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10. Grounds maintenance workers
> 2019 fatal injury rate: 19.8 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
> Total injuries in 2019: 229 fatal injuries, 13,770 nonfatal injuries
> Most common cause of fatal injuries: Transportation incidents
> Median annual wage: $30,890
> Total employment: 999,960
The job of groundskeeper ranks as one of the most dangerous jobs in America, as 19.8 workers per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers suffered a fatal accident on the job in 2019. In total, there were 229 fatal injuries among the nearly 1 million groundskeepers working in 2019. Fatal injuries of groundskeepers were most commonly caused by transportation incidents sustained while traveling or by being struck by vehicles.
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9. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
> 2019 fatal injury rate: 23.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
> Total injuries in 2019: 238 fatal injuries, 400 nonfatal injuries
> Most common cause of fatal injuries: Transportation incidents
> Median annual wage: $71,160
> Total employment: 5,060
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers work in one of just nine fields in which workers suffered more than 20 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2019. In spite of this, these workers have a very low incidence of nonfatal accidents. There were just 12.8 injuries per 10,000 farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers that caused them to miss time at work — a fraction of the 86.9 per 10,000 rate among all U.S. job fields.
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8. Structural iron and steel workers
> 2019 fatal injury rate: 26.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
> Total injuries in 2019: 18 fatal injuries, 1,070 nonfatal injuries
> Most common cause of fatal injuries: Falls, slips, trips
> Median annual wage: $55,040
> Total employment: 76,570
Structural iron and steel workers use metal to construct frameworks and buildings. This job often requires workers to be high off the ground, making falls potentially life threatening. In total, 18 structural workers died on the job in 2019 in one of the smallest total employments of any career field on this list, with 76,570.
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7. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
> 2019 fatal injury rate: 26.8 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
> Total injuries in 2019: 1,005 fatal injuries, 79,040 nonfatal injuries
> Most common cause of fatal injuries: Transportation incidents
> Median annual wage: $40,310
> Total employment: 3,223,840
Truck drivers had by far the most total fatal injuries of any job in 2019, with 1,005 fatalities. No other job had even 300 fatal injuries that year. However, with over 3.2 million truck drivers working in 2019, the profession’s fatal injury rate ranks seventh, with 26.8 fatal incidents per 100,000 equivalent workers. The vast majority of fatal injuries were transportation incidents, like vehicle accidents. Truck drivers also reported over 79,000 nonfatal injuries
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6. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
> 2019 fatal injury rate: 35.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
> Total injuries in 2019: 31 fatal injuries, 1,840 nonfatal injuries
> Most common cause of fatal injuries: Transportation incidents
> Median annual wage: $37,840
> Total employment: 121,330
Refuse collectors suffered 35.2 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. The majority of these fatalities were caused by transportation incidents, such as being injured in an auto accident or being struck by a vehicle. These workers are traveling throughout the day going from house to house picking up garbage and recyclable materials. The career field also ranks sixth in the rate of nonfatal injuries that cause missed time at work among all jobs, with 282.6 incidents per 10,000 full-time workers.
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