The Salaries Behind America's Most Dangerous Jobs—And The Safest Ones
You can't put a price on health and safety—but some of the world's most dangerous jobs certainly try. You might think that being a military member is the world's most dangerous job—spoiler alert: it is not. Let's examine some of the world's most dangerous jobs and how much you'll be paid to do them.
Mining Machine Operators
Operating a mining machine is dangerous work. As these huge machines carve into the earth to remove rock, stone, and other materials, they can be perilous. There were six fatalities this year during the operation of mining machines. The annual salary is $56,000.
Construction Workers
Construction workers are at work in all weather and on all types of terrain. Jobs vary greatly in size, difficulty and safety level. Most construction workers are killed at work in slips and falls, usually from a height. There were 1,036 deaths this year in the construction industry. The annual salary is $36,000.
Maintenance And Repair Workers
Maintenance and repair workers often work in an industrial environment, dealing with large, dangerous machinery that could cause significant injury or death if mistakes are made. There were 9 fatalities among maintenance workers in 2024. Their annual salaries are $65,000.
Police Officers
We all know that police officers do a dangerous job. Whether they're involved in high-speed pursuits, firearm-related incidents, or just simply interacting with the public, it takes courage. There have been 132 line-of-duty deaths in 2024. The annual police officer's salary is $65,200.
Grounds Maintenance Workers
Grounds maintenance workers help maintain and beautify the grounds around schools, government buildings and other institutions. They're often the first ones on-site in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the day. The most common cause of fatalities among grounds maintenance workers is transportation accidents, usually when driving a small buggy or golf cart from one area of the grounds to another.
There were 18 maintenance worker fatalities in 2024. The average annual salary of a grounds maintenance worker is $43,000.
Heavy Vehicle Mechanics
Heavy vehicle or heavy equipment mechanics are responsible for keeping large vehicles on the road or on the move on a construction site. They're responsible for inspecting and repairing or replacing damaged parts on heavy vehicles like bulldozers, tractor trailers, and more. There were 27 heavy vehicle mechanic fatalities in 2024. The average annual salary of a heavy vehicle mechanic is $60,000.
Small Engine Mechanics
While working with a small engine may seem safe, small-engine mechanics are also on our list of the world's most dangerous professions. They also incur risk of injury due to explosions, ATVs falling on them, or other workplace-related hazards.
In 2018, there were eight small engine mechanic fatalities in the US. The average annual salary of a small engine mechanic is $46,500.
Cement Masons
Cement masons are craftspeople in their own right. Carving intricate designs out of cement, building retaining walls and other concrete structures. These artisans of cement are also doing one of the most dangerous jobs in America. They're particularly susceptible to slips, trips and falls, and equipment malfunctions.
There are an average of 80 cement mason deaths every year in the United States. Their average annual salary is $57,000.
Farming And Agricultural Workers
One of the most underappreciated jobs in our society has to be that of a farmer or the agricultural worker whom farmers hire. From dealing with heavy machinery to working all day in the boiling hot sun, farmers and agricultural workers have a stunning fatality rate of 20.9 per 100,000 workers, with crashes involving tractors being among the most common causes of death.
Highway Maintenance Workers
Flaggers, asphalt pourers and other highway maintenance workers take a huge risk every day—often working in extreme heat with cars flying by at 100MPH—there's a reason why you're made to slow down when passing highway workers.
As many as 38% of deaths in work zones were highway workers last year. The average annual salary of a highway maintenance worker is $48,200.
Landscaping Supervisors
While landscapers themselves appeared on our list above, their supervisors also have a dangerous task. Often they are injured or killed while assisting landscapers in the course of their duties. Landscaping supervisors accounted for 25 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2023. They have an average annual salary of $52,340.
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Picryl
General Laborers
Those who work on construction sites as general laborers are just as at-risk of a workplace injury as their more specialized and experienced colleagues. There were 826 worker fatalities among general laborers that were investigated by OSHA in 2024, an 11-percent reduction in worker deaths from this time last year.
Mostly, general laborers fall victim to slips, trips, falls, or tool-related accidents that cause their deaths. The average annual salary of a general laborer on a construction site is $36,000.
