anidjar & Levine Worker Risk Index ranks all 50 states according to five ‘pillars’ (measures of fatal workplace risk and workforce structure).
| Index measure | Weight | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Current Fatality Rate | 40% | The most recent workplace fatality rate. |
| Persistent Fatality Rate | 20% | The five-year average workplace fatality rate. |
| Fatality Rate Trend | 10% | Whether workplace fatality risk has recently risen or fallen. |
| Occupational Mix | 20% | Vulnerability is based on a state’s proportion of higher-risk occupations. |
| Self-Employment | 10% | Exposure is linked to a state’s share of self-employed workers. |
We converted each ‘pillar’/component to a 0–100 state-relative score before combining the weighted components.
The current workplace fatality rate receives the largest weight at 40%, ensuring that recently observed risk has the greatest influence on the final ranking. The five-year average receives 20%, capturing persistent risk rather than allowing a potentially anomalous single year to determine the result.
Recent fatality trends account for 10% of the score, while occupational mix accounts for 20%. The occupational-mix component measures how heavily a state’s workforce is concentrated in higher-risk occupational groups. Self-employment accounts for the remaining 10%.
The final score represents relative state worker risk. It doesn’t predict whether an individual worker will suffer an injury, and it doesn’t establish that workforce composition caused any particular workplace death.
U.S. Workplace Danger: Key Workers Face High Threat
In 2024, the U.S. recorded 5,070 fatal workplace injuries, with a fatality rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers. Risk was concentrated in a small number of occupations: logging workers had the highest fatality rate (110.4), followed by fishing and hunting workers (88.8) and roofers (48.7). However, by total deaths, larger workforces drove the greatest losses, with truck drivers and driver/sales workers suffering 950 fatalities.
State-level risk varied significantly, with Wyoming ranked as the most dangerous state with a score of 99.4, followed by Mississippi (89.8) and North Dakota (84.7).
Transportation remains the leading workplace threat and was the cause of 1,937 deaths (38.2% of fatalities), while falls caused 844 deaths and remain the clearest preventable hazard. High-risk industries include agriculture, construction, trucking, logging, and waste management. Despite the danger, high-risk jobs often lack adequate remuneration. The highest-risk states averaged $53,846 in high-risk occupation wages versus $58,467 in the lowest-risk states, a clear imbalance.
With many employers failing to heed warnings and penalties, and millions of employees being paid comparatively low amounts for extremely dangerous roles, much work is clearly needed to resolve significant levels of worker inequity and susceptibility to injury, illness, and even death.
With just a few small changes to lessen the risk of falls, provide workers with the right equipment and work apparatus, and the right training, thousands of lives and billions of dollars could be saved.
How Anidjar & Levine Is Helping Injured Workers
Suffering an injury or illness while at work can be overwhelming. Aside from painful injuries, you could lose the ability to financially support yourself.
Because Florida carries workers’ compensation insurance, with help from our Florida workers’ compensation lawyer, you could recoup your medical bills and a portion of your lost income.
Navigating the claims process can be tough, and we may be able to help. During your free case review, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help you to explore your options. We may also be able to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. Get in touch for more details.