Crane Operators
You might think you'd be perfectly safe perched in a giant crane high above a city—but crane operators are some of the most at-risk personnel for trips, slips and falls that lead to their deaths. Sometimes, safety harnessing is improperly applied or improperly secured, which causes a failure, causing death, or a crane is downed in high winds.
Crane operators accounted for 133 fatalities in 2024, with 90% caused by human error. The average annual salary for a crane operator is $68,000.
Tom Haga, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Crossing Guards
The profession of a crossing guard is also among the most dangerous jobs in the United States. Most commonly caused by motorists running them over, crossing guards have often been killed while protecting children on a crosswalk.
Although there have been just two fatalities in 2024, it still remains a dangerous profession, as motorists seem unable to exercise due care and attention. The average annual salary for a crossing guard is $29,000.
Structural Iron And Steel Workers
Structural iron and steel workers work on large construction projects, maneuvering structural steel beams into place and then securing them into place. Unfortunately, this leads to plenty of opportunity for workplace accidents involving falls from heights or being struck by large steel beams.
There were 14 fatal accidents in 2022. The average annual salary for a structural iron and steel worker is $62,000.
Garbage Collectors
Those who collect our waste often have the most thankless task. But their job is also fraught with danger, particularly around the large compactors that are found in the back of garbage trucks. Waste management workers had 22 fatal accidents in 2022. Their average annual salary is $61,000.
Long-Haul Truck Drivers
Long-haul truckers ensure that our food, drinks, and other necessary items get from their producer to our stores. Unfortunately, these are also some of the most dangerous jobs in the world, often requiring them to drive in all manner of unsafe conditions to ensure goods get where they need to go.
Long-haul truckers had over 1,000 fatal accidents in 2022. The average annual trucker salary is $71,000.
Aircraft Pilots And Flight Engineers
There are probably few things more nerve-wracking than being in control of a giant flying metal box. But that's what aircraft pilots have to do every day. When things go wrong with an aircraft, things seldom end well. Aircraft pilots had 72 fatal accidents in 2022. The average salary of an aircraft pilot is $115,000.
Fishermen And Women
Another job that often gets overlooked when we talk about danger is fishing. Commercial fishermen and women have a really difficult job that's fraught with danger from the ultimate beast: the unforgiving ocean. Fishermen and women account for 50.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
Roofers
Roofing has the highest mortality rate in the entire construction industry. Much of the deaths are attributed to falls from heights—either directly from the roof, or from a ladder. Other hazards can include heatstroke from baking in the sun all day on a hot asphalt roof.
Roofers account for 57.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers, with over 100 roofer deaths in 2022.
Logging Workers
Now we come to the world's most dangerous profession—logging. Whether it's transportation accidents when driving up and down logging roads, being hit by a falling tree branch, or a safety harness failure resulting in a tragedy, logging workers have it hard. With 100.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers, and 54 loggers losing their lives in 2022, it soars above roofing as the country's most dangerous profession.
What Are The Safest Jobs In The Country?
Of course, not every profession is fraught with danger. Let's explore some of the safest jobs in the country.
Information Technology Professionals
While sitting at a computer is no good for your back—it won't kill you. With a mortality rate of just 0.24 per 100,000 workers and just 12 fatal accidents reported annually, being in IT is just about the safest profession out there.
Working In Education
While working in education comes with its fair share of challenges, including dealing with unruly children, you're reasonably safe in any educational environment, with just 27 fatalities reported annually.
Registered Nurses
Despite caring for people who may have communicable diseases, registered nurses are also among the safest healthcare professionals in the country—with a fatality rate of just 0.44 per 100,000 workers.
Business And Financial Operations
Bankers and business heads are also among the safest people in the country, with only 38 fatalities every year, and most of these are a result of motor-vehicle accidents.
Construction Managers
Despite working on construction sites, the hands-off approach taken by some construction managers is what helps keep them safe—contributing to just 0.74 fatalities per 100,000.
Community Service Workers
Those working in a community service capacity can sometimes be faced with hostility from clients, but social workers only report 23 injuries per year and very few (if any) workplace-related fatalities.
The Cost Of Ignoring Workplace Safety
Workplace safety in the United States is regulated by the Occupational Health And Safety Agency. Did you know that the average OSHA penalty for causing a worker's death was a fine of just $12,063? OSHA has investigated 826 worker deaths this year, down 11% from last year's total.
